My favorite line from Frankenstein: “I have love in me the likes of which you could scarcely imagine, and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy one, I will indulge the other”.
I still think Victor's greatest sin was abandoning the monster, not creating it. If he had cared for it like it was a living thing, or even just taken responsibility for it, than so much pain would have been avoided. But instead he simply chose to see him as an experiment gone wrong until it was already too late. That and not stepping in for Justine like wtf dude
Totally agree. Like, only after someone is unjustly killed did he muster the courage to confront the monster. Frankenstein is the villain of the story.
the people that made the adaptations thought it was a cool concept but didn't care enough to emphasize the details. that's my guess anyway, it happens all the time
And what do you bet that Henry was like "Whoah, you are SO very much not Victor...who are you?" and quite likely had a conversation with it BEFORE it ripped his head off or whatever. Or would have tried if it hadn't raged on him immediately, I suppose...the story seemed to imply 'I saw him, and then I killed him too.' Henry is the kind of friend we all could use in our lives, I think...bless the man for his boundless decency and eternal patience!
you'd think he would have thought it was a bad idea when he started grave robbing but noooo he didn't realize his fuck up until it messed with HIS life
Honestly my favorite part. Humans can often get so invested in something that we disregard everything else and the realization that you've been dumb af can hit you like a brick.
Yeah, this story never really struck me as horrific. Even the concept never really scared me, it just seemed like it could go either way. The only scary part is what the monster looks like.
Can't wrap my head around how Victor has the creativity and intelligence to create the monster, yet after having it kill the 2 people closest to him; he doesn't realize his its threats were directed at the next person to be his closest relationship.
"I will be there at your wedding night" - oh this must mean he is going to kill me. well that was incredibly foolish for him to assume. I believe even without previous knowledge of frankensteins story the reader knows what is truly going to happen and is just watching the train wreck envelop as the daemon proceeds to murder his wife instead of him.
@@KossolaxtheForesworn i mean, that was my thought process. The wedding night would be the perfect place to end it, plus the 'if i cant have my bride, you dont get to have yours' thing could go both ways. either lisabeth dies or victor dies, and I assumed (foolishly) that victor would be the one being threatened.
Something that really stuck with me from the novel, of all things, was the Monster first encountering fire. He curls up next to a campfire for warmth, but recoils in pain when he tries to place his hands directly in the flames. Intentional or not, it works well as a metaphor for humanity's relationship with scientific advances. We will approach and nestle up to it for the sake of comfort but our ignorance often makes us forget how destructive it can be if we dive in recklessly.
isn't Prometheus the greek god that gifted humanity fire? and "Frankenstein the modern Prometheus" really fits with all that. I didn't bother googling if what i said is even right.
@@TheHippyProductions whats funny though is the manhattan project may lead to part of mankind’s saving grace. If nuclear fission becomes a reliable means to produce energy we will be able to eliminate so much pollution that climate change could be managed. Just moving away from fossil fueled power plants would lower global co2 emissions by nearly 20%.
Hey everyone, sorry for the confusion with uploading the video twice. Turns out, making a video a “premiere” makes it not show up for a lot of users and the video was getting a fraction of the traction it normally does. It didn’t even pop up in my second account’s feed lol. Hopefully you can see it now and sorry for those that have already seen it. Hope you enjoy and thank you for watching!
One of the most moving parts of this story was when the monster admitted he grew to love the family he was watching from a distance. I think it speaks to the depth of emotion in its purest form, and that only seems to fuel the tragedy because that love couldn’t be understood or reciprocated. Really makes you want to burst into tears.
I mean, it represents a lot of parasocial relationships that evolve into obsession. Isolated individuals usually form resentment when their admiration and love isn't reciprocated (e.g. crazy fans of pop idols or social media influencers).
and imagine if the creature had been treated as the child he was because even though the creature is in the physical form of an adult hes even at the point her only speaks to victor a few years old hes a massive extremely strong child who has been treated like a freak and a monster and abused by all but one person he has met if the creature had the chance to be nurtured properly and taught and showed love and kindness he could have become something totaly different
Totally. We all knew where ut was going from the get go. But it still crushed my heart when Felix attacked him. I was even cautiously hopeful of a second meeting, of the old man explaining the situation to them. But nope.
I truly think Frankenstein will remain relevant for as long as the human race exists. Simply one of the greatest stories ever told and the fact that Mary Shelley wrote the original short story when she was just 19 years old will never not blow my mind.
@@Nocturnewashere I'm sure she could never have imagined how ingrained it would become in future generations or just how much it would be adapted. It's often the case with 19th century and earlier writers and artists whose work obviously wasn't nearly as wide-spread in their own day. I have studied Shelley's life (a long time ago), and I'm pretty sure Frankenstein made an impact and continued to do so through her life, but obviously the 20th century and film is what really brought it to new levels, albeit in a completely bastardised form.
More was expected of people earlier on back then, even if she explicitly wasn't promoted as such. Nowadays, people wander aimlessly in their 30's and 40's, whereas 150 years ago it would be outrageous that you didn't have your life in place as far as personal, professional and even political.
@@doddsino Very true, but I think it would be tough to define what was expected of Mary by others, and even by herself, and what she accomplished at that age. With our perspective now given how significant Frankenstein is today and likely always will be, it especially seems like nothing short of a miracle for her to have achieved what she did so early in her life. Yes she was born to highly intelligent parents (though her mother died soon after her birth) and was clearly well educated, but she had a strained relationship with her father and was quite the rebel, eloping with Percy Shelley when she was 16 (or thereabouts IIRC). She was a Romantic figure at heart and in her own literary circle it was pretty much expected to be somewhat free-spirited and open-minded, even to the point of sympathising with Lucifer in Paradise Lost, which is why Milton's work is mentioned in Frankenstein (the monster himself is obviously analogous to Lucifer in many ways). It would be only after a lot of tragedy, losing three children and Percy in the span of maybe 6-7 years, that she began to settle into more usual aspects of society. That's not to contradict you though - society was very different then and people were definitely expected to grow up fast - it's just that not many grew up like Mary Shelley did or write a timeless classic.
I love how Frankenstein seems to be claiming that whenever he was horrified by something he just took a nap. Like JUST ADMIT YOU FAINTED IT DOESN’T MAKE YOU LESS OF A MAN! He describes his father as fainting but not himself lmao
ngl this comment made me laugh so hard because honestly when i was listening to that part of the video my eyebrows just scrunched at how he apparently "went to his bedroom and slept" like wtf do you been he slept!? if an 8ft tall monster was in my house i would not be able to sleep a wink. but reading this made me realize oh. he friggin fainted lmfao
this was written by a woman in 1818. i doubt that she went out of her way to preserve “manliness”. she even depicts other male characters fainting like you mentioned. it seems to me like raising this monster from the dead was something so horrible and awful frankenstein just couldn’t comprehend what he’d done and wanted to deny reality and return to normalcy. just like in hereditary, where peter literally beheads his sister in a car accident and goes home, leaves her headless body in his car and goes to sleep.
Mary Shelley created one of the world's first tumblr sexymen. I mean you cannot tell that women of the period weren't going crazy over Victor and his monster
The thing that always struck me is that the "Monster" isn't really described as being some disgusting agonized beast, but is simply visceral. He's this being that should never have been born, a beautiful yet disturbing creation with ghostly yellow eyes that glare at Victor with hatred and condemnation for his cowardice.
He definitely was described as a monster. He was described as having skin so stretched out that you could see his veins and arteries, as well as the outlines of his organs. He had disturbing yellow eyes and lifeless greasy hair. Idk about you but that sounds like a monster to me.
i'm also reminded of red(overly sarcastic productions) commenting on how the monster aka adam is basically just a GIANT FUCKING BABY when first given life in her video on frankenstein. if you look at it from that perspective...motherfucker abandoned his own child to the world
The way that I always pictured him was that he was so incredibly beautiful that he looped back around to being unsettling to look at, perfect uncanny valley vibes.
Mary Shelley is an interesting person to learn about too (as you briefly mentioned). When she first began writing Frankenstein she had lost a few babies and you can really feel her exploration of her grief and having a loved one taken away without reason.
I feel like a lot of people miss that this is a story that makes much more sense and can be viewed completely differently if you know the writer's biography. I know people make fun of literature teachers for finding meaning in things that the writer didn't think much about. But, most of the times you can find some sort of paralel between the writer's life and their works. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein reads to me, as what you said, a history of grief. But also neglect, which was present in many shapes in her life.
@@mgraven3156 Yeah, but there is a difference between saying the author had depression because they made a door or curtains blue, and knowing that an author had lost children when writing a story describing how far depression and loneliness can take you, and the isolation that results from that. I find it kind of amazing that this novel was part of my high school reading list, and my teacher never thought to include biography details like the author having lost a child.
@@perseiss true, her background and family connections to english literature at the time is insane, it almost felt like she was destined to become a famous writer!
I was thinking that the story was a bit of an allegory to motherhood and bringing forth life into the world, for that life to be corrupted and consumed by hatred. I think this angle should be talked about more as well. At the beginning when Victor is talking about creating life and becoming a god, all I could think was "He can already create life with Elizabeth, does that make her a god?” interesting to think about.
the line "i am malicious because i am miserable" from the monster will forever impact my soul. my first read of this book was about a year ago at one of the worst and most "miserable" parts of my life. relating to the monster more than the human characters sometimes :/
I’ve honestly always related to the creature more than the human characters in this book. It just breaks my heart every time I read that section. The reader KNOWS that the creature is exactly the same as a human, even surpassing a lot of humans with his intelligence (especially back then), so he’s very easy to empathize with, especially with Shelley’s wonderful, descriptive expression of his thoughts. It makes you feel what he feels, and it’s horrible. The feeling of isolation and the inherent rage of being denied basic human decency is palpable. This line especially hit me hard the first time I read it, because I understood completely.
I can’t get over how genuine the beginning of the story. Like, it really capture the arrogant crunch of being a college student, taking on too much and then running away when it crashes down on you. It’s a story about someone running away from maturity out of guilt and fear.
He never had to learn humility. His “sister” was said to be a “gift” for him. He found 1 person to validate his ideas and ignores the warnings of his dad and others. Now he’s out here trying to tell people to chill with the glory and fame pursuits. It’s deeper than running from maturity. Its not about a college student trying to be successful under capitalism. It’s about men who’ve never been checked. Imagine being a new mom and having to listen to a bunch of rich men talk about their ideas on philosophy and life for weeks without them asking your opinion. I’m sure this is why she wrote this and why she called herself a “listener” during this time. Wendi does a great job giving an overview but there’s deeper stuff here without context. An hour and a half isn’t long enough for a real analysis.
@@mixedviews3536 I never said it was about a college student trying to be successful under capitalism, I'm just talking about how relatable Viktor's 19-year-old sophomore college experience was to me as a 19 year-old college student. Shelley got it so right, it's so real. Personally, I like viewing Frankenstein under the 'death of the author'-style queer lens but pop off with your more 'authorial intent'-style feminist reading. Appreciate it, though I do want to add that I don't really think Wendigoon's video was meant to be an analysis either. More like an intro to Frankenstein + his personal thoughts, so my comment was following a similar mindset. His channel doesn't really do video essay/literary analysis content, his stuff is more like personal rabbit holes/theory crafting, so you'd probably be disappointed with the rest of his content if you're more on the wholistic literary analysis side. An interesting literary analysis video about Frankenstein (in the more pop cultural sense, not the Shelley sense) for me was "Monsters in the Closet - A History of LGBT Representation in Horror Cinema (Video essay)."
I think it’s open to a variety of interpretations, I saw it in a similar manner as David Lynch’s Eraserhead in which his own doubts about his newfound fatherhood manifested such a dark and twisted piece of art. Victor is essentially abandoning his responsibility as a father, leading to his “child” becoming an emotionally disturbed violent individual in “adulthood”.
Both Frankenstein and Jekyll and Hyde are probably the most misunderstood classic novels out there, which is a real shame because the original stories are legit bangers
I’d say Dracula should also be included in that. The real ideas of the story have been kinda lost through Hollywood in a similar manner and they’re all told in a similar structure, especially Frankenstein and Dracula
@@broderickfoster2107 I was going to mention Dracula has been adapted to death, making the story kinda "overrrated"....but you're right. It's original concept and inner ideas have been scattered to the winds through being adapted over and over and over again, because vampires sell better than man made monsters apparently. The original Dracula stands with Frankenstein and Jekyll/Hyde
DFGH since you mentioned Frankenstein and Jekyll and Hyde, I remembered smth Someone mentioned in a video that if Victor and Jekyll swapped roles with their personalities intact, neither story would actually happen because Jekyll would absolutely make the creature a social pedestal for what science should be, while Victor looking at himself as Hyde would immediately freak out, get the potion and turn himself back, then chuck it out the window
The final pages of Junji Ito's Frankenstein broke my heart. I was surprised by how much the imagery struck me. In Junji Ito's version, the story ends like this: We see the creature standing all alone on the frozen plains of the Antarctic. The wind whips at his face and tears at his rags. As he overhears the news of Victor's death from the ship in the distance, he is overcome with sorrow and lets out a wail. With tears streaming down his face, he exclaims that his creator has left him. The complete and utter loneliness that is depicted here is crushing. The wide shot of the Monster standing so alone on the desolated plain hit me deep. It is here that the Monster understands that his God has finally forsaken him completely, and while he never had anyone who loved him, it is only now that there is no one left who understands him either.
