The following contains spoilers for Guillermo Del Toro’s FrankensteinWhile Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of Mary Shelly’s novel is fairly faithful, Frankenstein takes some compelling liberties with the source material. A foundational piece of science fiction and horror literature, Frankenstein has inspired countless adaptations over the years. Del Toro’s is one of the most visually stunning, infused with his approach to art design.

In the adaptation process, however, del Toro shifts certain character moments and relationships to underscore specific themes of the novel. In the process, Guillermo del Toro also introduces a very modern touch to the story, reinventing parts of the original story and fitting them more closely alongside his typical artistic approach.

Frankenstein Makes Victor The Villain Of His Own Story

Frankenstein plays with the source material in interesting ways, including emphasizing the darker aspects of Victor Frankenstein. Even in Victor’s recollection of his history, he is never necessarily portrayed in a flattering light. Instead, Victor is depicted as needlessly harsh, casually cruel, and quick to anger, a sense of hubris driving his desperate experiments.

It’s a dark divergence from the way Victor has been portrayed in past films, recalling more of the grim Byronic Hero of the source material. His self-centered focus and inability to accept his own faults are amplified, playing into his troubled connection to his brother’s fiancée, his struggles with his family, and ultimately his conflict with his creation.

Victor always shifts the blame to others, easily lying through his teeth to convince people that he is not at fault for the deaths of Henrich and Elizabeth. It takes the death of his brother and his final words being a condemnation of Victor as the “true monster” that seems to finally make Victor realize his own failings.

Even then, Victor tries to take revenge on self-reflection, leading to a bloody and painful hunt. It’s only in his dying hours that Victor seems to fully recognize what he’s become, genuinely admitting to his regrets and begging the creature for forgiveness. The fact that he receives it underscores the humanity of the creature, letting Victor die at peace.

The Monster’s Tragic Romance With Elizabeth Is The Emotional Key To Del Toro’s Frankenstein

One of the more emotional elements of Frankenstein is the connection that develops between Elizabeth and the creature. Upon first meeting, there’s an instant spark between the two. As opposed to the cruel lessons of Victor, Elizabeth offers empathy. This is when the creature first exhibits true humanity, laying the groundwork for his eventual arc.

It’s also implied to be the final straw for Victor. When he decides the creature was a mistake, he gives the creature a possible reprieve if he can say another word beyond “Victor.” When the creature says “Elizabeth,” Victor still tries to kill him, implicitly out of jealous anger over her spurning his advances.

The concept of a romance between Elizabeth and the monster makes sense, given the history of Del Toro’s filmography — this is the filmmaker who won an Academy Award for The Shape of Water. This thread ends up being one of the most tragic elements of Frankenstein, however. When the creature hunts down Victor, he discovers Elizabeth on her wedding night.

They have a brief reunion where they seem to reconnect, but Elizabeth is fatally wounded when Victor sees them and fires a gun at the creature. Mortally wounded, she dies alone with the creature, confessing she was never meant for this world. Because of the creature’s immortality, however, he has no chance to be reunited with her in death.

This is when the creature begins to act genuinely monstrous to Victor, lashing out in a more vindictive way. Frankenstein was never a happy story, but these elements add a painfully tragic edge to the conflict between the creature and his creator, the latter’s inability to accept the former leading to the death of the woman they both loved.

What’s Going On With Frankenstein’s Angel Of Death?

A frequent visual motif in Frankenstein is the archangel that appears to Victor in his dreams. Based on a statue that he had as a child and retains in adulthood, Victor’s few moments of embracing faith over the natural sciences around him stem from his prayers to the angel for guidance and ᴀssistance.

Victor sees a vision of the angel repeatedly throughout the film, appearing to him amidst flames in his dreams. However, the angel eventually pulls off its beautiful mask and reveals a skeletal face, transforming the signal of hope amidst the chaos into a portent of doom. This reflects his gradual descent from lofty ambition to bitter regret.

The fire surrounding the angel teases the eventual fate of Victor’s laboratory, burnt to rubble in his bid to destroy his creation. The angel could be seen as a representation of several elements of the story. The most obvious interpretation seems to be as the angel of death, hanging over Victor and reminding him that it cannot be truly conquered.

However, it could also be seen as a manifestation of Victor’s internal ambition. When he sees his work as proper and befitting the natural sciences, it is angelic. Once he has turned against the creature, the angel reveals its skeletal face. This is reflective of Victor’s internal emotional state and his views at his own actions.

The angel of death could also be seen as a portent for Victor’s actions across the film, growing closer as more die around him. His first vision of the flaming angel comes after the death of his mother, and the visions occur again as Henrich, Elizabeth, and William perish around him. In a sense, Victor was their angel of death.

How Frankenstein Changes The Ending Of The Novel

Frankenstein‘s framing device is taken directly from the novel of the same name. In both versions, Victor tells a captain in the Arctic his story before they are found by the monster. In both versions, the creature comes to mourn the death of his creator. However, the exact circumstances of this finale and what becomes of the creature afterward differ.

In the book, the creature does not reach Victor before his death. Victor doesn’t die admitting to his mistakes and his regrets, instead trying to convince the boat to sail on for the same glory he was once ambitious enough to seek. In the film, Victor humbly asks the creature for forgiveness, eventually receiving it before he pᴀsses.

Victor’s final conversation with his creation also implores the creature to embrace life. This leads to the ambiguous nature of the film’s ending, setting the creature up for a unique and unknowable future. This is a big divergence from the novel, which instead ended with the creature admitting that with his creator’s death, he’s finally ready to kill himself.

A big theme of Del Toro’s version of Frankenstein is the creature’s inability to die, a result of Victor’s experiments leading to an advanced healing factor for the creature. The ending of the book takes on a more openly somber tone than the film, which instead ends on a bittersweet note of hope for the creature and his future.

The True Meaning Of Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein

Frankenstein is a movie about the monstrous qualities of humanity, determining that the greatest failings of people often stem from their own choices and mistakes. Ego and ambition drive men to great heights, but also make monsters out of men. Even beyond Victor, this theme can be seen in the fates of Leopold Frankenstein and Henrich Harlander.

Leopold was Victor’s father, a brilliant surgeon who was determined that his son would follow in his footsteps. This led him to physically hit his son during their lessons, a trait that was pᴀssed down to Victor. The film parallels Victor’s failed teaching to the creature with Leopold’s own abusive treatment, creating a thread between their worst qualities.

Henrich is Victor’s primary benefactor, initially presenting himself as intrigued by the chance to be a part of history. In reality, he suffers from syphilis and hopes that the process can be used to prolong his life. When Victor bluntly tells him it won’t work, Henrich lashes out in a bid that damages the machinery and gets himself killed.

By contrast, the blind old man whom the creature befriends is humble and kind. His death after a wolf attack is portrayed as quiet and somber, with his humanity shining through in his final moments. This has a major impact on the creature, who learns not just to read and speak from him but also how to be human.

Across Frankenstein, it is the rash and angry actions of men that get them and others killed. From Victor all the way down to the nameless men who attack the creature and are killed in self-defense, violence is met in kind by the world at large. In Frankenstein, the most powerful emotional growth comes from kindness and empathy.