What does marriage and love and happiness have to do with the grim, growling, murdering monster? Well, remember that Frankenstein's creating life. The usual way you create life in a Hollywood film—and ditto life—is you get married and indulging in a lot o' baby-making.
But Frankenstein runs away from his fiancée to make life out of old dead bodies and criminal brains. The whole monster creation business is a kind of alternative to happy marriage; you could almost say that Frankenstein runs away from Elizabeth to marry Fritz and have a baby monster.
Questions about Marriage
- Is Frankenstein a romance story? Explain your answer.
- Is marriage a trap for Henry? For Elizabeth? Explain your answer.
- Elizabeth was originally supposed to marry Victor at the end of the film following Henry's death. Would that have been a happier or sadder ending? Explain your answer.
Chew on This
Take a peek at these thesis statements. Agree or disagree?
The monster takes the place of Elizabeth and Henry's child.
The monster takes the place of Henry as groom.