Throughout the semester I have learned to pay close attention to my writing. With the encouraged peer review sessions and open discussions about our papers, I have learned the importance of proofreading and the importance of rethinking how I word papers so that my readers will understand me. Throughout my remaining years here at Washington College, I plan to keep up habits of looking over my writings and reworking ideas into them.

            With Victor’s experiments, he reveals an immense passion to become a creator of life. Perhaps this feeling derives from the death of his mother. He probably adapts the desire to be in control of such an uncontrollable concept from this. When he says, “No father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs,” he suggests an attitude of superiority over God Himself (58). Indirectly, he refers to himself as God. With his idea that “life and death [are] ideal bounds, which [ he] should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into [the] dark world, he suggests that he could easily acquire the almighty powers of God (58). However, Victor’s actions differ greatly from God’s.

Upon God’s creation of man, He continues to love him and remain by his side. He loves mankind unconditionally, even after Adam and Eve betray Him. God is supposed to love each individual despite his actions. Victor, though, loses affection for his creation the moment it opens its eyes. Before bringing it to life, Victor claims to have “selected his features as beautiful,” however this quickly changes afterward and he refers to him as “the wretch—the miserable monster whom [he has] created” (60-61). Victor immediately abandons him, no better than the countless others who flee at the sight of the monster, which contradicts Victor’s desire to act as someone of a “higher power” in his role playing of God. With the creature’s first breath of life, Victor immediately feels the “beauty of the dream [vanish], and the breathless horror and disgust [fill] his heart” (61). He no longer has pride for his work and resents the product of his labors. On the other hand, God never judges his creations based upon physical appearance, nor feels regret for making them in the first place.

Victor can also be compared to Adam and Satan in certain aspects. Both Adam and Victor question the world and seek understanding. As Victor describes his accounts to Walton, he says, “You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been” (39). Victor pursues knowledge to a dangerous level. The constant experimentation and yearning for power beyond man’s expectation leads him to realize the possibility of consequences for knowing too much. Adam tends to inquire about the ways of the universe to the angel Raphael, which suggests a slight temptation to see what answers the forbidden fruit will give him. In the end, it literally is a serpent that allows the “gratification” of Adam’s query, giving him the answers he covets along with the undesirable aftermath of the deed.

Frankenstein’s monster also shares similar character traits with Adam. Both are created for the pleasures of their masters, and desire to learn about their worlds. The monster watches his human neighbors for days in order to understand their behaviors. He also listens to them with the intention of learning their language, which he eventually accomplishes. As his desire to feel companionship grows, the creature tells Victor, “You must create a female for me, with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being” (128). Out of sympathy for the monster, Frankenstein complies with this wish, just as God creates Eve for Adam so that he can have a companion. God created animals so that Adam could choose which one he would prefer to mate with. When Adam does not approve the choices, God creates woman from one of Adam’s ribs. With this new variation of his own species, Adam is satisfied and falls in love with Eve. Frankenstein’s monster states, “My companion must be of the same species, and have the same defects” (128). He will only be content with a mate of the same creation. Both Adam and the creature yearn for companionship but only with someone like them.

Satan shares the same rebellious spirit with Victor. Just as Victor intends to surpass God’s powers, Satan attempts to do the same. Satan becomes dissatisfied with having a lower position of power under God and unsuccessfully tries to overpower him, which ultimately leads to his demise. When Victor seeks to take on the role of God, he is punished as well with the regret and mental turmoil caused by his creation. Frankenstein’s monster can also relate to Satan. Both characters feel a chaos inside of them that leads to wrong actions. The monster claims, “I bore a hell within me; and, finding myself unsympathised with, wished to tear up the trees, spread havoc and destruction around me, and then to have sat down and enjoyed the ruin” (122). The creature enjoys spreading mayhem but only as a result of the torture and loneliness within him.

