Baron Victor Frankenstein: Mad Scientist extraordinaire

A running theme in the genre of European Horror is that of the Mad Scientist. In this essay I point out how the depiction of Baron Frankenstein (specifically in the film Curse of Frankenstein) does or does not adhere to specific Mad Scientist paradigms within that genre, according to various scholarly essays that have been written about the topic.

HIS357
Troy
7 August 2009

Baron Victor Frankenstein: Mad Scientist extraordinaire

One of the most enduring images we have seen in 20th century horror films is that of the “Mad Scientist”. As discussed in class lectures, the archetypical mad scientist adheres to various conventions which define him as such. In Terence Fisher’s The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), the character of Baron Victor Frankenstein exhibits many of these attributes, thereby illustrating the definition of this role quite well.
The Baron we see in Curse of Frankenstein is an interesting character because he is less personable, less forgivable, than his counterpart in the novel (and indeed in other film adaptations). The mad scientist often exhibits something lacking physically, thus he makes up for this with his over-achieving quest to play God. Yet for this Frankenstein, there is nothing outwardly indicative of his increasingly malevolent personality. His physique is unassuming; he’s distinguished but not overly attractive; slim but not particularly athletic. He dresses quite well, befitting his status; his speech reflects his privileged upbringing and considerable education. In fact, Frankenstein is a perfect gentleman and 19th century aristocrat; this is part of what makes his character so scary. Neither we nor any of the other characters in the story (even those close to him) can believe he is capable of performing any of the atrocities that he commits. Frankenstein’s behavior is dangerously arrogant from the very beginning of the movie, a characteristic which sets him up to become somewhat of a villain as the story progresses. He does exhibit several of the definitions of being a mad scientist as discussed in class: he does isolate himself from the community—almost as soon as the film starts and he enlists Paul to be his tutor, he shuts himself off almost completely from society. In order to get his grisly deeds done, he begins to operate only at night and only with other people who would also be involved in such sordid affairs; that is to say, the scum of society.
The most important characteristic of Frankenstein that is common to all mad scientists is that of developing a God complex. The further these experiments progress, the more consumed with playing God the character becomes; and no matter how gruesome the results, Frankenstein believes he is above them, believing he can somehow fix whatever went wrong.

In "Horror: A Thematic History in Fiction and Film', Darryl Jones emphasizes the fact that most of the experiments utilized by these mad scientists begin as “fundamentally benign scientific endeavour[s]” (Paul comments on the possible medical advancement that the re-animation of dead tissue could have within the medical world), but that—usually through the fault of the increasingly delusional mad scientist—“go awry” (Jones 52). “Science” itself does not actually play a large role in The Curse of Frankenstein. Though the creatures are shown being animated and re-animated through the use of impressive high-voltage circuitry and bubbling vats of chemicals, the actual scientific processes of the procedure are not explicitly shown. This is one of the only similarities the film adaptation has to the novel, and is apparently not a major concern for the audience; we seem to be able to momentarily suspend our cynicism for a story whose entire premise centers around a scientific accomplishment so impossible as to be considered supernatural.

We are an educated, technologically-savvy society; ordinarily we would praise and admire Frankenstein for being able to create life and make possible the impossible. Yet Frankenstein’s lust for power, his obsession with playing God, and his ultimate descent into madness render him distasteful in the eyes of the audience. We question his morality and find his ever-increasing selfishness objectionable. Therefore, he cannot be classified as a hero but rather an anti-hero, and in this case even a borderline villain. The Curse of Frankenstein is an unusual case because there is no clear-cut protagonist in the film. Though the storyline centers around Frankenstein, his irredeemable behavior causes the audience to turn against him and side with Paul, who seems to have stronger morals; yet Paul’s failure to intervene ultimately enables Frankenstein in his macabre escapades. His saving grace comes at the end of the film, in which he finally puts his silence to good use: Frankenstein is sent to his death and thus punished for his crimes. In this story, the most antagonistic thing is Frankenstein’s mad scientist persona, his all-consuming desire to perpetuate his practices no matter the terrible cost. We cannot fully root for any one character and definitively say that he or she is the protagonist of the film; so perhaps we will just leave it at this: the entire cast of characters and the story itself (Jones 61) may function as a combined protagonist because their actions collectively represent the empathy of the audience.

Baron Frankenstein is the archetypical “mad scientist” because he fits very nicely into certain definitions of this role: he descends into insanity, he isolates himself from the community, he has delusions of grandeur and a God complex; his experiments begin innocuously enough, yet go awry and eventually spiral out of his control. The Curse of Frankenstein provides an interesting example of the “mad scientist” persona because its is a little different from the norm; Curse’s Frankenstein is darker, less accessible man, more mad than scientist; therefore from the audience’s point of view he is a much scarier character.