The Comparison of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands - Research Paper Example

 The Comparison of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands Science is more often than not deployed for destruction. Mary Shelley in her book Frankenstein had shown how a scientific creation in the form of a monster could bring about destruction on the creator’s near and dear ones. This Frankenstein model has been used in other works of fiction much later. Edwards Scissorhands, based on almost the same theme, is a fictional creation by director Tim Burton in 1990. Here, we will draw a comparison between the novel Frankenstein and the movie Edward Scissorhands, made almost a century and a half later. Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein went through a troubled childhood as she lost her mother at a very early age. This caused a social detachment in her life, especially during the first phase of her life. This sense of detachment from the society became prominent in her novel Frankenstein. (BookRags, 2000-2006) The protagonist of this novel appears like a person who is not accepted by the society to which he belongs. ‘Abnormality’ is the bleak mark that is thrown upon him by the society. This is where Frankenstein resembles Edwards Scissorhands. Both the characters suffer hatred of the society as they are not like the other members of the community and thereby taken as abnormal, while abnormality is something that is displayed by the so-called human characters present surrounding them. The Industrial Revolution in the 18th century England had ridden society of the tradition, which was a product of Romanticism. A feeling of anguish in response to the Industrial Revolution and a yearning to go back to the past had characterized many poems and novels during this time. The attack on mankind and nature brought in by the Revolution impacted Mary Shelley’s work to a great extent. Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, was a symbol of this resistance against the Industrial Revolution, which altered the structure of society that was the very base of the romantic ideals of humanism, emotion, individualism and nature. The gothic culture finds its way slowly into the novel. The romantic ideals of isolationism and detachment have a prominent presence in the story. Victor Frankenstein created the monster, which ultimately destroys his creator, holding him responsible for making him an embodiment of ugliness. This is one of the main themes for both Frankenstein as well as for Edwards Scissorhands. Scissorhands is taken to be the elephant man by the rest of the society and both he and Frankenstein are very much aware of the hatred generated from society only because of their ugly physical appearance. Both the characters are gothic in the sense that they create horror for the other people surrounding them. This horror, surprisingly enough, is actually not intentionally created by them. Their ugliness and mismatching behaviour when compared to others are the reasons that make them horrifying figures. The images seem to pervade our ‘dream, fantasy and myth.’ Frankenstein - the monster never stutters while speaking. He speaks with logic and his destructive nature is nothing but an unintended creation of human curiosity for the unknown. George Levine analyzed the metaphorical significance of ‘Frankenstein’, emphasizing that this fictional piece of work harbored a ‘myth of realism’. One the other hand, Lee Sterrenburg examines Frankenstein from a political perspective to show how it became a political tool for the Victorians. (Levine and Knoepflmacher, xiv) Edwards Scissorhands, on the other hand, is a much more recent figure when compared to Frankenstein. Still, the moral values and feelings that reign supreme in his mind are very similar to that of the latter. Both the characters feature, in a way, unreal statures in the midst of reality. Thus, both of them are secernated from the surroundings to which they belong. The creation of the monster and the destruction accompanied with it eats Frankenstein from within every moment. This feeling is embodied in Frankenstein’s words, when he says “If the study to which you apply yourself has a tendency to weaken your affections, and to destroy your taste for those simple pleasures in which no alloy can possibly mix, then that study is certainly unlawful, that is to say, not befitting the human mind.” Frankenstein also describes himself as ‘Satan’ and the ‘fallen Adam’ which is implicit in the words of the monster. “And now, with the world before me, whither should I bend my steps?” Frankenstein narrated regrettably to Walton that “…misfortune had tainted my mind, and changed its bright visions of extensive usefulness into gloomy