Just as the reader has to read deeply into the novel to detect and understand the inter-textuality that Shelley incorporates, the viewer must read deeply into the imagery of Branagh’s film to understand the symbolic references to Genesis. More specifically, during the creation scene Branagh incorporates Shelley’s casting of the roles of God and Jesus. Victor Frankenstein claims the almighty power of God as he creates life from the dead; however, it seems as if he plays a dual role in this scene by also playing man, who crucifies Christ. The monster is portrayed as a Christ figure as he is accidently chained up in Victor’s laboratory by Victor himself, mimicking the crucifixion of Christ. Victor feels no pity for the position he has now placed his creation in, immediately feeling regretful about creating it in the first place. Almost instantly after giving him life, Victor leaves the monster to die. The monster’s escape from his chain imprisonment and his creator’s home imitates the resurrection of Christ. The entire incident shows Victor is no better than any other man. Just like those who crucified Jesus, Victor along with the townspeople fears the unknown, reacting irrationally and cruelly.

The theme of Genesis appears again with the rebirth of Elizabeth. The monster sees Elizabeth as the supposed Eve to his Adam, with Victor once again playing the role of God. When thinking of Elizabeth this way, the viewer can find symbolism in the manner in which she dies for the final time. Eve chooses to eat the forbidden fruit and end the life God intends for her along with Adam who voluntarily follows her example, going down with her. Elizabeth intentionally sets herself on fire, relinquishing her second chance at life because she would rather die than live with a hideous face. Frankenstein’s monster also sets himself on fire. Both the monster and Adam follow their loves to their fate. Branagh sees the connection to religion as a highly important aspect in Shelley’s story. Since religion is universal, it serves as something the majority of readers and viewers can understand, thus enabling them to read deeper into the storyline.

It seems fitting that Shelley would bring Milton’s Paradise Lost into her story. With Frankenstein’s theme of creation, the story of Genesis compliments it seamlessly. Frankenstein more forwardly plays the role of God while at the same time, shares characteristics with Satan and Adam. Similarly, the monster relates to Satan and Adam, which also indirectly creates a connection between Frankenstein and his creature, suggesting that the two may not be as different as they initially appear. Shelley could have done this in order to prove that Frankenstein was no better than his monster. The story of Genesis acts as the connection between all of mankind. The fact that both Frankenstein and his monster can relate to it proves that they are one in the same. Branagh accomplishes this message through many scenes, especially the creation scene with moments such as one when the monster stumbles around in amniotic fluid, which gives him characteristics of a child just learning how to walk. Another moment shows a camera angle that closes up to the monster’s hand holding onto Frankenstein’s hand, and both hands match in physical appearance perfectly aside from a slight size difference. With scenes such as these, Branagh shows the connections between mankind that Shelley emphasized. Kenneth Branagh takes Mary Shelley’s story to the next level. He closely pertains to the original message that Shelley sends through her novel. With the transition from one medium to the other, however, Branagh has the advantage of using visuals to portray this message. In the new day and age, this approach is perhaps more effective. Film is a way in which visionaries like Branagh can reach through to the audience, and Branagh does so with imagery that sticks with the viewer.

            Despite its location, text is text. Whether it appears printed in a paperbound book or on the screen of a computer, the information remains the same nonetheless. Hayles describes the manner in which different types of media mimic each other. Electronic books online may have functions that allow the reader to dog-ear a page or virtually add a paper clip to the top of the page as one would do with a printed page. The mimicking can go both ways as well. There are cases where printed pages are made to look like hypertext. This is described as “media-specific
analysis, which moves from the language of ‘text’ to a more precise vocabulary of screen and page, digital program and analogue interface, code and ink…computer and book” (Hayles). With this description, a printed book and hypertext can be seen as one in the same, so it should not matter which method in which the reader chooses to gain the information from. If anything, Hayles demonstrates the ease of transference, the flexibility, and the equivalency of text despite the manner it presents itself to the reader.

            Although Patchwork Girl is presented as fragmented and requires a piece-by-piece reading of the story, its availability in this manner aids in interpretation of the overall theme in the story. The hypertext forces the reader to read the novel in “patches” here and there and can be read in a variety of sequences. This fact symbolizes the disposition of the main character in the story, who is created from multiple body parts from other creatures. Each page and each link represents another patch, which compares to a separate patch within a patchwork quilt. Every patch in a quilt takes you to a different time and place, a different memory. It does not move in a chronological sequence, and neither does Patchwork girl. This is how Shelley Jackson intends the story to be. Patchwork Girl succeeds as a novel because, by being presented in this way, the reader is encouraged to interact with the text and gain a deeper understanding of Jackson’s point. Jackson’s representation of her story is brilliant and well thought out, which gives it adequate status as a novel.

