Frankenstein Comparative Essay

The novel Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley is a classic work of literature analyzed and discussed in thousands of higher education institutions every day. Since two hundred years ago when the novel was first published under an anonymous name, there have been several film adaptions created to try to emulate Shelley’s writing in the cinematic medium. Many times, when modifying a book into a movie, directors either change or eliminate many crucial elements of the plotline in order to make the film shorter or more appealing to the average audience. The 1994 film adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein directed by Kenneth Branagh is considered by critics one of the closest film adaptations made based on , made by Branagh throughout the movie that help to enhance the meaning of Shelley’s original work. The first scene in which Branagh changes a significant aspect of Shelley’s work is with the death of Victor’s mother. In Shelley’s novel, Caroline Frankenstein dies after contracting scarlet fever from her daughter Elizabeth. On page 25 of Frankenstein, Shelley states, “When she heard that her favorite was recovering, she could no longer debar …show more content…
The scenes throughout the film help to highlight the key moments in Shelley’s novel and help to capture the viewer’s attention during these scenes through Branagh’s use of suspense and his dramatization of the scenes. Although the film has many details that are quite different from Shelley’s novel, the change in details help to enhance Shelley’s original work by adding symbolism to many of the clips. For example, the addition pf the scene after Elizabeth’s death in the movie contains a certain amount of symbolism the book does not include. These elements of symbolism are essential for the overall plotline of Shelley’s work and help viewers to think about the symbolic reasoning behind the