@@toshirodragon no, 99% of Ito's version is still Mary Shelley's version of story, he only added the last part because the ending of the original novel is kinda open-ending(tho the monster in the Mary Shelley's version vowed to commit unalive after Victor's death before disappearing), Ito is a big fan of Mary's Frankenstein novel and I am pretty sure he'd be upset if you said it that way, making him look like the one who invented the story
@@oniplus4545 There is more to storytelling than invention. Its san is a master at presentation and formatting. Many a good story is lost because of bad presentation.
I always thought of Frankenstein as a green man made by a evil laughing doctor with a stitched head that the doctor implanted a brain in and then he was struck by lightning wich made him come to life and he stumbled around and was big and dumb. I didn’t know Frankenstein went this deep I loved this story.
Especially when you realize that Frankenstein isn't even the name of the green-shambling-zombie (it's Adam), but actually the name of the man who made him. Though regardless of the error, the fact that Frankenstein is a monster is still true nonetheless.
@@milkjug4237 The creature isn't ever named in the book, it does however call itself "Adam of your labours" to Victor. But it's meant to be poetic. God created the first man Adam, and Victor saw himself as God by creating his own "man". That's where Adam comes from. It's been accepted by the community that Adam is as close to a name that we can use.
Being chased by Frankenstein and secretly leaving clues and resources, in a way communicating with him and taking care of him... that's the closest he could ever come to social interaction. In a weird twisted way, Frankenstein was his only friend. It makes sense that he cried at his death.
I think the Monster also partially realized what he wasted by solely devoting his life to destroying Frank’s life. I imagine there would be other people willing to ignore his horrific appearance to see what he could’ve been.
@@marocat4749 it's not that simple, he lost his creator and if he can't seek neither answer nor revenge upon Victor, he'd choose to simply disappear, his drive on revenge was never empty, it's his sole purpose in life to seek his creator's answer as to why he was ever created
Yeah my AP lit final was based on Frankenstein, and the original is actually incredibly different from every other depiction of the story. It's not just horror, it's a philosophical look into human nature and what truly constitutes a monster. It's so good.
By original, do you mean the version that Wendigoon goes over or that 1818 version? I just finished Frankenstein for my English class and it’s probably one of the best books I’ve read in a long time.
We did it too. However i glazed over it for a grade. I enjoyed readinh into it however I will read it genuinely when im not rushed to do so for class. Im a slow reader by all means.
I would disagree I'd say this is what true horror is not ghosts and jumpscares but despair and true sadness these are concepts that are more horrifying than anything I see now but I do agree this story is much more philosophical and seems to really look at the worst of human nature and how easily we can disregard what we create despite how bad it can become
I agree, Frankenstein and Dracula really still hold up today, not too much anachronistic language in either of them (They were two books my AP Lit and Language class had that were required reading, we could choose each....I chose Dracula, but have since read Frankenstein) Another thing, the novel Jurassic Park is like a simplified modern example of Frankenstein (novel only obv) In regards to older novels, War of the Worlds was a different story....that was a tough read, I could read a 500 page modern novel in the time it took to read 180-ish pages of that mess
it's so funny to me that Victor is just so pleasantly surprised that the literal monster he created is not where he left it and is probably roaming around somewhere where he doesn't have to deal with it.
Henry sounds like a real MVP. His friend goes utterly mental and even goes into a coma for a few days, and bro sticks with him throughout. Also I love how Junji Ito's idea of adapting another work is "stay true to the story but make it utterly fucking horrifying"
The funny thing is that if Frankenstein had just followed through with his idea of life and showed compassion for the monster from the beginning instead of horror and neglect, the whole situation would have likely been completely different. Like in most cases, a bit of compassion would have solved everything
@@solus8685 eh, in the context of the story it was fine. Just a dude with a passion for his work. Of course I don't hold reverence for corpses so grave robbing isn't that big a deal to me 🤷
I have always read the story as an analog for bad parenting. He starts messing around and creates life. "Oh shit this is scary". So he runs away. The child grows up confused and angry. Many years later the father realizes his mistake and comes back only to learn his child cant forgive him. This is sadly a common story arc in humanity. So yeah compassion and love was the solution. Though is tragic flaw was pretty well setup in the beginning with him being a reclusive antisocial science trope.
I literally talk about this show anytime I get a chance to, but this idea was mentioned in the show, Penny Dreadful. In that show, it begins after Victor's first creation was already made and Victor has sort of "tried again". He shows his second creation compassion this time around and teaches him english and shows him things. Then Victor's original creation returns and berates Victor for showing him cruelty and leaving him when he was most vulnerable, but showing his second "son" the love and care that he was denied. Then he demands Victor make him a wife and theres so much to the characters and I highly recommend you check it out if you're interested.
Man, the idea of being forced to isolate yourself for the rest of your life for the mistakess you have made while being tormented by something that can't be stopped by any means and whose only purpose in life is to make you suffer as much as possible is genuinely one of the creepiest horror concepts I have ever seen.
The description of finally completing your work only to step back and realize you've created a horrific monster is a pain that all artists know too well
@@holysickdivinenights ohhh, makes sense. Still can't relate because I can tell it doesn't look good during the process, but I get it. Thanks for explaining!
I could see that work if an onlooker (the Frankenstein of this story) watched a loved one become a monster( Dracula ) as a result of the onlooker try to help them possibly trying to prevent them from dying , although hopefully doesn’t have the same ending
I wish curious readers could experience these 2 books only with expectations of how they are viewed in the modern era. No spoilers, just the expectation that Dracula and Frankenstein are immortal classics that deserve attention. I was lucky/stupid enough to read the books without any knowledge of the outcomes or even plot progression. Frankenstein is my favorite book and Chapter XXI of Dracula is my favorite chapter of any book ever. Anyone who is lucky enough to look past the hype of these stories and actually just read or listen to the books will have their perspective on life, or their appreciation for the human condition changed forever.
@@moccaccino9084I did Jekyll and Hyde for my English class and I actually enjoyed it, once you get past the "Mild mannered scientist turns into a psychopath split personality" thing.
giggling at the idea of groups of people getting together to come up with ghost stories then getting completely blindsided and outdone by the likes of Mary Shelley and Junji Ito like "oooo wouldn't it be spooky if the dog's eyes turned red???" "yeah but like what if a sentient planet came to earth to lick it and it drove everyone mad while also destroying the world"
i remember reading this and growing attached to clerval's character. he was such a sweet and kind man. he never questioned frankenstein and just supported him even though he knew nothing of victor's struggles. he didnt pry bc he knew if victor wanted to tell him something, he will. so you can imagine the heartbreak i felt when he died. rereading my annotations on my book makes me laugh at myself bc i had such a big crush on clerval.
I hadn’t watched this video because I knew about frankenstein. Mad scientist in a castle makes a monster, monster attacks the town and a mob comes to kill him. I can’t believe how different the book is from film adaptations. The book is one of the greatest stories I’ve ever heard. Thank you for opening my eyes to this masterpiece.
One of the things about the story that really gets lost in modern adaptations and the popular media perception of the story is the many layers in which it is framed. The first layer is Walton sending letters to his sister. This is already one layer deep, as many stories would just be the events themselves, not an in-universe written account of the events. Then, Doctor Frankenstein begins to relay his life's story to Walton. It is now two layers deep. Within Frankenstein's story he gets to the part where he finally speaks to the monster, and the monster begins to tell Frankenstein of his own experiences. It's now three layers deep. The monster speaks and he describes how he watched the family and the arrival of Safie, and during his description he recounts the tale he overheard about how Safie's father was imprisioned in Arabia and how Felix helped him escape only to be betrayed. This tale is four layers deep. Four layers. The story of a man in Arabia was recounted in a home in the French countryside and overheard by a monster before being told to the Swiss man who created him who then relayed this entire speech to an English sailor who then wrote the entire thing down and sent the letter back to his sister. The idea of the unreliable narrator is one that could be considered here. Many details, whether on the part of Walton, Frankenstein, the monster, or the family whom the monster stalked, could be entirely fabricated (fabricated within the narrative of the story obviously. the book itself is clearly fiction) and we the readers would have no way to know.
YES SOMEONE ELSE WITH THE “WALTON MADE IT UP” THEORY!!! It’s my favorite. It falls into the isolation theme too - Walton, who was so isolated on a ship of people who be believed to be not of the same class as him and not as intelligent, writes of someone out in this tundra that IS as smart as him. He and Walton have similar speech patterns and the idea of unreliable narrators and isolation runs DEEP with it.
Framing stories with stories was a popular style at the time ie Heart of Darkness. The story loses all meaning if you consider it fabricated since it was written to juxtapose the view that science was inherently good hence why it's subtitled the modern Prometheus.
while reading classics i notice a trend of the story being recited by another character in a book (currently reading Dracula which is literally all journal entries recounting the events) and it always irks me how good their memories are?? What do you mean you memorized 8 monologues that were recited hours ago.
Surprised you didn't mention it, but this is also widely considered the first science fiction novel. Mary Shelley is owed a hell of a lot for her contributions.
Yeah, but that consideration isn't correct, just a widely believed misconception. Mary Shelley wrote a great story, but this isn't the first by a long shot.
@@evildarkass5though it shares common elements, it isn't really science fiction as there isn't even a nod to any scientific knowledge in the story. It is for sure absurdist parody, but science fiction should have at its roots science behind it. Mary Shelly's Frankenstein does have the bare bones structure of what we would consider to be science fiction and laid foundations as to what it would become today. One could articulate that Frankenstein, as scholars do, is the first science fiction novel. That and if we are really considering novels, the aforementioned novella/short story doesn't exactly stand as a novel. So the statement Mary Shelly's Frankenstein is the first science fiction novel is still correct.
I feel terrible for poor Justine, she was such a lovely and kind person who did literally nothing wrong and, in return, she was framed and killed for a crime she didn't commit the worst part is that the truth about William's killer was never revealed to the general public, and she surely went down in history as a cruel and deceptive murderer, when in reality she was anything but :( we love Justine Moritz, the best nanny who didn't deserve it
I think my favorite concept in the book is one that isn’t very frequently talked about, that being how Frankenstein’s monster is not scary just because he is horrifying to look at, but because his existence itself in unnatural. Inherently, humanity is scared of what they do not understand. The sheer idea that something like the monster even exists at all brings a deep fear to all who come into contact with him. If he can exist, what other horrors can exist? Its almost like how people are afraid of spiders. Yeah they’re creepy to look at, but that’s why you don’t like them. They EXIST. something with 8 legs and a fuck ton of eyes EXISTS. It’s unnatural to most people in society aside from those who learn to make peace with it. I just really love that.
The issue I have of spiders and roaches is the idea of it touching me, I don't mind being near them or a dead one, it just makes my skin craw to have them touch me.
yea this crossed my mind while I was reading it. it is not the gaunt face reflecting mixture of handsome yet horrifying, or his supernatural strength or unnatural height, or his skin revived from ravages of decay. but the fact that he is undead. the sight evoking instantly anger and fear in equal measure. it is tragic that the fact of his existence is what deprives him of any form of positivity in his life, while having immeasurable capabilities to do good and to love. and I believe this would have happened again had frankenstein finished creating another. they would have likely indeed ended up hating each other. how could it be any other way. their common origin would not unite them but separate them even further as neither belongs in this world and they instinctively know it.
I appreciate your take that both Frankenstein and his creation are monsters. Too many people I've known characterize Victor as the "true villain," throwing aside the fact that he was a naive young man who had lost his beloved mother and wanted to control the circumstances of life, as we all do. Part of why it's such a great story is because there's no real hero or villain; it's the story, essentially, of two human beings trying and failing. Tragedy at its finest.
Evil or not this is all Frankenstein's fault we have all been in helpless situations but many don't think about crossing the line his actions are inexcusebale and to me his poor creation is nothing but a victim not to mention that this entire thing could have being avoided if frenkenstein showed his creation some love but he denied him even that he is the true monster in this story
@@cyanfireall7710 Yes, because it's a tragedy. But when we lay all the blame on him and think that we surely would have done better in his situation, we do the characters and the conflicts and themes of the book a disservice.
@@kikima258 When the Monster started actively, maliciously taking lives he ceased to be a victim and became a bad actor in his own right. Victor made the wrong choice and set events in motion, but that does not negate the Monster's agency (a key part of his humanity) and thereby his responsibility. Neither of them is good or a clear team we should root for; they're flawed, hurting people.
@@kikima258 I totally agree with this interpretation. Unless I'm mistaken, Mary Shelley was, at the time of writing, inspired by Rousseau's idea of "tabula rasa" (that man is born an empty canvas) too. Victor was raised in a wealthy and loving family and always had whatever he might need, but when given the responsibility to give the same to his own creation he neglects it. Frankenstein's creation was never given the chance to be anything but a monster because that's all that he was treated as; and that the only person who accepted him was blind is quite telling of how shallow people's reasons for not accepting him were.
It’s honestly so funny to me the wendigoon said “he had loved Elizabeth but his love for science was stronger” Victor was dedicated to his grind a true red pill move
And then he instantly did a 180 and swung back around to become a beta coward when he finally achieved success by abandoning his creation and not being truthful with his family and friends causing them all to die horrible deaths.
@@deathknight1239 ew no way people actually unironically use the terms "beta" and "alpha". like why is that you're initial comments about this fantastic story. i sound like a hater but still.