            With a book, the reader is forced to read in one direction, his gradual understanding controlled by the author. The author dictates when and how the reader will learn about the story in a fixed order. In Patchwork Girl, though, the reader has the freedom to discover aspects of the story on his own terms, able to go in any direction he chooses with the easy navigation of one-click-away accessibility. Interactivity between reader and medium exists with hypertext, while a book lacks this ability. Hayles points out that “when [readers] read electronic hypertexts, [they] do so in environments that include the computer as an active cognizer performing sophisticated acts of interpretation and representation, [meaning that] cognition is distributed not only between writer, reader, and designer but also between humans and machines.” This implies that with hypertexts, there exists an additional source for aiding in the reader’s understanding of the text. The computer is reacting with the reader as well as the reader with it.

            Despite how it is presented, a novel keeps its identity as such. Shelley Jackson’s Patchwork Girl is a novel by definition – it contains a plot, characters and a theme. It encourages interactivity between reader and story that could never be achieved through a printed book. What matters in determining the legitimacy of a novel is the substance of the story and the quality of the experience the reader gains from it. A book should never be judged by its cover. In this case, the cover is presented through the technology of a new era.

Jackson, Shelley. Patchwork Girl. A Modern Monster. Hypertext.

Hayles, Katherine. Flickering Connectivities in Patchwork Girl: The Importance of

Media-Specific Analysis. University of California Los Angeles. 2000.

Number 3: mimicking media—demonstrates the ease of transference, the flexibility, the sameness of text despite its location and format

                                  **It doesn’t matter how the text is presented. Hypertext is simply a faster, more efficient manner in which it is presented.

Number 9:  “A corollary is that the flat page of print remains visually and kinesthetically accessible to the user, whereas the textons of electronic texts can be brought into view only by using special techniques and software.”

Number 12: “Cognition is distributed not only between writer, reader, and designer (who may or may not be separate people) but also between humans and machines (which may or may not be regarded as separate entities).”

?-Number 13: Hayles refers to the reader as a “cyborg.”

Number 24: “For the female monster, it is mere common sense to say that multiple subjectivities inhabit the same body, for the different creatures from whose parts she is made retain their distinctive personalities, making her an assemblage rather than a unified self.”

                        **This not only describes the character of the hypertext, but the hypertext itself.

Number 30: “Through its flickering nature, the text-as-image teaches the user that it is possible to bring about changes in the screenic text that would be impossible with print.”

**Number 41

            More specifically, during the creation scene Branagh incorporates Shelley’s casting of the roles of God and Jesus. Victor Frankenstein claims the almighty power of God as he creates life from the dead; however, it seems as if he plays a dual role in this scene by also playing man, who crucifies Christ. The monster is portrayed as a Christ figure as he is accidently chained up in Victor’s laboratory by Victor himself, mimicking the crucifixion of Christ. Victor feels no pity for the position he has now placed his creation in, immediately feeling regretful about creating it in the first place. Almost instantly after giving him life, Victor leaves the monster to die. The monsters escape from his chain imprisonment and his creator’s home imitates the resurrection of Christ. The entire incident shows Victor is no better than any other man. Just like those who crucified Jesus, Victor along with the townspeople fears the unknown, reacting irrationally and cruelly.

The theme of Genesis appears again with the rebirth of Elizabeth. The monster sees Elizabeth as the supposed Eve to his Adam, with Victor once again playing the role of God. When thinking of Elizabeth this way, the viewer can find symbolism in the manner in which she dies for the final time. Eve chooses to eat the forbidden fruit and end the life God intends for her along with Adam who voluntarily follows her example, going down with her. Elizabeth intentionally sets herself on fire, relinquishing her second chance at life because she would rather die than live with a hideous face. Frankenstein’s monster also sets himself on fire. Both the monster and Adam follow their loves to their fate. Branagh probably sees the connection to religion as a highly important aspect in Shelley’s story. Since religion is universal, it serves as something the majority of readers and viewers can understand, thus enabling them to read deeper into the storyline.

