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zachzsg t1_j2bynpz wrote

Reply to comment by Landlubber77 in TIL Frankenstein did not have a hunchback assistant called Igor in either Mary Shelley's novel or the original Universal and Hammer films. The character is a pastiche of multiple characters across several movies. by BringsHomeBones

Yeah, in the book he has superhuman intelligence and can run like 10,000 mph. Meanwhile in popular culture he’s this lumbering oaf that can barely move let alone speak lol

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temporarysecretary17 t1_j2caqau wrote

Meanwhile, people think he’s a poor innocent victim killing to protect himself, but that’s more movie franchise. Book franchise, whilst also a victim, is also a complete psychopathic sadist who dedicates his existence to torturing Victor.

Also, Frankenstein in the OG movies still had an arc, when he killed himself in bride of Frankenstein it’s actually very sad, much more sympathetic than book frankie overall.

And yes, I’m calling the monster Frankenstein, sue me.

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dmk_aus t1_j2ceua0 wrote

Yeah, I don't get all the "Frankenstein's Creature is a victim".

Hyper intelligent with great understanding of others emotions. Absolutely knows of right and wrong. Is willing to kill and torture for his own gain and for vengence. "But would totally have been nice if everyone was nicer to him so it is all their fault."

I guess the Creature is such a psychopathic narcissist how is the bad guy who thinks he's the victim and noble hero... who punishes and condemns other's mistakes harshly and justifies his own horrendous actions absolutely - that a lot of people relate to the Creature.

Or people didn't read the book so run with the meme - "Knowledge is knowing that Frankenstein is not the monster. Wisdom is knowing that Frankenstein is the monster." Which is BS.

Should be "Knowledge is knowing that memes are entertaining. Wisdom is knowing that people lie on the internet."

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brand_new_zippyjams t1_j2ctlys wrote

In the book, we hear about how the creature learns things, revealing that it was essentially a child left abandoned to figure out things for himself. The creature is a victim. It isn't him just wanting people to be "nice" to him. It's about a desire to be loved and treated like a being worthy of companionship. The reason he asks Frankenstein to make another monster is because he realizes he will never be able to find any kind of love from mankind.

Just like a child who has been neglected, the creature lashed out in the only way he saw to take some sort of control of the situation. This doesn’t mean that he isn't responsible for his actions. He is absolutely aware of what he was doing. But this doesn’t erase the victim hood that put him in a place where saw revenge as the best option.

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dmk_aus t1_j2d1nyb wrote

Yes bad things happen to the Creature. He is the victim in some instances. This may explain why he is an evil sadistic killer. But doesn't make him not a mentally culpable for the complex and heinous crimes committed or excuse him from guilt.

The Creature is far to well spoken, understands people and emotions too deeply and plans too thoroughly to be left off the hook as a child.

The Doctor made mistakes as a parent. Panicked and terrified by the animated corpse he had creates, he fled. That is the wrong thing to do. However it definitely isn't worse than the Creature. The Doctor is racked with guilt, learned not to make the same mistake and so didn't make the Female Creature. Put effort into trying to limit the creatures harm.

This isn't a battered partner lashing out. This is a adult who discovers the identity of their birth parent, who left them in an orphanage where they got abused, planning and murdering friends/family/bride of the birth parent and extorting them for things they want.

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MaimedJester t1_j2cm1cl wrote

Yeah there's also an unreliable narrator to when the Monster Tells Frankenstein about what he did between Frankenstein Fleeing and Abandoning him and when the Monster tracks him down ... Years later? He talks about the blind man in the farm and how he read some books he found and that taught him philosophy and literature and lists stuff like Sorrows of Young Werther by Goethe. (Which is one of those famous books about suicide)

But there's a very strange omission... Pretty much every house even the illiterate ones would have a Bible. Monster apparently never read the Bible or saw the Bible. Doesn't even bring it up.

So there's a lot of holes in the story where Dr. Frankenstein seriously thinks he might have allowed a literal Demon to posses a corpse. So the demon is lying to him and if he created the bride who knows what kind of Demon race would be unleashed on earth?

Not saying that's exactly what the text says, but it is a fair reading.

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Greene_Mr t1_j2co63p wrote

The Shelleys were atheists.

Also, imagine putting the emotional capabilities of a child... into an adult body and mind. You're giving life to someone in no way equipped to deal with that.

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temporarysecretary17 t1_j2d42tk wrote

The monster doesn’t stay as a child forever. By the time Victor meets him he’s basically a poet. But people still line up to defend his child murder because I guess they think it makes them profound?

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Greene_Mr t1_j2d511w wrote

He has really bad emotional control issues. As is plainly proven over and over again. He cannot control his anger; he cannot control his joy. Had he been born in the natural fashion, and raised from infancy to adulthood, rather than suddenly becoming with a child's capacity for unchecked emotion in a fully-adult body and mind, he might not have started murdering folks.

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dmk_aus t1_j2dehgo wrote

Is killing with months of planning and warning, Killing because of breach of contract and killing by setting someone up to be executed for a child murder you committed able to be considered "uncontrolled anger".

He controlled his anger enough not to kill the Doctor outright. He controlled his anger if it benefited him. I don't know why the world is full of Creature apologists.

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temporarysecretary17 t1_j2d53qd wrote

Idk, I think what mostly differentiates him from a child and truly makes him irredeemable is him basically saying “I want to kill mused but instead of doing that I’m going to dedicate my life to torturing you specifically”.

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Greene_Mr t1_j2d5749 wrote

Because at the end of it all, he never wanted to be made -- hence, the epigram from Paradise Lost at the start of the book, for pete's sake.

"If I could not inspire love, I would instead cause fear"

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Grayman222 t1_j2cz316 wrote

the creature was the original 'nice guy' had lots of daddy issues too.

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SirRedRising t1_j2f4z92 wrote

>Yeah, I don't get all the "Frankenstein's Creature is a victim".

Agree that the Monster isn't a victim, but I'd argue the axiom of "...the Doctor is the real monster" still holds true. The guy slapped together corpses and brought it to life, he then had to deal with the ramifications of his having played God. Unfortunately the Doctor couldn't hide from his creation like God, or Steve Buscemi, though...

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Grayman222 t1_j2cz0ld wrote

I read the book for the first time this year and it really threw me off that I did not get the character I expected. Was interesting to see that subverted though.

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BrokenEye3 t1_j2bzknr wrote

That's because they adapted the play, not the book

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