It's rough how relatable Victor is. The school stuff, the going to sleep to avoid the unpleasant consequences of your actions, the morbid interest in life and death, the lurching into cemeteries to scavenge the bodies of the dead. These are all things I've been through man 😞. He fucks up a lot of stuff, but I can see myself fucking things up in a similar way
Ironically enough, had the Monster tried to reach out to Clerval, he might have at least tried to understand him. Out of anyone in the setting (besides the blind man) who might have been compassionate enough to not reject him immediately, it probably would have been Henry Clerval, but instead he murdered him without a second thought.
Or perhaps even Elizabeth. In the musical adaptation (which is the only good adaptation, in my opinion), there is an added scene before her death in which Elizabeth first meets the monster and is very kind and loving toward him. But even still, the monster kills her anyways. It's really neat :D
In my opinion it would’ve been the same as Felix since Henry is nice to people like him(professors ,college classmates, or childhood friends) he probably wouldn’t care about what a 8-foot tall abomination feels, even if he was nice to him the monster was too far gone at that point and considered humans (especially Frankenstein’s loved ones) to be nothing more than catalysts for Frankenstein’s misery
@@thed_ani I mean, I disagree with the first part of your comment since Henry was only ever portrayed as being polite and understanding of everyone he met, so logically it would follow that he would be the most likely to follow through on that consistent character trait with the monster. The second part of your comment...well, yeah, you're saying that you agree with the sentiment of my comment, yea? The monster MIGHT have found acceptance from Henry, but he instead murdered him without a second thought, showing just how far gone he was by that point. Both of our statements complement each other.
My own interpretation of the story is that Frankenstein's "Monster" is neither really him, nor his monster, it's the concept of isolation. Frankenstein sought isolation for himself out of obsession (after all he didn't have any contacts with his family back home for two years) which led him to lose his sense of morality and reality, which he regained the moment he brought his creation to life, as if the gaze of the "other" had been enough to briefly bring him back to his senses. On the opposite side of the spectrum, you have the Monster, isolated by no fault of his. Clearly able and willing to be a kind soul and to help out others, making the best out of his isolation simply by observing and learning as it went along. But when isolation took its toll on him, he tried to have any form of contact with people, but was ultimately rejected every single time and it turned him into a heartless being. Every step of the way you can clearly see that Victor kept refusing the hand that tried to reach out to him, while the Monster was absolutely begging for any hand to reach out. This goes on up to the point where you almost see salvation when they both meet, the monster once again begging for somebody and Victor nearly accepting to do something for someone else for once. Both sides of the same coin meeting for once, finding together a chance at living the life they both longed for, failing miserably for the last time. What I especially find poetic in this is that, after that specific breaking point, it becomes very clear that both Victor and the Monster will be linked together through their respective isolations. Up until the very end at that point, it's as if they were both together alone, forever.
I read the book in college and it was pretty good. It struck me with two things that I still remember. One being that Victor was so caught up in his goal that he not only became delusional due to lack of sleep and taking care of himself but this brings up the idea of how even though we could do something, there should be thought on if we should. And while the monster was misunderstood hes not fully without responsobility for his actions. Both Victor and the Monster make choices that lead to the overall tragedy for both.
One of the things I love about the Mel Brooks parody "Young Frankenstein" is that it almost feels like a "what if?" Story in that the movie's monster is still a corpse and his brain doesn't function like it should. Even so, that version of Frankenstein doesn't reject the monster, and instead does everything he can to protect him, and in the end instead of raging against his creator, once he is capable of doing so the monster defends the doctor as though they really were father and son. Could they have had a similar relation if the original Frankenstein showed as much compassion for his mistake?
That’s what I want to know as well, kind of like an alternate universe where Frankenstein doesn’t run away from his creation. Would be kinda poggers tbh.
Well I suppose a part of that is he's Frankenstein's son. So in a way it could be seen as future generations learning from the past. Making better decisions that ultimately create a better outcome.
It's incredible how intelligent The Monster is. As someone who had to read the book in highschool, this story wasn't like anything I could've imagined. What an awesome and horrific story.
Being that kid in school and now being that supposed nerdy adult, I definitely feel with Adam here. To feel constantly ostracised from everyone, including so called family, despite of your intelligence, to know you're different and will never be accepted can be hard at first.
I love how Ito's drawings really refresh the horror of the Monster. The image of the Monster has been kind of sanitized and become really blah through the decades and his work just really makes you think about the fact that it was a 8ft man made entirely out of rotting body parts. And not just made with two arms, two legs, a torso, and a head, but several of those even to make the Monster larger. That is just terrifying. It's crazy how an old story can be mundane, but a refreshing of the original details can make it new and just as grotesque as it was the day it was published. I appreciate you doing this video and showcasing the entire story, along with Ito's disturbing art. Really cool.
I love the Monster’s descent to evil, he was rejected by the world and abandoned by his father and turned to spite. There’s an old proverb that goes along the lines of ‘The child who is rejected by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth’. It’s a well established trend in psychological literature that outcasted children become bullies and turn to mischievous behaviour, and will likely turn to crime when adults. Shelly likely didn’t intend to predict personality psychology, but I am continually amazed that the same themes of abandonment and vengeance against the world appear in literature and then to have those themes scientifically correlated in human behaviour just goes to show the vast and incorruptible power of stories. Frankenstein’s Monster is another Cain, another Satan, except it was actually abandoned by its creator. Would love to see a more character driven adaption of this story, Frankenstein’s dive into the occult can’t have been healthy for his sense of reality and grip on morality. I feel Frankenstein’s obsession with necromancy is a reflection of humanity’s quest to become Gods, like the construction of the Tower of Babel. I think this book’s brilliance is more in its implications rather than its direct comparisons, there’s a humanist masterpiece in Frankenstein’s themes.
I legit cried when i first read the book and got to the part about Henry's death I had gotten so attached to him because he was such a good friend to Victor throughout, and such a bright spot in this story's gloom
I love how it never occurs to Victor to just...not give the female creature a uterus. Yeah, his worries about the monster not keeping its word/the female potentially rejecting it are valid, but Victor, my dude, they can only breed if they both have all the correct plumbing.
While that would rid him of one worry, he'd still have created two creatures capable of harming hundreds. If his creation had lied to him, now his problems would be doubled.
I remember Frankenstein being the only story I ever read completely in middle school, the whole plot intrigued me so much, and I just love so much how both the monster and Victor are portrayed as awful villains and caring creatures
I feel like Henry met Frankenstein's Monster (before the murder) he would be the type of person who would be initially scared, but would actually be good friends and this would turn into a whatever at the time equivalent of buddy cop movie.
@@marcusaaronliaogo9158 yeah but it's kind of thinking more of a like dysfunctional family kind of situation for like Frankenstein would have to have some major character development and take responsibility as a father
I'm dyslexic so I've never really given reading much of a chance but after watching this you made Frankenstein seem far more interesting than any film adaptation I've seen so I picked up a copy for myself and started reading, just finished tonight (almost a month later lol) and it was a wonderful experience. just wanted to say thanks for making such amazing videos because without this I may not have given Frankenstein the time it deserves.
Have you ever tried changing the font and page colour? If you are reading on a device, try changing to white font on black page. It really helps me as the words tend to go blurry.
hi there, i also have poblems reading books, but what help me is using Audiobooks!, if you got some nice headphones its really easy to find narrations of books on youtube, or in some specialized pages.
@@Zaeris312 I've also found audiobooks to be very helpful, I'm currently reading through Lord of the Rings using the Andy Serkis audiobooks and it's been a pretty good experience.
In one of the essays I wrote for AP Lit, I used Frankenstein as a source and talked about how Victor and the Monster were analogous to Adam and Eve. I love saying that with no context, but the actual thought behind it makes some sense. Basically, Victor is Adam, the monster is Eve. Victor makes the monster and the actions of the monster eventually drag both it and Victor down. The reason the monster does what it does is due to its isolation, much like how Eve was basically isolated before being manipulated. You could make the argument that the monster was born pure, and upon encountering something that was not as pure as it was, ie humans, it quickly lost its purity and fell, causing Victor to follow it out of "loyalty" (not wanting it to kill anyone else because it would pretty much be his fault).
Something that’s been eating at me is how much this story is very similar to the cycle of abuse. It’s about someone who is treated horribly from birth, constantly treated as a monster, eventually even being considered a monster by his creator, (see: dad) mirroring the abuse given to him. It’s what he’s known the longest, and it’s what he defaults to whenever he doesn’t know what to do, or needs a way to express his feelings. He CAN express other emotions, he HAS, but it’s not what he’s treated with. Eventually, you get fed up with it, and mirror the behavior to the people who treated you so horribly. He has the ability to fit in socially, but not visually. Being trapped in a place where you cannot talk to anybody, having to hide yourself away, it’d drive anyone mad. Because he never had the ability to express his feelings in a healthy way, he doesn’t. It’s not an inevitability, not usually, but with everything he’s experienced, it does become an inevitability. He knows what he’s doing is not right by societal images, but he was never given the opportunity to act like a human. I always think about how different this story would be if Frankenstein treated him like an actual child, the child he was, how he could’ve actually been able to maybe not interact with the rest of society, but at least live a happy life. I don’t know if this makes sense to anyone else, this is mainly just the ramblings of an abuse victim about another abuse victim. This story has always strummed a weird string somewhere in the depths of my heart, and I’m just now realizing it’s because it’s weirdly relatable to me. Not in the “I continued the cycle of abuse” but in the “I could’ve turned out like this, and I feel for him because I know generally what he’s gone through, in a weird fucked up way”. If you twist the story of the fact that he is a monster into an abuse victim (I am in NO WAY comparing abuse victims to monsters) it’s an even sadder story that the one already presented to us. :/
This spoke to me, and your analysis summed up how I feel about my life. As a victim of emotional abuse and neglect my whole life, which came to a head two years ago, I started to feel kinship with the monster, and I think I've become unable to love. If I ever had the capacity for it. I don't think I truly know what family is. This video is so in depth from Wendigoon, and your analysis nailed it. Thank you!
I was just thinking the same thing as I watched this video. I was, like Wendigoon, also a high school kid with not a lot of life experience when I read this the first time, so it only occurred to me now. But it's very much reminiscent of someone with an abusive or neglectful parent acting out in the same way because it is the only way they ever saw anyone act to them. Very well said!
the worst part is, if you DO turn out like that, those same people will weaponize the fact and retroactively say that you we're always like that anyway to justify the past abuse (i.e. gaslighting)
Yes, literally this. Frankenstein is about a LOT of things stuffed into an Honestly astonishingly short novel, but I’ve also found these themes of abuse and neglect particularly interesting. Victor is human, of course, and most of the mistakes he makes within the book are reasonable (except like. Thinking he’s the one the creature will target on his wedding night instead of Elizabeth that was just stupid of him), but he absolutely, 100% hurt the creature in a way that made him repeat a violent cycle. We understand in the book that the creature (who I’m just gonna call Adam) is, essentially, on the same intellectual level as a human. He speaks multiple languages, reads, writes, thinks, and understands all the same concepts we do. If Victor had just given him a chance, there definitely could have been a better life for Adam out there, even if he is super creepy to look at. But Victor doing him the ultimate, terrible sin of abandoning him set both their fates in stone. Adam definitely hurt a lot of people, and his past doesn’t excuse his actions , but Victor was the catalyst. He, in my mind, is the one who takes ultimate responsibility for every single death in the book, including Adam’s and even his own. I might have gotten a little off track from abuse and vicious cycles, I just really like this book and have a lot of thoughts about it lol
My high school English teacher was Bosnian, and would often mess up the names of authors, I remember her mixing up Mary Shelley(Shelley Mary) and Edgar Allan Poe's(Edgar Poe Allan) names and somehow that stuck with me and made me more interested in their works. Had a beer with her and her husband years later at a microbrewery. She was always such a cool teacher and wore the most beautiful outfits! She got me into botanical horror.
@@kayleegregg1391 OOHHH I don't have the books on me, but I have a few that compile newer and old stories of botanical horrors. Botanica Delira and Flora Curiosa were two of the names off the top of my head. Fascinating stuff! One of my favorite short stories is of a ship coming across a rowboat, and the man on board tells a story of how he and his wife crashed on an island, but the island was overrun by this strange mossy growth... I won't spoil the ending, but you can probably see where it's going. I'm a hardcore gardener and Halloween fanatic. Give me an air plant in a skull, any day! 😛
@@earthwormjim91 You should check out my reply to the other comment for the book titles, and IDK what you mean by 'stl', I thought maybe I made a typo.
@@RealBradMiller wait I heard of this book for some reason. Does the story start with the ship not able to see the row boat because how dark it is? I have no idea why I know this.
The premiere was so fun and interactive, it's very unfortunate that it's not beneficial for long term viewer interaction. Anyways, I never knew of this tragic story by Mary Shelly and its symbolism and irony. Thus, thank you Wendigoon for sharing yet another interesting story, along with your pertained wisdom.
As I read the novel, Victor’s the sort of person who tends to think of absolute extremities about something rather than look at the smaller more reasonable picture, as he’s so wrapped up in himself. Thinking he’d create a new Adam who’s as beautiful, perfect and intelligent as intended, only to realise he’s created something far from it at first. As a result, he shuns it. With Justine, he thinks that he’d have to tell people about the Creature as in the full truth rather than try and state it simply as ‘a tall monstrous man I saw roaming around, that must be the culprit’, and but his own angst of ‘the whole truth’ led to her end. With the Creature’s mate, he jumps to the conclusion of them spawning a master race of sorts despite the Creature just not wanting to be alone, and just made things so much worse. He’s incapable of stepping back from a ‘bigger picture’ mindset when he should to focus on what’s grounded and possible because of his ego, arrogance and fear, and thus dooms everyone.