and narrow reflections upon self. I must not omit to record those events, which led, by insensible steps, to my after tale of misery: for when I would account to myself for the birth of that passion, which afterwards ruled my destiny, I find it arose, like a mountain river, from ignoble and almost forgotten sources; but swelling as it proceeded, it became the torrent which, in its course, has swept away all my hopes and joys.” Frankenstein further lamented the destructive scientific creation on the laboratory table, when he said “Natural Philosophy is the genius that has regulated my fate; I desire therefore in this narration, to state those facts which led to my predilection for that science.” (Shelley, 31) The monster hurled his pangs of agony to Frankenstein, “the agony of my feelings allowed me no respite: no incident occurred from which my rage and misery could not extract its food; …the sun had recovered its warmth, and the earth again began to look green, confirmed in an especial manner the bitterness and horror of my feelings.” (Shelley, xxx) A protest against science and technology, as the product of the Industrial Revolution, found expression in the last words of Frankenstein to Walton on the ship “Seek happiness in tranquility, and avoid ambition, even if it be only the apparently innocent one of distinguishing yourself in science and discoveries.” (Garrett, 96) Now let us see how Edwards Scissorhands was directed on the same pattern as that of Frankenstein. Avon seller Peg Boggs, a saleswoman, after losses at the local market, visit a pseudo mansion, located atop a hill. Here she comes across Edward Scissorhands, an artificial man created by an eccentric scientific inventor. The inventor had left Edward’s hands unfinished. Instead, he had put long ‘scissor like blades’. Struck by Edward’s isolation, Peg brings Edward home into her family. Here Edward falls in love with her teenage daughter Kim. Soon Edward finds his rival in Kim’s suitor Jim, who tries to malign his identity in all possible ways. Jim also tries to mobilize the support of the villagers against Edward, which he is able to do quite successfully. However, in the end Kim and Edward re-unite. This is where the novel varies from Frankenstein because the latter ends with a sad note. Still the incidents throughout are strong enough for Edwards Scissorhands to feel very much like his “obvious precedent, Frankenstein”. (SCI FI UK, 2008) Like Frankenstein, where the creator narrates in flashback about the misery he encountered after creating the monster to Walton, Kim in the same way in the movie ‘Edward Scissorhands’ narrates to her granddaughter about the loving relationship she shared with Edward. The only difference between the two pieces of work is that, while the monster in Mary Shelley’s novel, was an epitome of destruction, the artificial creation of Edward in Tim Burton’s movie was more driven by emotions. Edward, an artificial creation like Frankenstein, cannot judge between right and wrong. This is very well expressed, when the psychologist in the film says, “The years spent in isolation have not equipped him with the tools necessary to judge right from wrong. He's had no context. He's been completely without guidance. Furthermore, his work - the garden sculptures, hairstyles and so forth - indicate that he's a highly imaginative... uh... character. It seems clear that his awareness of what we call reality is radically underdeveloped.” Edward Scissorhands seems to harbor more humane characteristics than the monster in Frankenstein. When asked by the interviewer, about the best aspect Edward enjoyed in town, Edward had replied “The friends I've made.” Jim, perpetually jealous of Edward, tries to convince Kim by speaking ill about Edward “Forget about holding her hand, man. Think about the damage he could do to other places.” In this essay, we have examined the monstrosity of Frankenstein’s creation and the humane characteristics of another artificial invention in Edward Scissorhands. Bibliography 1) Frankenstein Book Notes Summary. BookRags (2000-2006). Retrieved from: http://www.bookrags.com/notes/frk/BIO.html) on January 1, 2009. 2) Levine George and U. C. Knoepflmacher. The Endurance of Frankenstein: Essays on Mary Shelley's Novel. University of California Press, 1982 3) Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft. Contributed by James Rieger. Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus, the 1818 Text. University of Chicago Press, 1982 4) Garret Peter K. Gothic Reflections: Narrative Force in Nineteenth-century Fiction. Cornell University Press, 2003 5) Edward Scissorhands. SCI FI UK. 2008. Retrieved from: http://www.scifi.co.uk/articles/2008/03/edward-scissorhands.php on January 1, 2009. Read More