Archetypes In Frankenstein

Frankenstein, written by Nick Dear, has one very prevalent theme of heroes and villains that is used to question morality discussing the idea of good versus evil. Dear cleverly chooses to display the narrative primarily through the lens of The Creature allowing the audience to view him not completely as the villain unlike Mary Shelley’s novel of the same title. Instead the audience builds a connection with the character as he garners their sympathy. There many heroic and villainous archetypes in storytelling and it can be debated which ones fit The Creature and Victor Frankenstein, they both display characteristics of many such as their ambition in relation to the ‘Tragic Hero’. I think that the ambiguity of these characters and their moralities

I think that this scene is an emotional climax of the play and develops The Creature’s character. In this scene I would say that The Creature is portrayed as a Tragic Hero, defined as someone who displays nobility but is met with a tragic downfall. For me this scene depicts The Creature’s hamartia which is his craving to be loved and feel accepted. An actor could demonstrate his desire to be loved through a variety of vocal and physical techniques. For example the line ‘It feels like all the life is bubbling…’ could be used to display how The Creature has great emotional intelligence and reveals to the audience that he is a being of feeling and emotional depth. Specifically the actor could speed up the tempo and increase the volume of their speech gradually through the passage to depict The Creature’s excitement and wonder about love almost sounding giddy, this innocent and sometimes child-like portrayal of The Creature will provoke empathy in the audience and beg them to take the side of The Creature in the conflict between the two characters. In terms of physicality the actor could use exaggerated hand movements when talking to connote passion similarly one hand could be placed on the side of their neck to display comfort and perhaps portray The Creature as being flustered at the thought of loving or being loved. The combination of these techniques would demonstrate The Creature’s

This point in the play is Frankenstein’s tragic downfall and displays the variety of emotions felt by the character as a result of his actions throughout the plot he has realised that despite his good intentions he has created a lot of suffering and feel responsible for the many deaths. To display this self reflection and acceptance an actor would have to utilise many physical and vocal techniques. For example the line ‘Every chance I had of love…’ could be used to show Frankenstein feeling regret and understanding that he is not as knowledgeable on love as The Creature. This would be done by drawing out the punctuated pauses hinting that he is reflecting back on his experiences utilising deep breathing to connote melancholy and rumination. Physically I think the actor could slowly take steps towards The Creature displaying one final attempt to connect with the thing he abandoned even if it is through hatred. As The Creature steps back with each step Frankenstein takes,widening the proxemics, it is evident that despite their similarity the characters would hate nothing more than to be like the other as they try to distance themselves. The steps would be slow and the actor would put their whole weight into them to show exhaustion. At the end of the passage on the line ‘You