Book vs. Big Screen

With almost every adaptation of a popular novel into a Hollywood movie comes differences, with these discrepancies sometimes being very large. This is no different in the case of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. There have been several different film adaptations of Shelley’s novel, with most of the films staying true to each other, but not so much to the book. One of the most obvious divergences between the novel and the subsequent movies is the appearance of the monster. While in the novel the monster is described as having “ideal” body parts that turn for the worse, a pale complexion and flowing black hair, the classic appearance of the monster in adaptations is seen with a green complexion, flat head, and two bolts coming out of the sides of the neck. Furthermore, while the novel hopes to convey that the monster’s beauty is on the inside when the reader finds out that he possesses great intelligence and understanding of the world, in the movies the monster is usually seen as lacking most cognitive ability. Not only are the characteristics of the monster altered, but so are that of his creator. In the novel, Victor is seen as much more independent and naïve, creating the monster by himself and failing to take responsibility for his creation. However in film Victor is often seen as much more of a mad scientist, with his hunchback assistant only helping to add to this motif.