How does Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands utilise characterisation, imagery and foreshadowing to demonstrate the theme of abandonment and its consequences?
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands both explore the ideas of being misunderstood and rejected by society. Through his curiosity in the field of science, Victor Frankenstein envisions the creation of a being, not knowing what it would later become as a result of his neglect and lack of care towards it. Victor’s passion for science and his ambition to create his ‘monster’ causes him to feel guilt and regret, eventually resulting in his demise. On the other hand, Edward Scissorhands experienced a positive upbringing, with his creator
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Whilst on his honeymoon, Frankenstein states that, “suddenly a heavy storm descended…[he] heard a shrill and dreadful scream. It came from into which Elizabeth had retired.” The sudden occurrence of the storm foreshadows that something terrible and tragic was going to happen to Victor Frankenstein because of his neglect and lack of responsibility for the monster. Victor later hears the screams of his beloved Elizabeth, which is an immediate sign that the monster is seeking revenge for both being abandoned by Frankenstein and also how it had the urge to make him feel the pain which it felt. On the contrary, even though Edward had a positive upbringing, the process of creating a being would sooner or later end in disaster. In the scene where Esmeralda sees Edward for the first time, she says, “It's not heaven he's from. It's straight from the stinking flames of hell. The power of satan is in him. I can feel it. God, you have the poor sheep strayed so far from the path.” This foreshadows that he will eventually be rejected by the community because of both his scissors and also because of how he would later be misunderstood for saving Kevin from being hit by a car. Edward was not the type of person to seek vengeance for the death of his creator but was doleful as a result of being both abandoned by his creator and rejected by the community. Mary Shelley and Tim Burton’s use of foreshadowing to hint to the viewer of future events which would later occur as a result of abandonment in Frankenstein and Edward