Whale’s use of the horror genre conventions in Frankenstein (1931) undoubtedly established his cinematic adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic horror novel as one of the most iconic horror films of all times; an isolated dark castle, a mad scientist hybridized with his lab machines, a “deformed” assistant, a cemetery, a monstrous creation that comes to life, brains in jars, a damsel in distress, a maddening crowd. The harrowing effect of the superposition of narrative and mise-en-scène choices is augmented by the German expressionist set design, the low angle framing and the dramatic close ups. But what surprisingly escapes Whale’s selection of conventional horror props is mirrors; there is not a single mirror used in the entire film! At a closer look though, symbolic mirroring devices are repeatedly employed, offering an extra dimension to horror aesthetics, narrative meaning and characters’ depth.

In Mary Shelley’s novel, an actual mirror is used to transcend the creature’s perception of its own image from a monster to a unique being: “I saw and heard of none like me” (Schor, 2003: 65). Whale is expanding this doubling effect to other characters and their relationship and intimate connection with each other. Dr Frankenstein ceases to be a doctor during the night of the galvanization experiment, and becomes a magician, a madman, or even God! The lab experiment is turned into a spectacle, and the lab itself to a magician’s stage: the futuristic apparatus, the assistant, the audience, the lightning, the deafening sounds. Frankenstein’s white coat resembles a straitjacket. He calls out to his audience “one man crazy, three very sane spectators” and right after the success of the experiment he ecstatically screams “now I know what it feels like to be God”. But the most effective representation of Frankenstein is that of his own creation: the Monster. Whale is projecting this diabolical megalomaniacal side of Frankenstein’s character by the use of low-angle close-ups, pompous language and tone, and extreme influence over everyone around him, his assistant, professor, fiancée, and most of all his Monster.

Fritz’s character is also juxtaposed with that of the Monster’s, during the scenes where he tortures him with the torch and the whip. The Monster’s deformed body seems to be Fritz’s own reflection; is Fritz taking a revenge on those who marginalized him based on his appearance by torturing the Monster? Is he trying to overpower him and steal a little bit of his master’s domination, praising himself as the co-creator? Or is he simply jealous seeing Frankenstein’s dedication to the Monster and fears he will take his place? Yet Fritz, as any human in submission, fails to see that both himself and the Monster are prisoners of their master, and this greatly enforces this mirroring device.

If freedom is what the Monster is yearning for, he does get a glimpse of it when he meets the girl by the lake. Even if that moment lasts only for a couple of minutes, this doubling device unveils the most intelligible elements of the creature’s character: innocence and “longing to be sympathetically seen, to be the object of a desiring gaze” (Heffernan, 1997: 158). The flowers and the sunny lake are contrasting the horrific lab and dark castle used earlier. The girl shows no fear, takes him by the hand, presents him with a flower, and the Monster smiles for the first time. His infant-like playfulness knows no better than tragically mimic her game, leading to yet another mirroring effect with the scene of her father carrying her dad body through the village, possibly the most ironic in human reality; that of death and celebration.   

Filmography

Whale, James, Frankenstein, 1931, Film. USA: Universal Pictures Corp.

Bibliography

Heffernan, J.A.W. (1997) ‘Looking at the Monster: “Frankenstein” and Film’, Critical Inquiry, 24(1), pp. 133–158.

Schor, E. (2003) ‘Frankenstein and Film’, in Schor, E. (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to Mary Shelley. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 63–83.