I like to think Frankenstein and his monster truly understood each other in the end. There's something beautiful about both of them having nothing but each other left. Even though it was twisted it's almost like they were friends at the time of Frankensteins death. They could only relate to each other at that point. Victor's monster didn't torment him solely for retribution, he desperately needed a friend, so he created a monster just like victor had created him.
it reminded me of Hannibal 😂 how Hannibal brought out the "monster" from Will and punishing him with killing/injuring his loved ones which also made Will get on the same level with Hannibal. Will became a monster but Hannibal was also a monster from the beginning. I see way too many parallels
The monster understood victor fine, victor, is the worst. It just had nothing but revenge left yet enjoy the chase as the best of victors attention he ever could, . Henge the outcry, realizing the emptiness of that. Also not saying the monster didnt have daddy uissues, but it understood victor being the worst.
I love how if Victor had followed in his family's example of kindness and altruism, he might have seen the Creature for what it was, a bewildered orphan infant, as lost and terrified as him! He made a giant, inhumanly strong child and instantly abandoned it! Perhaps with compassion, he could have taught The Creature gentleness and care for others...but then Victor wouldn't also be a monster, and this book wouldn't be both Horror and Tragedy.
The part about William's death and Victor seeing his creation is actually much more mysterious and haunting in the book itself. Victor in fact does not actually know that his creation killed William but he simply suspects so and this takes a heavy mental toll in which crushes his mental state throughout the story, it also allows the audience to question whether or not Victor in fact is insane or the creation is nice or not which finally gets revealed the truth until much later on.
And the worst part is that by the end so much had happened and so much time has pass that we never really get an answer because of how much each character must have had to change over the years and through the tragedies nothing is left just a bitter old man and a horrific affront to God
It's just so wholesome how so many times in literally every video Wendigoon constantly thanks us for being here and existing and I just like to think, that for someone who's going through a rough time, these are really wonderful things to hear. Whoever you are, you are loved. It will get better. And above all else, thank you for being here.
using junji ito's illustrations for this video is really nice btw, he's an incredible artist and they're a great extra visual I love the way he draws the monster and the way you can see in him the absolute horror of whatever the fuck he is and how disturbing it is, but there's also a clear humanness to it as well, especially in its face/eyes etc. You get this effect in a lot of ito's stuff, where you can see both the horrific monstrosity that something is but also still recognise the human that it (usually) once was
I think the emphasis on the nearly perfect teeth goes a long way. The contrast of facial features makes it so much more unsettling. I’ve seen a thousand horror characters with generic monster teeth, but no others with a set of nice pearly whites.
Props for using the Junji Ito manga for references. He is up there with Stephen King and RL Stein in terms of horror literature. His drawings are done with so much care and detail to extract every ounce of fear and nerve from the reader. It very much turns Frankenstein into a modern horror story. The original, written by Mary Shelly when was only 18 (yes you have to say this everything, it's that impressive) in the early 1800s was the first Science fiction book, the first Gothic literature, the first piece of horror literature, and a beautiful insight to the world at the time. Just look at the adaptations over the years, each is a reflection of societies fears at the time. It's one of the most timeless pieces of literature ever penned. The narrative depth is evident to anyone who reads it. There is a good reason almost all English or literature courses in college cover it
The illustrations of Frankenstein are just stunning. Really bringing to life what a monster he is. The lines in his face and body, such solemn and wide eyes, deep, black and thin hair.
Speaking of highly misrepresented content, I think you should do a video about the mysterious case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde! It's definitely another literary peice that's handled very differently throughout time. This was an amazing video I absolutely love this book and would love to see even more content like this!!
I absolutely agree, Jekyll and Hyde is one of the most influential and, at the same time, misinterpreted stories in mass culture, to the point where "Jekyll and Hyde" trope became just a conflict between a good and a bad personality, which is pretty much the opposite of what the book was about.
For anyone that hasn't read the novel or at least listened to an audio rendition of it, it really surprised me how elegantly and almost poetic the writing is. I personally was shocked at the stark contrast between how well-written the story being told was and how gruesome yet thought-provoking the actual story is. Unfortunately for me, this was never assigned reading to me in school so It wasn't until my mid 30's I had the pleasure of experiencing this story for the 1st time. . . Welldone Wendigoon. Keep up the great work my friend.
This story is so well written and has so much more to it than is usually portrayed in modern media. Frankenstein is a timeless piece because it is reminiscent of the ancient tragedies, but also inspired the horror of today.
Probably reading into this a bit much, but I always thought the Monster’s eyes being a dull yellow symbolized Victor’s fear of his creation and his cowardice in running from his responsibility, yellow being commonly associated with cowardice (Source: Back to the Future 3, “What’s wrong dude? You yellow?”)
There's a beautiful clip of a game show of sorts and the question is what does being called yellow refer to. The White child buzzed and said "Chinese" Awkward Silence. An Asian boy buzzed and said "a coward"
I might also be reading into this a bit much but there is a condition referred to as "suboptimal intake jaundice" that occurs when a baby does not receive the correct amount of breastmilk. The analogy here being that the monster did not receive the correct sort of "nourishment" from Frankenstein required to produce a healthy baby.
Several themes of this story resonated very strongly with me, and it took me a while to figure out exactly why, but I believe I’ve traced my feelings back to their origin. Once, when I was a young child, I switched to creative mode in my Minecraft world, and spawned in hundreds and hundreds of sheep. It was so fun to see the wooly swarms crowding and expanding across the land, as if I had made a landscape of clouds. But when I changed back to survival mode, I realized that having so many sheep was incredibly loud and inconvenient, they were everywhere and wreaked havoc on my framerate. I decided I didn’t want them anymore, but then came to a dark realization-my only option to remove the sheep was to kill them. I had created life, and that process could never be reversed. Murder was not a clean reversal to creation, the way mining a block is a reversal to placing it. I would have blood on my hands, and my choices could not be rewound. Being a softhearted child, I chose to accept the responsibility I had created for myself, and live among the sheep I had brought into existence rather than allowing them to suffer for my own foolish choices. This Minecraft world is now long gone, but I will never forget the intense dread I felt as I first realized the crushing weight of my frivolous creation of new life. Since then I realized that creating life can be a truly terrifying thing, and one should never, EVER risk creating a being (even if it’s nothing more than a simulation of a being) without being absolutely prepared to deal with the full weight and responsibility of its continuing existence. Thank you, Mary Shelley, for somehow perfectly capturing the same feeling as my childhood Minecraft existential terror in this masterpiece of a story.
As someone who would spawn in hundreds of mobs _specifically_ so I could kill them all one by one "for fun", I feel like a monster after reading this lol 😭
Though this is funny, I love how you were able to relate Frankenstein’s pain back to your own life and sympathize and resonate with the pain and moral dilemma that came with what seemed to be a good idea. I do feel your pain though. Those sheep are so loud and make so many noises. I can only imagine the lack of grass blocks in the area lol
I love the idea that Percy Shelley was just a dude who believed in his wife, like its the 1810's and women are generally shunned from every aspect of the world but Percy is out here like, "youre good enough dont listen to them" and was right
Oh wow.. I actually just wanted to listen to this while drawing (since wendigoon's videos are always very interesting and help me with staying focused), but I didn't expect this video to make me cry. This story is.. amazing. I feel embarrassed that I have never heard the actual story before now.
Oh don't worry about it I've never read it either. Way different from what I expected. Though I don't know what I even expected in the first place other than Weird Monster Stuff
The first time I read Frankenstein, what hit me first was that the "monster" is actually a giant beautiful yellow-eyed man, not the patchwork of flesh with neck bolts
@@tlshortyshorty5810 Not necessarily! But modern methods of embalming, and embalming in general, only started to become more widespread with mortician services by the 19th century, so unless Frankenstein was taking largely research corpses (which I doubt, since he'd probably have been caught since they need them for... yknow, research), then The Monster's body would be largely made out of untreated actively decomposing body parts, which obviously isn't exactly pleasant...
Does you making this video because of Ito's adaptation means that there's a chance for a video on his works coming? Because I would be hyped beyond belief for you to talk about Junji Ito's works in depth, easily one of my all-time favourite authors
@@KanadaJin Hearing the premise of the original book I didn’t think Ito’s art would fit, but I was completely wrong. It really drove home how pitiful and morbidly sad that man’s life was, and the sort-of change in the ending was downright masterful. One of my favorite mangas from one of my favorite authors.
This story is one of great importance, the bind between the monster and Frankenstein himself. The monster detests Frankenstein as a person of selfishness and pride. But is the monster not the same? He admits himself that he is a mistake, something that shouldn't exist, he hates his own existence. But asks Frankenstein to make another, not because he's lonely, he says it himself "they would never reject me" he wants it for his own selfish reasons, his pride is hurt seeing the happiness others have as it shakes his ideals to their core. That he's this deep being, misunderstood and hated, he loathes himself but sees himself as better than humans. Yet any time a human does better than him, he murders them, he is exactly what he supposedly "hates" he simply refuses to accept it, his own self inflated pride not allowing him to accept anything but his own way, only realizing after he ruined everything.
i dont think the monster isnt the same because mr frankenstein already had everything, he had food shelter loving friends and family, while the monster never had any love or family, and while its not exactly human its still a person that deserves and needs that fundamentally, so him being selfish is much more justifiable and understandable than mr frankenstein who's selfishness and pride is more morally wrong.
the monster knew it had no chance of any love with a human, thats why it wanted victor to make him a mate. To not be alone. Victor got everything given.
I love that you highlighted Junji Itou's adaptation so much. It paints this sad tale of a horrible monster forced into existence, only being able to bring misery onto himself and others, and ends on a very somber note. It's a wonderful story, and one of Itou's tamest works. The mention of you going through his work has me hopeful for videos on some of his more iconic pieces. A full video on Uzumaki and it's lovecraftian themes, as well as the influence it's had on japanese media would be fantastic. Maybe a video tackling his most well known one-offs, like Amigara Fault, The Human Chair, and Army of One. A video on his short stories like Hellstar Remina, Black paradox, and Gyo could work. Or even a video on some of his more humorous stories, like the Souichi stories. He has such a diverse body of work, that you could easily get more than one video analyzing his work.
Junji Ito made a good choice adapting it since he has that skill to draw the Monster like he should look. Also the full title is the Enigma of Amigara Fault. And for some reason, Viz cut the first word in Hellstar Remina and I have no answer as to why.
Ito’s take on Frankenstein is so phenomenal. He’s truly a horror legend and I hope his stories becomes as ubiquitous as Mary Shelley’s someday. Probably not though. It’s not every day you basically invent science fiction and horror while sitting around making up ghost stories with your friends. If ito is a legend, Shelley is a Titan
What you said at 1:13:57 gave me chills. I'd never thought about the stigma surrounding Frankenstein and his name that way before, and it really is very poetic!
Wendigoon needs to record audiobooks, the passion and emphatic emotions he puts into passages he reads make the words come alive so much more than me just reading them in my head.
You know, I was thinking about how crazy it is that Frankenstein and the monster end up in the north pole, but even weirder, I was thinking how funny it would be if the monster had gotten attached to the huskies pulling its sled. Like, the monster's whole thing is that he wants to stop being lonely and a dog would probably not be enough for it but the image of Frankenstein catching up to the monster to find it petting a husky all like "Oh hey, actually I'd rather spend my time with this dog" just makes me chuckle.
Personally. I've always seen this story as a metaphor for "Skeltons in the closet". You can't run from your past, it comes back to haunt you and it can massacre reactionships in every sense
True understanding is knowing that Frankenstein's monstrous arrogance brought into this world a perfect blank slate, which he would reject and leave to be molded by the worst life has to offer, creating a monster ten times worse than him.
I've read Frankenstein before, but when Wendigoon mentioned that Junji Ito had created his own version, I was immediately interested. It was wonderfully tragic that Wendigoon referenced how things could've been different if Victor had told Henry what was going on, and come to find out as I'm reading Junji's version, this is exactly what occurs. I'm excited to see what ripple effects this has on the story!
So glad to see you covering Frankenstein. I absolutely love everything about this story. The fact that all of the characters surrounding Victor himself are, like, the coolest and most pure people on the planet, makes this story 20x more devastating (for me, at least). It’s also such a moral confliction as well trying to figure out if you should even feel bad for Frankenstein or his monster… there’s just so much to this story and I love it all.
already watched this w the premier but this is genuienly beautiful. i cried so many times at this, especially at henry and elizabeths death. its a difficult story because you truly empathise with both main characters, leaving you conflicted. love u wnedigoon, you're truly the best story teller.
I had to read the book in 8th Grade and in all honesty it completely changed my view on Victor‘s ‚Monster‘. It is absolutely incredible how the story is told and how the ‚Monster‘ interacts with things, the world around him and the people he‘s near.
It's worth pointing out that Mary Shelly with this book basically popularized the horror concept of "Mankind does things because they CAN without asking if they SHOULD." That's become such a huge concept in horror, but she was really the first person to bring that idea into the modern consciousness. At the time she wrote Frankenstein, the scientific world and society in general really was obsessed with rampant discovery and experimentation. The enlightenment had propped up this idea of "man being the measure of all things" and so it was man's duty to uncover the secrets of the universe. With this novel, Mary Shelly for one of the first times challenged if doing that was really a good idea...