This creation scene also begins the series of points throughout the movie that the monster reveals a connection to man. When the monster emerges, covered in amniotic fluid, he stumbles around like a mere child learning how to walk. There is also a point where he runs his hands along Victor’s face as if trying to memorize it as an infant learns to recognize its mother. These visuals guide the viewer to think of the monster in this manner, implanting the belief that he is not much different than a regular human being, even though at first glance the townspeople and perhaps the audience, as well, see him as a monster. In addition, a brief moment occurs when the camera closes in on the monster’s hand inside of Victor’s as they try to find balance upon the spilled amniotic fluid. The two hands differ only slightly in size. The monster’s hand otherwise matches Victor’s hand perfectly. Throughout the film, Branagh reveals his purpose of straying from the tendencies of other directors to give the monster inhuman characteristics. He intends to remain as true to Shelley’s story as possible, which does not include the popular illiterate Frankenstein monster with green skin and bolts on the side of his head. This scene powerfully demonstrates Branagh’s point.

 Kenneth Branagh makes certain camera angle decisions that send subtle messages to his audience. During the scene where the monster attacks Elizabeth on her wedding night, the viewer is shown two different perspectives of the incident. Initially, the viewer observes the scene as the victim looking above to see the monster hovering overhead. Very quickly, however, the roles change, and the scene is viewed from the monster’s perspective. As the monster’s hand reaches out to cover Elizabeth’s mouth, it becomes the hand of the viewer, and the viewer becomes the monster. Many directors of horror films choose this technique of allowing the audience to take on the role of the bad guy. Branagh does this in order to force the viewer to see from the monster’s point of view. His message through this technique is that human beings are the true monsters and that the capability of evil lives in everyone. By seeing the scene through the creature’s eyes, the viewer plays the role of his own potential as a human being. Everyone sees the monster as so only due to his physical appearance. As Branagh shows this, he forces the audience to reevaluate its ability to accept others rather than act cruelly toward them. In Frankenstein movies that present the monster as inhuman looking, the director allows less sympathy for how the creature is perceived, because in altering his appearance, the director allows little room for the audience to see him as anything other than a monster.

Kenneth Branagh takes Mary Shelley’s story to the next level. He closely pertains to the original message that Shelley sends through her novel. With the transition from one medium to the other, however, Branagh has the advantage of using visuals to portray this message. In the new day and age, this approach is probably more effective. Film is a way in which visionaries like Branagh can reach through to the audience, and Branagh does so with imagery that sticks with the viewer.

           More specifically, during the creation scene Branagh incorporates Shelley’s casting of the roles of God and Jesus. Victor Frankenstein claims the almighty power of God as he creates life from the dead; however, he it seems as if he plays a dual role in this scene by also playing man, who crucifies Christ.  The monster is portrayed as a Christ figure as he is accidently chained up in Victor’s laboratory by Victor himself, mimicking the crucifixion of Christ. Victor feels no pity for the position he has now placed his creation in. Almost instantly after giving him life, Victor leaves the monster to die. The monsters escape from his chain imprisonment and his creator’s home imitates the resurrection of Christ. The fact that the next morning the monster attempted to eat bread from a sales cart references Christ “breaking bread.” The entire incident shows Victor no better  that man. Just like those who crucified Jesus, Victor along with the townspeople fears the unknown, reacting irrationally and cruelly.

           This creation scene also begins the series of points throughout the movie that the monster reveals a connection to man. When the monster emerges, covered in amniotic fluid, he stumbles around like a mere child learning how to walk. There is also a point where he runs his hands along Victor’s face as if trying to memorize his face as an infant learns to know who its mother is. These visuals guide the viewer to think of the monster in this manner, implanting the belief that it is not much different than a regular human being. 

•             Camera angles during monster attacking Elizabeth scene; point of view. 
•             Reborn Elizabeth as eve. Both monster and Elizabeth die in the same manner just as Adam and Eve went town together. Equality among man and woman in a relationship. 
•             Monster and Victor as one in the same: both murderers(in a sense), both die together.

