Differences Between Frankenstein Book And Movie

The first film adaptation of Frankenstein was released in 1931. Strangely, this film contained drastic differences to the central plot of the original novel by Mary Shelley. While it did, for the most part, make an effort to keep the same character roles, many crucial elements of the book had been changed. Similarities between the book and the film rendition were scarce. The result was a far different telling of the original tale. The similarities between the novel and its movie counterpart were minimal. Both stories do center around the basic concept of Frankenstein creating life in a creature. Characters Elizabeth, Waldman, and Frankenstein’s father all appear in both tellings of the tale. It can also be seen in both the book and the original movie that the creature is feared by

Both are set in gothic time periods, based on the time period of Mary Shelley’s life. In addition, both the book and movie are set in Switzerland, specifically in the Alps region. However, the differences between these two renditions are far more abundant than the likenesses. Though this film was meant to serve as the first film based on the story of Frankenstein, it fails in many ways to honor many of the key points of the original novel. One of the most blatant changes is in the characters. The novel’s Henry Clerval and Victor Frankenstein are instead called Victor and Henry Frankenstein in movie, respectively. The creature, whom we are meant to sympathize with in the novel for his lack of love and companionship, is portrayed as a mindless, soulless monster in the film. Characters such as William, Ernest, Walton, Justine, and Caroline are not even present in the movie’s version of the story, while a lab assistant, Fritz, who was not in the original novel, is created for the film. Even more striking are the differences in