It wasn't exactly her idea, although she brought the idea into the horror novel, which Frankenstein is sort of the first modern version of. But the Industrial Revolution and Scientific Age was seen by some as a glorious age of progress, but Traditionalists and especially the religious community already saw it as turning away from Nature and God. Some people thought it would raise up the standard of living for everyone, while others thought it would reduce humanity to cogs in a machine. She was a part of the Romantics, who wanted to return to a mythical Natural state of mankind. Religious people didn't really like the Romantics, either, because they wanted to return to a more primitive life with drugs and sex. Culture was moving into a technological age, while conservative people wanted to keep things in the recent past, and the romantics wanted to return to the archaic age of living with nature. Frankenstein deals with these tensions and kind of predicts a lot of misery. I guess you could even consider it proto-cyberpunk, although it's a huge stretch, there's no corporations or cyberspace, but the idea of science giving birth to things inimical to humanity is maybe the original scifi horror.
honestly these long form literature type videos have been some of my favourites. my lit degree really made me lose my love for literature - trying to pass a degree with unmedicated adhd during a pandemic via online school is torture - but seeing these videos has really brought that interest back. these stories are just absolutely fascinating
@@imperialhistorian4201 funny how I graduated and have a job then isn't it? maybe get off your high horse and stop judging people based off their choice in degree
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FDR did 911
What happened to the last one
Sunday School when
My favorite line from Frankenstein: “I have love in me the likes of which you could scarcely imagine, and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy one, I will indulge the other”.
this is such a banger line
Dark Orchestra music starts playing with a choir.
Literally incel mentality-
What page is it from
that line's not actially in the book, it's from the 1994 movie. good line tho
I still think Victor's greatest sin was abandoning the monster, not creating it. If he had cared for it like it was a living thing, or even just taken responsibility for it, than so much pain would have been avoided. But instead he simply chose to see him as an experiment gone wrong until it was already too late.
That and not stepping in for Justine like wtf dude
Most people would probably not react well to an 8 ft corpse come to life
@@solus8685 Yeah but it's a little different when you're the one that brought it to life in the first place.
@@solus8685 it was his tacit goal what did he expect was gonna happen
@@Bluntteh kinda reminds me of the argument of what would the people who look for Bigfoot do once its found
Totally agree. Like, only after someone is unjustly killed did he muster the courage to confront the monster. Frankenstein is the villain of the story.
Now I'm seriously wondering how The Monster went from a literal scholar as the crux of his character into a moaning cartoon zombie
Don't we all?
Horror movie profits tbh
the people that made the adaptations thought it was a cool concept but didn't care enough to emphasize the details. that's my guess anyway, it happens all the time
because the moaning zombie is what we should expect from a real life Frankenstein's monster somewhere down the road
also it's like, marketable
@@asparagusoffice well that’s lame, an intelligent zombie is way more interesting
Dude Henry was the character I felt most bad for. He was willing to uproot his life for his friend and died due to his friend’s creation.
Was literally the samwise gamgee, but instead gollum strangles him before shelob
And what do you bet that Henry was like "Whoah, you are SO very much not Victor...who are you?" and quite likely had a conversation with it BEFORE it ripped his head off or whatever. Or would have tried if it hadn't raged on him immediately, I suppose...the story seemed to imply 'I saw him, and then I killed him too.'
Henry is the kind of friend we all could use in our lives, I think...bless the man for his boundless decency and eternal patience!
Henry was a true homie...
@@EShirako
Yep, poor dude died brutally
He deserved better :(
I love the fact that the moment Victor finally accomplished his goal and created a monster, he was immediately like: "Oh shit, I made a mistake."
Post nut clarity.
Literally 😂
you'd think he would have thought it was a bad idea when he started grave robbing but noooo he didn't realize his fuck up until it messed with HIS life
@bruhmanofyear2 what?
Honestly my favorite part. Humans can often get so invested in something that we disregard everything else and the realization that you've been dumb af can hit you like a brick.
I love how Victor didn’t think that making his monster huge would be a mistake until it stood up.
High int low wis moment.
@@baonkang5990 Twice the pride, double the fall.
The risk was calculated but man, he is bad at math
@@guilhermehank4938 He’s a scientist, not a mathematician.
Knowing Mary Shelley, it could be a metaphor; maybe Victor needed a protector
No wonder why this story is so popular and influential. It isn't just horror, it is tragic and philosophical and screwed up in such an interesting way
That's what good horror does. Many others have achieved this as well making "just horror"
Yeah, this story never really struck me as horrific. Even the concept never really scared me, it just seemed like it could go either way. The only scary part is what the monster looks like.
yup
@@ontosinabyss5950 I disagree. The philosophy itself involved in the story is scary.
Yeah facts af
Can't wrap my head around how Victor has the creativity and intelligence to create the monster, yet after having it kill the 2 people closest to him; he doesn't realize his its threats were directed at the next person to be his closest relationship.
It literally spelled it out that he would hurt those that Victor loves
my own teacher even said, “for someone who’s so smart, he’s not being very smart here!!” she was SO exasperated.
"I will be there at your wedding night" - oh this must mean he is going to kill me.
well that was incredibly foolish for him to assume. I believe even without previous knowledge of frankensteins story the reader knows what is truly going to happen and is just watching the train wreck envelop as the daemon proceeds to murder his wife instead of him.
I believe that this ties into Victor's pride. "Of course he's thinking about me! I'm the creator!"
@@KossolaxtheForesworn i mean, that was my thought process. The wedding night would be the perfect place to end it, plus the 'if i cant have my bride, you dont get to have yours' thing could go both ways. either lisabeth dies or victor dies, and I assumed (foolishly) that victor would be the one being threatened.
Something that really stuck with me from the novel, of all things, was the Monster first encountering fire. He curls up next to a campfire for warmth, but recoils in pain when he tries to place his hands directly in the flames.
Intentional or not, it works well as a metaphor for humanity's relationship with scientific advances. We will approach and nestle up to it for the sake of comfort but our ignorance often makes us forget how destructive it can be if we dive in recklessly.
man, never thought the Manhattan Project could be compared to Frankenstein's monster first interacting with fire
isn't Prometheus the greek god that gifted humanity fire? and "Frankenstein the modern Prometheus" really fits with all that. I didn't bother googling if what i said is even right.
I would argue that it is definitely intentional. It works perfectly with the themes in the novel.
@@TheHippyProductions whats funny though is the manhattan project may lead to part of mankind’s saving grace. If nuclear fission becomes a reliable means to produce energy we will be able to eliminate so much pollution that climate change could be managed. Just moving away from fossil fueled power plants would lower global co2 emissions by nearly 20%.
cars lol
Hey everyone, sorry for the confusion with uploading the video twice. Turns out, making a video a “premiere” makes it not show up for a lot of users and the video was getting a fraction of the traction it normally does. It didn’t even pop up in my second account’s feed lol. Hopefully you can see it now and sorry for those that have already seen it. Hope you enjoy and thank you for watching!
All good dad
I will gladly run this in the background as I clean to help your watch time
lol no worries
That’s okay my dude, I’ll watch it twice
All coool, keep up the amazing work
One of the most moving parts of this story was when the monster admitted he grew to love the family he was watching from a distance. I think it speaks to the depth of emotion in its purest form, and that only seems to fuel the tragedy because that love couldn’t be understood or reciprocated. Really makes you want to burst into tears.
The OG parasocial relationship.
I mean, it represents a lot of parasocial relationships that evolve into obsession. Isolated individuals usually form resentment when their admiration and love isn't reciprocated (e.g. crazy fans of pop idols or social media influencers).
The old blind man was the only one to see him for who he was, if only for a brief moment
and imagine if the creature had been treated as the child he was because even though the creature is in the physical form of an adult hes even at the point her only speaks to victor a few years old hes a massive extremely strong child who has been treated like a freak and a monster and abused by all but one person he has met if the creature had the chance to be nurtured properly and taught and showed love and kindness he could have become something totaly different
and then he monstered all over frankenstein's
His conversation with the blind man is heartbreaking.
You know it's going to go horribly wrong but you really, Really hope the story somehow changes.
Yea i was like come on why....
Thats by far my favorite part of the story
It was so sad, if only the blind man were able to get a word in.
Totally. We all knew where ut was going from the get go. But it still crushed my heart when Felix attacked him. I was even cautiously hopeful of a second meeting, of the old man explaining the situation to them. But nope.
what dorm has enough room for full blown experiments like this?? dang
times were crazy back when a whole house cost 4 berries 😩
@@junohypot You did not say four berries 😂
He's a minor noble. It comes with the territory
@@junohypot 😭😭😭😭
@@junohypot or a sack of corn
I truly think Frankenstein will remain relevant for as long as the human race exists. Simply one of the greatest stories ever told and the fact that Mary Shelley wrote the original short story when she was just 19 years old will never not blow my mind.
I wonder if she ever knew how big her story would become and how many adaptations there would be over the years.
@@Nocturnewashere I'm sure she could never have imagined how ingrained it would become in future generations or just how much it would be adapted. It's often the case with 19th century and earlier writers and artists whose work obviously wasn't nearly as wide-spread in their own day. I have studied Shelley's life (a long time ago), and I'm pretty sure Frankenstein made an impact and continued to do so through her life, but obviously the 20th century and film is what really brought it to new levels, albeit in a completely bastardised form.
@@discipleofthecapedbaldy962 I one day do hope there will be a good adaptation. The world's long due for that.
More was expected of people earlier on back then, even if she explicitly wasn't promoted as such. Nowadays, people wander aimlessly in their 30's and 40's, whereas 150 years ago it would be outrageous that you didn't have your life in place as far as personal, professional and even political.
@@doddsino Very true, but I think it would be tough to define what was expected of Mary by others, and even by herself, and what she accomplished at that age. With our perspective now given how significant Frankenstein is today and likely always will be, it especially seems like nothing short of a miracle for her to have achieved what she did so early in her life.
Yes she was born to highly intelligent parents (though her mother died soon after her birth) and was clearly well educated, but she had a strained relationship with her father and was quite the rebel, eloping with Percy Shelley when she was 16 (or thereabouts IIRC). She was a Romantic figure at heart and in her own literary circle it was pretty much expected to be somewhat free-spirited and open-minded, even to the point of sympathising with Lucifer in Paradise Lost, which is why Milton's work is mentioned in Frankenstein (the monster himself is obviously analogous to Lucifer in many ways). It would be only after a lot of tragedy, losing three children and Percy in the span of maybe 6-7 years, that she began to settle into more usual aspects of society.
That's not to contradict you though - society was very different then and people were definitely expected to grow up fast - it's just that not many grew up like Mary Shelley did or write a timeless classic.
I love how Frankenstein seems to be claiming that whenever he was horrified by something he just took a nap. Like JUST ADMIT YOU FAINTED IT DOESN’T MAKE YOU LESS OF A MAN! He describes his father as fainting but not himself lmao
Monster: *doin shit*
Frankenstein: imma sleep
ngl this comment made me laugh so hard because honestly when i was listening to that part of the video my eyebrows just scrunched at how he apparently "went to his bedroom and slept" like wtf do you been he slept!? if an 8ft tall monster was in my house i would not be able to sleep a wink. but reading this made me realize oh. he friggin fainted lmfao
this was written by a woman in 1818. i doubt that she went out of her way to preserve “manliness”. she even depicts other male characters fainting like you mentioned. it seems to me like raising this monster from the dead was something so horrible and awful frankenstein just couldn’t comprehend what he’d done and wanted to deny reality and return to normalcy. just like in hereditary, where peter literally beheads his sister in a car accident and goes home, leaves her headless body in his car and goes to sleep.
Or maybe he took a nap.
@@iampfaff is this a book?
Mary Shelley created one of the world's first tumblr sexymen. I mean you cannot tell that women of the period weren't going crazy over Victor and his monster
The monster canonically has a fucked up face and black emo hair. If he was created in the 21st century he would be a tiktok political eboy
His monster’s tall
So it doesn’t surprise me
@@itsthemoustachepig8188 Oh I was thinking of frankenstein looking like someone you'd see on a 'most underrated sexyman' tumblr lolz
Yeah think that if you want, you witch.
@@bigfax24 this is the funniest comment ever, thank you
The thing that always struck me is that the "Monster" isn't really described as being some disgusting agonized beast, but is simply visceral. He's this being that should never have been born, a beautiful yet disturbing creation with ghostly yellow eyes that glare at Victor with hatred and condemnation for his cowardice.
He definitely was described as a monster. He was described as having skin so stretched out that you could see his veins and arteries, as well as the outlines of his organs. He had disturbing yellow eyes and lifeless greasy hair. Idk about you but that sounds like a monster to me.
i'm also reminded of red(overly sarcastic productions) commenting on how the monster aka adam is basically just a GIANT FUCKING BABY when first given life in her video on frankenstein.
if you look at it from that perspective...motherfucker abandoned his own child to the world
Crazy how the caricature of Frankenstein in the 20th century was a consensus on peoples interpretation of the original story.
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The way that I always pictured him was that he was so incredibly beautiful that he looped back around to being unsettling to look at, perfect uncanny valley vibes.
i love that every time victor gets remotely stressed, he suddenly falls ill with a severe fever. very relatable.
@@kathrineici9811 I mean he did chase the monster to the pole lol
@@kathrineici9811 have you seen the shit they put in their houses? Everything had either arsenic or lead in it
Same, but me and migraines lol.
And becomes substantialy crazier
Mary Shelley is an interesting person to learn about too (as you briefly mentioned).
When she first began writing Frankenstein she had lost a few babies and you can really feel her exploration of her grief and having a loved one taken away without reason.