With Victor’s experiments, he reveals an immense passion to become a creator of life. Perhaps this feeling derives from the death of his mother. He probably adapts the desire to be in control of such an uncontrollable concept from this. When he says, “No father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs,” he suggests an attitude of superiority over God Himself (58). Indirectly, he refers to himself as God. With his idea that “life and death [are] ideal bounds, which [ he] should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into [the] dark world, he suggests that he could easily acquire the almighty powers of God (58). However, Victor’s actions differ greatly from God’s.

Upon God’s creation of man, He continues to love him and remain by his side. He loves mankind unconditionally, even after Adam and Eve betray Him. God is supposed to love each individual despite his actions. Victor, though, loses affection for his creation the moment it opens its eyes. Before bringing it to life, Victor claims to have “selected his features as beautiful,” however this quickly changes afterward and he refers to him as “the wretch—the miserable monster whom [he has] created” (60-61). Victor immediately abandons him, no better than the countless others who flee at the sight of the monster, which contradicts Victor’s desire to act as someone of a “higher power” in his role playing of God. With the creature’s first breath of life, Victor immediately feels the “beauty of the dream [vanish], and the breathless horror and disgust [fill] his heart” (61). He no longer has pride for his work and resents the product of his labors. On the other hand, God never judges his creations based upon physical appearance, nor feels regret for making them in the first place.

Victor can also be compared to Adam and Satan in certain aspects. Both Adam and Victor question the world and seek understanding. As Victor describes his accounts to Walton, he says, “You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been” (39). Victor pursues knowledge to a dangerous level. The constant experimentation and yearning for power beyond man’s expectation leads him to realize the possibility of consequences for knowing too much. Adam tends to inquire about the ways of the universe to the angel Raphael, which suggests a slight temptation to see what answers the forbidden fruit will give him. In the end, it literally is a serpent that allows the “gratification” of Adam’s query, giving him the answers he covets along with the undesirable aftermath of the deed.

Frankenstein’s monster also shares similar character traits with Adam. Both are created for the pleasures of their masters, and desire to learn about their worlds. The monster watches his human neighbors for days in order to understand their behaviors. He also listens to them with the intention of learning their language, which he eventually accomplishes. As his desire to feel companionship grows, the creature tells Victor, “You must create a female for me, with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being” (128). Out of sympathy for the monster, Frankenstein complies with this wish, just as God creates Eve for Adam so that he can have a companion. God created animals so that Adam could choose which one he would prefer to mate with. When Adam does not approve the choices, God creates woman from one of Adam’s ribs. With this new variation of his own species, Adam is satisfied and falls in love with Eve. Frankenstein’s monster states, “My companion must be of the same species, and have the same defects” (128). He will only be content with a mate of the same creation. Both Adam and the creature yearn for companionship but only with someone like them.

Satan shares the same rebellious spirit with Victor. Just as Victor intends to surpass God’s powers, Satan attempts to do the same. Satan becomes dissatisfied with having a lower position of power under God and unsuccessfully tries to overpower him, which ultimately leads to his demise. When Victor seeks to take on the role of God, he is punished as well with the regret of his creation and mental turmoil caused by his creation. Frankenstein’s monster can also relate to Satan. Both characters feel a chaos inside of them that leads them to wrong actions. The monster claims, “I bore a hell within me; and, finding myself unsympathised with, wished to tear up the trees, spread havoc and destruction around me, and then to have sat down and enjoyed the ruin” (122). The creature enjoys spreading mayhem but only as a result of the torture and loneliness within him.

It seems fitting that Shelley would bring Milton’s Paradise Lost into her story. With Frankenstein’s theme of creation, the story of Genesis compliments it seamlessly. Frankenstein more forwardly plays the role of God while at the same time, shares characteristics with Satan and Adam. Similarly, the monster relates to Satan and Adam, which also indirectly creates a connection between Frankenstein and his creature, suggesting that the two may not be as different as they initially appear. Shelley could have done this in order to prove that Frankenstein was no better than his monster. The story of Genesis acts as the connection between all of mankind. The fact that both Frankenstein and his monster can relate to it proves that they are one in the same.