I feel like a lot of people miss that this is a story that makes much more sense and can be viewed completely differently if you know the writer's biography. I know people make fun of literature teachers for finding meaning in things that the writer didn't think much about. But, most of the times you can find some sort of paralel between the writer's life and their works. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein reads to me, as what you said, a history of grief. But also neglect, which was present in many shapes in her life.
@@mgraven3156 Yeah, but there is a difference between saying the author had depression because they made a door or curtains blue, and knowing that an author had lost children when writing a story describing how far depression and loneliness can take you, and the isolation that results from that. I find it kind of amazing that this novel was part of my high school reading list, and my teacher never thought to include biography details like the author having lost a child.
also her mother was one of the og feminists c:
@@perseiss true, her background and family connections to english literature at the time is insane, it almost felt like she was destined to become a famous writer!
I was thinking that the story was a bit of an allegory to motherhood and bringing forth life into the world, for that life to be corrupted and consumed by hatred. I think this angle should be talked about more as well. At the beginning when Victor is talking about creating life and becoming a god, all I could think was "He can already create life with Elizabeth, does that make her a god?” interesting to think about.
the line "i am malicious because i am miserable" from the monster will forever impact my soul. my first read of this book was about a year ago at one of the worst and most "miserable" parts of my life. relating to the monster more than the human characters sometimes :/
I’ve honestly always related to the creature more than the human characters in this book. It just breaks my heart every time I read that section. The reader KNOWS that the creature is exactly the same as a human, even surpassing a lot of humans with his intelligence (especially back then), so he’s very easy to empathize with, especially with Shelley’s wonderful, descriptive expression of his thoughts. It makes you feel what he feels, and it’s horrible. The feeling of isolation and the inherent rage of being denied basic human decency is palpable. This line especially hit me hard the first time I read it, because I understood completely.
I hope your miserable times are over or at least better
Hurt People, hurt people.
I can’t get over how genuine the beginning of the story. Like, it really capture the arrogant crunch of being a college student, taking on too much and then running away when it crashes down on you. It’s a story about someone running away from maturity out of guilt and fear.
He never had to learn humility. His “sister” was said to be a “gift” for him. He found 1 person to validate his ideas and ignores the warnings of his dad and others. Now he’s out here trying to tell people to chill with the glory and fame pursuits. It’s deeper than running from maturity. Its not about a college student trying to be successful under capitalism. It’s about men who’ve never been checked. Imagine being a new mom and having to listen to a bunch of rich men talk about their ideas on philosophy and life for weeks without them asking your opinion. I’m sure this is why she wrote this and why she called herself a “listener” during this time. Wendi does a great job giving an overview but there’s deeper stuff here without context. An hour and a half isn’t long enough for a real analysis.
The 18 century college is lesss depressing and capitalism Compared to the modern day
I took on 19 hours one semester and now I live in the arctic circle after the brutal murder of my entire family
@@mixedviews3536 I never said it was about a college student trying to be successful under capitalism, I'm just talking about how relatable Viktor's 19-year-old sophomore college experience was to me as a 19 year-old college student. Shelley got it so right, it's so real. Personally, I like viewing Frankenstein under the 'death of the author'-style queer lens but pop off with your more 'authorial intent'-style feminist reading. Appreciate it, though I do want to add that I don't really think Wendigoon's video was meant to be an analysis either. More like an intro to Frankenstein + his personal thoughts, so my comment was following a similar mindset.
His channel doesn't really do video essay/literary analysis content, his stuff is more like personal rabbit holes/theory crafting, so you'd probably be disappointed with the rest of his content if you're more on the wholistic literary analysis side. An interesting literary analysis video about Frankenstein (in the more pop cultural sense, not the Shelley sense) for me was "Monsters in the Closet - A History of LGBT Representation in Horror Cinema (Video essay)."
I think it’s open to a variety of interpretations, I saw it in a similar manner as David Lynch’s Eraserhead in which his own doubts about his newfound fatherhood manifested such a dark and twisted piece of art. Victor is essentially abandoning his responsibility as a father, leading to his “child” becoming an emotionally disturbed violent individual in “adulthood”.
34:24
Wendigoon: “But to his surprise…”
My brain: “He did the mash! He did the monster mash.”
"It was a graveyard smash"
@@carlosrod100 “The monster mash! It caught on in a flash!”
"He did the mash!"
@@Phoebe5448 “He did the monster mash”
(Wah-oooooooooo. Wah-Wah-ooooo. Wah-Wah-ooooo. Wah-Wah-ooo.)
Comments you can hear.
Both Frankenstein and Jekyll and Hyde are probably the most misunderstood classic novels out there, which is a real shame because the original stories are legit bangers
I’d say Dracula should also be included in that. The real ideas of the story have been kinda lost through Hollywood in a similar manner and they’re all told in a similar structure, especially Frankenstein and Dracula
@@broderickfoster2107 Dracula slapped - that book was great, the writing structure * chefs kiss *
@@broderickfoster2107 I was going to mention Dracula has been adapted to death, making the story kinda "overrrated"....but you're right. It's original concept and inner ideas have been scattered to the winds through being adapted over and over and over again, because vampires sell better than man made monsters apparently. The original Dracula stands with Frankenstein and Jekyll/Hyde
DFGH since you mentioned Frankenstein and Jekyll and Hyde, I remembered smth
Someone mentioned in a video that if Victor and Jekyll swapped roles with their personalities intact, neither story would actually happen because Jekyll would absolutely make the creature a social pedestal for what science should be, while Victor looking at himself as Hyde would immediately freak out, get the potion and turn himself back, then chuck it out the window
I don’t think writers abandoned the thematically significant portions, look at Syndrome from the Incredibles or Joe from YOU.
The final pages of Junji Ito's Frankenstein broke my heart. I was surprised by how much the imagery struck me.
In Junji Ito's version, the story ends like this:
We see the creature standing all alone on the frozen plains of the Antarctic. The wind whips at his face and tears at his rags. As he overhears the news of Victor's death from the ship in the distance, he is overcome with sorrow and lets out a wail. With tears streaming down his face, he exclaims that his creator has left him.
The complete and utter loneliness that is depicted here is crushing. The wide shot of the Monster standing so alone on the desolated plain hit me deep.
It is here that the Monster understands that his God has finally forsaken him completely, and while he never had anyone who loved him, it is only now that there is no one left who understands him either.
Oh...damn that is tragic
Ito san is a master storyteller.
@@toshirodragon no, 99% of Ito's version is still Mary Shelley's version of story, he only added the last part because the ending of the original novel is kinda open-ending(tho the monster in the Mary Shelley's version vowed to commit unalive after Victor's death before disappearing), Ito is a big fan of Mary's Frankenstein novel and I am pretty sure he'd be upset if you said it that way, making him look like the one who invented the story
@@oniplus4545 There is more to storytelling than invention. Its san is a master at presentation and formatting. Many a good story is lost because of bad presentation.
I always thought of Frankenstein as a green man made by a evil laughing doctor with a stitched head that the doctor implanted a brain in and then he was struck by lightning wich made him come to life and he stumbled around and was big and dumb. I didn’t know Frankenstein went this deep I loved this story.
I thought exactly the same
Especially when you realize that Frankenstein isn't even the name of the green-shambling-zombie (it's Adam), but actually the name of the man who made him. Though regardless of the error, the fact that Frankenstein is a monster is still true nonetheless.
@@DarlingMissDarling Where did the name Adam come from? Is it just in reference to the original Monster calling himself Adam and wishing for an Eve?
I can tell you’re an American from the ignorance of this comment
@@milkjug4237 The creature isn't ever named in the book, it does however call itself "Adam of your labours" to Victor. But it's meant to be poetic. God created the first man Adam, and Victor saw himself as God by creating his own "man". That's where Adam comes from. It's been accepted by the community that Adam is as close to a name that we can use.
Being chased by Frankenstein and secretly leaving clues and resources, in a way communicating with him and taking care of him... that's the closest he could ever come to social interaction. In a weird twisted way, Frankenstein was his only friend. It makes sense that he cried at his death.
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I think the Monster also partially realized what he wasted by solely devoting his life to destroying Frank’s life. I imagine there would be other people willing to ignore his horrific appearance to see what he could’ve been.
Its probably him realizing how empty revenge is
@@marocat4749 it's not that simple, he lost his creator and if he can't seek neither answer nor revenge upon Victor, he'd choose to simply disappear, his drive on revenge was never empty, it's his sole purpose in life to seek his creator's answer as to why he was ever created
Yeah my AP lit final was based on Frankenstein, and the original is actually incredibly different from every other depiction of the story. It's not just horror, it's a philosophical look into human nature and what truly constitutes a monster. It's so good.
In a way I'm glad that modern depictions of Frankenstein aren't anything like the book. It made reading it into a truly new and unexpected experience
By original, do you mean the version that Wendigoon goes over or that 1818 version? I just finished Frankenstein for my English class and it’s probably one of the best books I’ve read in a long time.
We did it too. However i glazed over it for a grade. I enjoyed readinh into it however I will read it genuinely when im not rushed to do so for class.
Im a slow reader by all means.
I would disagree I'd say this is what true horror is not ghosts and jumpscares but despair and true sadness these are concepts that are more horrifying than anything I see now but I do agree this story is much more philosophical and seems to really look at the worst of human nature and how easily we can disregard what we create despite how bad it can become
I agree, Frankenstein and Dracula really still hold up today, not too much anachronistic language in either of them (They were two books my AP Lit and Language class had that were required reading, we could choose each....I chose Dracula, but have since read Frankenstein)
Another thing, the novel Jurassic Park is like a simplified modern example of Frankenstein (novel only obv)
In regards to older novels, War of the Worlds was a different story....that was a tough read, I could read a 500 page modern novel in the time it took to read 180-ish pages of that mess
it's so funny to me that Victor is just so pleasantly surprised that the literal monster he created is not where he left it and is probably roaming around somewhere where he doesn't have to deal with it.
Probably the most relatable part of the whole story
"That's a problem for tomorrow's Victor Frankenstein."
Henry sounds like a real MVP. His friend goes utterly mental and even goes into a coma for a few days, and bro sticks with him throughout.
Also I love how Junji Ito's idea of adapting another work is "stay true to the story but make it utterly fucking horrifying"
The funny thing is that if Frankenstein had just followed through with his idea of life and showed compassion for the monster from the beginning instead of horror and neglect, the whole situation would have likely been completely different. Like in most cases, a bit of compassion would have solved everything
Well he was clearly not in a good heads pace to begin with when he made a creature out of stolen parts of human corpses bruh
@@solus8685 eh, in the context of the story it was fine. Just a dude with a passion for his work. Of course I don't hold reverence for corpses so grave robbing isn't that big a deal to me 🤷
Especially if that grave robbing leads to a huge discovery like the monster lol
I have always read the story as an analog for bad parenting. He starts messing around and creates life. "Oh shit this is scary". So he runs away. The child grows up confused and angry. Many years later the father realizes his mistake and comes back only to learn his child cant forgive him. This is sadly a common story arc in humanity.
So yeah compassion and love was the solution. Though is tragic flaw was pretty well setup in the beginning with him being a reclusive antisocial science trope.
I literally talk about this show anytime I get a chance to, but this idea was mentioned in the show, Penny Dreadful. In that show, it begins after Victor's first creation was already made and Victor has sort of "tried again". He shows his second creation compassion this time around and teaches him english and shows him things. Then Victor's original creation returns and berates Victor for showing him cruelty and leaving him when he was most vulnerable, but showing his second "son" the love and care that he was denied. Then he demands Victor make him a wife and theres so much to the characters and I highly recommend you check it out if you're interested.
Man, the idea of being forced to isolate yourself for the rest of your life for the mistakess you have made while being tormented by something that can't be stopped by any means and whose only purpose in life is to make you suffer as much as possible is genuinely one of the creepiest horror concepts I have ever seen.
The description of finally completing your work only to step back and realize you've created a horrific monster is a pain that all artists know too well
the good thing is artists will edit the horrific monster DRFTGYHUJI
What kinda art yall be making?? Wdym "horrific monster"? I guess I'm not an artist afterall lmao
@@laurinha2892 they mean like they work hard on an art piece, then it turns out bad or not as they expected
@@holysickdivinenights ohhh, makes sense. Still can't relate because I can tell it doesn't look good during the process, but I get it. Thanks for explaining!
Imagine how god feels
This was fantastic. If you ever decide to give Dracula the same treatment I'll watch it in a heartbeat
I could see that work if an onlooker (the Frankenstein of this story) watched a loved one become a monster( Dracula ) as a result of the onlooker try to help them possibly trying to prevent them from dying , although hopefully doesn’t have the same ending
Or all classics. Jekyll and Hyde, Dracula, everyone of them, send it
I wish curious readers could experience these 2 books only with expectations of how they are viewed in the modern era. No spoilers, just the expectation that Dracula and Frankenstein are immortal classics that deserve attention.
I was lucky/stupid enough to read the books without any knowledge of the outcomes or even plot progression. Frankenstein is my favorite book and Chapter XXI of Dracula is my favorite chapter of any book ever.
Anyone who is lucky enough to look past the hype of these stories and actually just read or listen to the books will have their perspective on life, or their appreciation for the human condition changed forever.
This would be amazing. Dracula is a tale of tragedy and loss just as much as Frankenstein is.
@@moccaccino9084I did Jekyll and Hyde for my English class and I actually enjoyed it, once you get past the "Mild mannered scientist turns into a psychopath split personality" thing.
giggling at the idea of groups of people getting together to come up with ghost stories then getting completely blindsided and outdone by the likes of Mary Shelley and Junji Ito
like "oooo wouldn't it be spooky if the dog's eyes turned red???"
"yeah but like what if a sentient planet came to earth to lick it and it drove everyone mad while also destroying the world"
what is the last story from?
@@eclipseonmars It’s Hellstar Remina by Junji Ito
"😐 yeah ok junji ito, please talk to us when you come up with something new"
@unknown that is such a wild interpretation of what i said. lmao
Junji Ito really showed those dead men from 1800s
i remember reading this and growing attached to clerval's character. he was such a sweet and kind man. he never questioned frankenstein and just supported him even though he knew nothing of victor's struggles. he didnt pry bc he knew if victor wanted to tell him something, he will. so you can imagine the heartbreak i felt when he died. rereading my annotations on my book makes me laugh at myself bc i had such a big crush on clerval.
Getting a crush on a side character of a classical book happens to the best of us
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I hadn’t watched this video because I knew about frankenstein. Mad scientist in a castle makes a monster, monster attacks the town and a mob comes to kill him.
I can’t believe how different the book is from film adaptations. The book is one of the greatest stories I’ve ever heard. Thank you for opening my eyes to this masterpiece.
I really loved the section in the story when Frankenstein said "It's Frankin' Time!". I almost cried, it moved me so much. Really powerful.
Especially how directly after that, he began to Frank all over Harry. It’s really deep and ironic.
@@MoochiBoochi lmao
and then he started Frankin' all over the place. how beautiful.
OMG.. lmao
@@mannat5227 but then he Franked for the last time in the snow; how sad
One of the things about the story that really gets lost in modern adaptations and the popular media perception of the story is the many layers in which it is framed. The first layer is Walton sending letters to his sister. This is already one layer deep, as many stories would just be the events themselves, not an in-universe written account of the events. Then, Doctor Frankenstein begins to relay his life's story to Walton. It is now two layers deep. Within Frankenstein's story he gets to the part where he finally speaks to the monster, and the monster begins to tell Frankenstein of his own experiences. It's now three layers deep. The monster speaks and he describes how he watched the family and the arrival of Safie, and during his description he recounts the tale he overheard about how Safie's father was imprisioned in Arabia and how Felix helped him escape only to be betrayed. This tale is four layers deep.
Four layers. The story of a man in Arabia was recounted in a home in the French countryside and overheard by a monster before being told to the Swiss man who created him who then relayed this entire speech to an English sailor who then wrote the entire thing down and sent the letter back to his sister. The idea of the unreliable narrator is one that could be considered here. Many details, whether on the part of Walton, Frankenstein, the monster, or the family whom the monster stalked, could be entirely fabricated (fabricated within the narrative of the story obviously. the book itself is clearly fiction) and we the readers would have no way to know.
YES SOMEONE ELSE WITH THE “WALTON MADE IT UP” THEORY!!! It’s my favorite. It falls into the isolation theme too - Walton, who was so isolated on a ship of people who be believed to be not of the same class as him and not as intelligent, writes of someone out in this tundra that IS as smart as him. He and Walton have similar speech patterns and the idea of unreliable narrators and isolation runs DEEP with it.
Holy shit
Someone tell Wendy
Framing stories with stories was a popular style at the time ie Heart of Darkness. The story loses all meaning if you consider it fabricated since it was written to juxtapose the view that science was inherently good hence why it's subtitled the modern Prometheus.
while reading classics i notice a trend of the story being recited by another character in a book (currently reading Dracula which is literally all journal entries recounting the events) and it always irks me how good their memories are?? What do you mean you memorized 8 monologues that were recited hours ago.
Surprised you didn't mention it, but this is also widely considered the first science fiction novel. Mary Shelley is owed a hell of a lot for her contributions.
Yeah, but that consideration isn't correct, just a widely believed misconception. Mary Shelley wrote a great story, but this isn't the first by a long shot.
@@FalonGrey what would the first be, then?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_True_Story this one is considered to be the earliest form of what we could call sci fi
@@evildarkass5though it shares common elements, it isn't really science fiction as there isn't even a nod to any scientific knowledge in the story. It is for sure absurdist parody, but science fiction should have at its roots science behind it. Mary Shelly's Frankenstein does have the bare bones structure of what we would consider to be science fiction and laid foundations as to what it would become today. One could articulate that Frankenstein, as scholars do, is the first science fiction novel. That and if we are really considering novels, the aforementioned novella/short story doesn't exactly stand as a novel. So the statement Mary Shelly's Frankenstein is the first science fiction novel is still correct.
@@FalonGreywhich science fiction novel are you referring to?
I feel terrible for poor Justine, she was such a lovely and kind person who did literally nothing wrong and, in return, she was framed and killed for a crime she didn't commit
the worst part is that the truth about William's killer was never revealed to the general public, and she surely went down in history as a cruel and deceptive murderer, when in reality she was anything but :(
we love Justine Moritz, the best nanny who didn't deserve it
And like victor at least could have insisted be believed her having not giving in, or find someone to frame, and didnt.
I think my favorite concept in the book is one that isn’t very frequently talked about, that being how Frankenstein’s monster is not scary just because he is horrifying to look at, but because his existence itself in unnatural. Inherently, humanity is scared of what they do not understand. The sheer idea that something like the monster even exists at all brings a deep fear to all who come into contact with him. If he can exist, what other horrors can exist? Its almost like how people are afraid of spiders. Yeah they’re creepy to look at, but that’s why you don’t like them. They EXIST. something with 8 legs and a fuck ton of eyes EXISTS. It’s unnatural to most people in society aside from those who learn to make peace with it. I just really love that.
I will never make peace with spiders never
I exist too, wat up gorgeous
@@Ghaztoir Best pick up line.
The issue I have of spiders and roaches is the idea of it touching me, I don't mind being near them or a dead one, it just makes my skin craw to have them touch me.
yea this crossed my mind while I was reading it. it is not the gaunt face reflecting mixture of handsome yet horrifying, or his supernatural strength or unnatural height, or his skin revived from ravages of decay. but the fact that he is undead. the sight evoking instantly anger and fear in equal measure.
it is tragic that the fact of his existence is what deprives him of any form of positivity in his life, while having immeasurable capabilities to do good and to love.
and I believe this would have happened again had frankenstein finished creating another. they would have likely indeed ended up hating each other. how could it be any other way. their common origin would not unite them but separate them even further as neither belongs in this world and they instinctively know it.
I appreciate your take that both Frankenstein and his creation are monsters. Too many people I've known characterize Victor as the "true villain," throwing aside the fact that he was a naive young man who had lost his beloved mother and wanted to control the circumstances of life, as we all do. Part of why it's such a great story is because there's no real hero or villain; it's the story, essentially, of two human beings trying and failing. Tragedy at its finest.
While it's arguably if he was a villain or not he WAS cowardly and his inability to own up to his actions was the driving point of the story
Evil or not this is all Frankenstein's fault we have all been in helpless situations but many don't think about crossing the line his actions are inexcusebale and to me his poor creation is nothing but a victim not to mention that this entire thing could have being avoided if frenkenstein showed his creation some love but he denied him even that he is the true monster in this story
@@cyanfireall7710 Yes, because it's a tragedy. But when we lay all the blame on him and think that we surely would have done better in his situation, we do the characters and the conflicts and themes of the book a disservice.
@@kikima258 When the Monster started actively, maliciously taking lives he ceased to be a victim and became a bad actor in his own right. Victor made the wrong choice and set events in motion, but that does not negate the Monster's agency (a key part of his humanity) and thereby his responsibility. Neither of them is good or a clear team we should root for; they're flawed, hurting people.
@@kikima258 I totally agree with this interpretation. Unless I'm mistaken, Mary Shelley was, at the time of writing, inspired by Rousseau's idea of "tabula rasa" (that man is born an empty canvas) too.
Victor was raised in a wealthy and loving family and always had whatever he might need, but when given the responsibility to give the same to his own creation he neglects it. Frankenstein's creation was never given the chance to be anything but a monster because that's all that he was treated as; and that the only person who accepted him was blind is quite telling of how shallow people's reasons for not accepting him were.
It’s honestly so funny to me the wendigoon said “he had loved Elizabeth but his love for science was stronger” Victor was dedicated to his grind a true red pill move
Real
And then he instantly did a 180 and swung back around to become a beta coward when he finally achieved success by abandoning his creation and not being truthful with his family and friends causing them all to die horrible deaths.
Classic Frank W
@@deathknight1239 ew no way people actually unironically use the terms "beta" and "alpha". like why is that you're initial comments about this fantastic story. i sound like a hater but still.
@@georgewashingtonsar-1527 it’s being used ironically George Washington AR-15
"He realizes the beauty and love of a woman is something he'll never experience." Me too Franky, me too
"Babe, wake up. New *_Literally Me_* just dropped."
It's rough how relatable Victor is. The school stuff, the going to sleep to avoid the unpleasant consequences of your actions, the morbid interest in life and death, the lurching into cemeteries to scavenge the bodies of the dead. These are all things I've been through man 😞. He fucks up a lot of stuff, but I can see myself fucking things up in a similar way
uh you wanna repeat the scavenge body parts part??????
@@YEETUSDAFEETUS You've never done that before? Odd
@@Rey_Palpatine
So YOU'RE the one who took my arm! I wasn't a dead body, I was just chilling with my crow homies and took a nap smh
@@NightSkyNyx Now that you mention it, I _did_ think it was weird how some of the dead bodies still seemed like they were breathing. Oops
@@Rey_Palpatine
I suppose it’s alright now, we all make mistakes in the heat of passion. Plus I did steal my arm back so we’re good now
Ironically enough, had the Monster tried to reach out to Clerval, he might have at least tried to understand him. Out of anyone in the setting (besides the blind man) who might have been compassionate enough to not reject him immediately, it probably would have been Henry Clerval, but instead he murdered him without a second thought.
Or perhaps even Elizabeth. In the musical adaptation (which is the only good adaptation, in my opinion), there is an added scene before her death in which Elizabeth first meets the monster and is very kind and loving toward him. But even still, the monster kills her anyways. It's really neat :D
@@raptorwrangler6012 I completely understand your point, but it's just funny how you're like, "she's nice to him, but he kills her anyway, neat!"
In my opinion it would’ve been the same as Felix since Henry is nice to people like him(professors ,college classmates, or childhood friends) he probably wouldn’t care about what a 8-foot tall abomination feels, even if he was nice to him the monster was too far gone at that point and considered humans (especially Frankenstein’s loved ones) to be nothing more than catalysts for Frankenstein’s misery
@@thed_ani I mean, I disagree with the first part of your comment since Henry was only ever portrayed as being polite and understanding of everyone he met, so logically it would follow that he would be the most likely to follow through on that consistent character trait with the monster.
The second part of your comment...well, yeah, you're saying that you agree with the sentiment of my comment, yea? The monster MIGHT have found acceptance from Henry, but he instead murdered him without a second thought, showing just how far gone he was by that point. Both of our statements complement each other.
My own interpretation of the story is that Frankenstein's "Monster" is neither really him, nor his monster, it's the concept of isolation. Frankenstein sought isolation for himself out of obsession (after all he didn't have any contacts with his family back home for two years) which led him to lose his sense of morality and reality, which he regained the moment he brought his creation to life, as if the gaze of the "other" had been enough to briefly bring him back to his senses.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, you have the Monster, isolated by no fault of his. Clearly able and willing to be a kind soul and to help out others, making the best out of his isolation simply by observing and learning as it went along. But when isolation took its toll on him, he tried to have any form of contact with people, but was ultimately rejected every single time and it turned him into a heartless being.
Every step of the way you can clearly see that Victor kept refusing the hand that tried to reach out to him, while the Monster was absolutely begging for any hand to reach out.
This goes on up to the point where you almost see salvation when they both meet, the monster once again begging for somebody and Victor nearly accepting to do something for someone else for once. Both sides of the same coin meeting for once, finding together a chance at living the life they both longed for, failing miserably for the last time.
What I especially find poetic in this is that, after that specific breaking point, it becomes very clear that both Victor and the Monster will be linked together through their respective isolations. Up until the very end at that point, it's as if they were both together alone, forever.
What a beautiful thought. Thank you for sharing.
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Great analogy. ❤️✌️
Imagine typing all this just to be wrong. Lol, lmao even.
That's an amazing way to look at it. Honestly very thought-provoking as well.
I read the book in college and it was pretty good. It struck me with two things that I still remember. One being that Victor was so caught up in his goal that he not only became delusional due to lack of sleep and taking care of himself but this brings up the idea of how even though we could do something, there should be thought on if we should.
And while the monster was misunderstood hes not fully without responsobility for his actions. Both Victor and the Monster make choices that lead to the overall tragedy for both.
One of the things I love about the Mel Brooks parody "Young Frankenstein" is that it almost feels like a "what if?" Story in that the movie's monster is still a corpse and his brain doesn't function like it should. Even so, that version of Frankenstein doesn't reject the monster, and instead does everything he can to protect him, and in the end instead of raging against his creator, once he is capable of doing so the monster defends the doctor as though they really were father and son. Could they have had a similar relation if the original Frankenstein showed as much compassion for his mistake?
That’s what I want to know as well, kind of like an alternate universe where Frankenstein doesn’t run away from his creation. Would be kinda poggers tbh.
its not frankenstein, its fronkonsteen
Well I suppose a part of that is he's Frankenstein's son. So in a way it could be seen as future generations learning from the past. Making better decisions that ultimately create a better outcome.
Yea like bro i just want the dude to be happy and good
@@Eichro It's not Igor, It's Aigor.
It's incredible how intelligent The Monster is. As someone who had to read the book in highschool, this story wasn't like anything I could've imagined. What an awesome and horrific story.
Being that kid in school and now being that supposed nerdy adult, I definitely feel with Adam here. To feel constantly ostracised from everyone, including so called family, despite of your intelligence, to know you're different and will never be accepted can be hard at first.
I love how Ito's drawings really refresh the horror of the Monster. The image of the Monster has been kind of sanitized and become really blah through the decades and his work just really makes you think about the fact that it was a 8ft man made entirely out of rotting body parts. And not just made with two arms, two legs, a torso, and a head, but several of those even to make the Monster larger. That is just terrifying. It's crazy how an old story can be mundane, but a refreshing of the original details can make it new and just as grotesque as it was the day it was published.
I appreciate you doing this video and showcasing the entire story, along with Ito's disturbing art. Really cool.
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I remember telling people that I kinda teared up at the end of the story. People thought I was nuts. But it’s a very beautiful story
Those that were seen dancing by those who couldn't hear the music were thought to be insane.
Tragedy often is.
Strong work as always. Your videos don’t just summarize stories, they motivate me to go read them myself.
I love your vids man!
Mr paper! There he is!
Damnnn, love your vids, would wait for your NK entertainment video!
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Ok we need 2 more likes
I love the Monster’s descent to evil, he was rejected by the world and abandoned by his father and turned to spite. There’s an old proverb that goes along the lines of ‘The child who is rejected by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth’. It’s a well established trend in psychological literature that outcasted children become bullies and turn to mischievous behaviour, and will likely turn to crime when adults. Shelly likely didn’t intend to predict personality psychology, but I am continually amazed that the same themes of abandonment and vengeance against the world appear in literature and then to have those themes scientifically correlated in human behaviour just goes to show the vast and incorruptible power of stories. Frankenstein’s Monster is another Cain, another Satan, except it was actually abandoned by its creator.
Would love to see a more character driven adaption of this story, Frankenstein’s dive into the occult can’t have been healthy for his sense of reality and grip on morality. I feel Frankenstein’s obsession with necromancy is a reflection of humanity’s quest to become Gods, like the construction of the Tower of Babel. I think this book’s brilliance is more in its implications rather than its direct comparisons, there’s a humanist masterpiece in Frankenstein’s themes.
I legit cried when i first read the book and got to the part about Henry's death
I had gotten so attached to him because he was such a good friend to Victor throughout, and such a bright spot in this story's gloom
I love how it never occurs to Victor to just...not give the female creature a uterus. Yeah, his worries about the monster not keeping its word/the female potentially rejecting it are valid, but Victor, my dude, they can only breed if they both have all the correct plumbing.
While that would rid him of one worry, he'd still have created two creatures capable of harming hundreds. If his creation had lied to him, now his problems would be doubled.
I remember Frankenstein being the only story I ever read completely in middle school, the whole plot intrigued me so much, and I just love so much how both the monster and Victor are portrayed as awful villains and caring creatures
I feel like Henry met Frankenstein's Monster (before the murder) he would be the type of person who would be initially scared, but would actually be good friends and this would turn into a whatever at the time equivalent of buddy cop movie.
which Frankenstein? the monster or the doctor?
@@marcusaaronliaogo9158 Edited it but yeah I met the monster
@@GenderFluidDragonKing so, would it turn into kind off like the jewish golem story?
@@marcusaaronliaogo9158 yeah but it's kind of thinking more of a like dysfunctional family kind of situation for like Frankenstein would have to have some major character development and take responsibility as a father
Right, Henry would probably help victor find the monster, hell, help take care of him, show him love. No questions asked.
I'm dyslexic so I've never really given reading much of a chance but after watching this you made Frankenstein seem far more interesting than any film adaptation I've seen so I picked up a copy for myself and started reading, just finished tonight (almost a month later lol) and it was a wonderful experience. just wanted to say thanks for making such amazing videos because without this I may not have given Frankenstein the time it deserves.
Have you ever tried changing the font and page colour?
If you are reading on a device, try changing to white font on black page. It really helps me as the words tend to go blurry.
Now try Dostoyevsky
hi there, i also have poblems reading books, but what help me is using Audiobooks!, if you got some nice headphones its really easy to find narrations of books on youtube, or in some specialized pages.
@@Zaeris312 I've also found audiobooks to be very helpful, I'm currently reading through Lord of the Rings using the Andy Serkis audiobooks and it's been a pretty good experience.
frankenstein is a book absolutely worth the effort. i hope you read and enjoy it!!
In one of the essays I wrote for AP Lit, I used Frankenstein as a source and talked about how Victor and the Monster were analogous to Adam and Eve. I love saying that with no context, but the actual thought behind it makes some sense. Basically, Victor is Adam, the monster is Eve. Victor makes the monster and the actions of the monster eventually drag both it and Victor down. The reason the monster does what it does is due to its isolation, much like how Eve was basically isolated before being manipulated. You could make the argument that the monster was born pure, and upon encountering something that was not as pure as it was, ie humans, it quickly lost its purity and fell, causing Victor to follow it out of "loyalty" (not wanting it to kill anyone else because it would pretty much be his fault).
Adam didn’t create eve though. god created eve from one of adams ribs. Sooo thats not a very good comparison
Horrible analogy
Something that’s been eating at me is how much this story is very similar to the cycle of abuse. It’s about someone who is treated horribly from birth, constantly treated as a monster, eventually even being considered a monster by his creator, (see: dad) mirroring the abuse given to him. It’s what he’s known the longest, and it’s what he defaults to whenever he doesn’t know what to do, or needs a way to express his feelings. He CAN express other emotions, he HAS, but it’s not what he’s treated with. Eventually, you get fed up with it, and mirror the behavior to the people who treated you so horribly. He has the ability to fit in socially, but not visually. Being trapped in a place where you cannot talk to anybody, having to hide yourself away, it’d drive anyone mad. Because he never had the ability to express his feelings in a healthy way, he doesn’t. It’s not an inevitability, not usually, but with everything he’s experienced, it does become an inevitability. He knows what he’s doing is not right by societal images, but he was never given the opportunity to act like a human. I always think about how different this story would be if Frankenstein treated him like an actual child, the child he was, how he could’ve actually been able to maybe not interact with the rest of society, but at least live a happy life. I don’t know if this makes sense to anyone else, this is mainly just the ramblings of an abuse victim about another abuse victim. This story has always strummed a weird string somewhere in the depths of my heart, and I’m just now realizing it’s because it’s weirdly relatable to me. Not in the “I continued the cycle of abuse” but in the “I could’ve turned out like this, and I feel for him because I know generally what he’s gone through, in a weird fucked up way”. If you twist the story of the fact that he is a monster into an abuse victim (I am in NO WAY comparing abuse victims to monsters) it’s an even sadder story that the one already presented to us. :/
This spoke to me, and your analysis summed up how I feel about my life. As a victim of emotional abuse and neglect my whole life, which came to a head two years ago, I started to feel kinship with the monster, and I think I've become unable to love. If I ever had the capacity for it. I don't think I truly know what family is. This video is so in depth from Wendigoon, and your analysis nailed it. Thank you!
This was super well written. Also relatable
I was just thinking the same thing as I watched this video. I was, like Wendigoon, also a high school kid with not a lot of life experience when I read this the first time, so it only occurred to me now. But it's very much reminiscent of someone with an abusive or neglectful parent acting out in the same way because it is the only way they ever saw anyone act to them. Very well said!
the worst part is, if you DO turn out like that, those same people will weaponize the fact and retroactively say that you we're always like that anyway to justify the past abuse (i.e. gaslighting)
Yes, literally this. Frankenstein is about a LOT of things stuffed into an Honestly astonishingly short novel, but I’ve also found these themes of abuse and neglect particularly interesting. Victor is human, of course, and most of the mistakes he makes within the book are reasonable (except like. Thinking he’s the one the creature will target on his wedding night instead of Elizabeth that was just stupid of him), but he absolutely, 100% hurt the creature in a way that made him repeat a violent cycle. We understand in the book that the creature (who I’m just gonna call Adam) is, essentially, on the same intellectual level as a human. He speaks multiple languages, reads, writes, thinks, and understands all the same concepts we do. If Victor had just given him a chance, there definitely could have been a better life for Adam out there, even if he is super creepy to look at. But Victor doing him the ultimate, terrible sin of abandoning him set both their fates in stone. Adam definitely hurt a lot of people, and his past doesn’t excuse his actions , but Victor was the catalyst. He, in my mind, is the one who takes ultimate responsibility for every single death in the book, including Adam’s and even his own.
I might have gotten a little off track from abuse and vicious cycles, I just really like this book and have a lot of thoughts about it lol
My high school English teacher was Bosnian, and would often mess up the names of authors, I remember her mixing up Mary Shelley(Shelley Mary) and Edgar Allan Poe's(Edgar Poe Allan) names and somehow that stuck with me and made me more interested in their works. Had a beer with her and her husband years later at a microbrewery. She was always such a cool teacher and wore the most beautiful outfits! She got me into botanical horror.
What is botanical horror? I love both of those things!!
Botanical horror? And stl?
@@kayleegregg1391 OOHHH I don't have the books on me, but I have a few that compile newer and old stories of botanical horrors. Botanica Delira and Flora Curiosa were two of the names off the top of my head. Fascinating stuff! One of my favorite short stories is of a ship coming across a rowboat, and the man on board tells a story of how he and his wife crashed on an island, but the island was overrun by this strange mossy growth... I won't spoil the ending, but you can probably see where it's going.
I'm a hardcore gardener and Halloween fanatic. Give me an air plant in a skull, any day! 😛
@@earthwormjim91 You should check out my reply to the other comment for the book titles, and IDK what you mean by 'stl', I thought maybe I made a typo.
@@RealBradMiller wait I heard of this book for some reason. Does the story start with the ship not able to see the row boat because how dark it is? I have no idea why I know this.
The premiere was so fun and interactive, it's very unfortunate that it's not beneficial for long term viewer interaction. Anyways, I never knew of this tragic story by Mary Shelly and its symbolism and irony. Thus, thank you Wendigoon for sharing yet another interesting story, along with your pertained wisdom.
As I read the novel, Victor’s the sort of person who tends to think of absolute extremities about something rather than look at the smaller more reasonable picture, as he’s so wrapped up in himself.
Thinking he’d create a new Adam who’s as beautiful, perfect and intelligent as intended, only to realise he’s created something far from it at first. As a result, he shuns it.
With Justine, he thinks that he’d have to tell people about the Creature as in the full truth rather than try and state it simply as ‘a tall monstrous man I saw roaming around, that must be the culprit’, and but his own angst of ‘the whole truth’ led to her end.
With the Creature’s mate, he jumps to the conclusion of them spawning a master race of sorts despite the Creature just not wanting to be alone, and just made things so much worse.
He’s incapable of stepping back from a ‘bigger picture’ mindset when he should to focus on what’s grounded and possible because of his ego, arrogance and fear, and thus dooms everyone.
I like to think Frankenstein and his monster truly understood each other in the end. There's something beautiful about both of them having nothing but each other left. Even though it was twisted it's almost like they were friends at the time of Frankensteins death. They could only relate to each other at that point. Victor's monster didn't torment him solely for retribution, he desperately needed a friend, so he created a monster just like victor had created him.
Lmao, it’s like the Joker and Batman.
it reminded me of Hannibal 😂 how Hannibal brought out the "monster" from Will and punishing him with killing/injuring his loved ones which also made Will get on the same level with Hannibal. Will became a monster but Hannibal was also a monster from the beginning. I see way too many parallels
The monster understood victor fine, victor, is the worst. It just had nothing but revenge left yet enjoy the chase as the best of victors attention he ever could, . Henge the outcry, realizing the emptiness of that.
Also not saying the monster didnt have daddy uissues, but it understood victor being the worst.
I love how if Victor had followed in his family's example of kindness and altruism, he might have seen the Creature for what it was, a bewildered orphan infant, as lost and terrified as him! He made a giant, inhumanly strong child and instantly abandoned it! Perhaps with compassion, he could have taught The Creature gentleness and care for others...but then Victor wouldn't also be a monster, and this book wouldn't be both Horror and Tragedy.
The part about William's death and Victor seeing his creation is actually much more mysterious and haunting in the book itself. Victor in fact does not actually know that his creation killed William but he simply suspects so and this takes a heavy mental toll in which crushes his mental state throughout the story, it also allows the audience to question whether or not Victor in fact is insane or the creation is nice or not which finally gets revealed the truth until much later on.
And the worst part is that by the end so much had happened and so much time has pass that we never really get an answer because of how much each character must have had to change over the years and through the tragedies nothing is left just a bitter old man and a horrific affront to God
It's just so wholesome how so many times in literally every video Wendigoon constantly thanks us for being here and existing and I just like to think, that for someone who's going through a rough time, these are really wonderful things to hear.
Whoever you are, you are loved. It will get better.
And above all else, thank you for being here.
using junji ito's illustrations for this video is really nice btw, he's an incredible artist and they're a great extra visual
I love the way he draws the monster and the way you can see in him the absolute horror of whatever the fuck he is and how disturbing it is, but there's also a clear humanness to it as well, especially in its face/eyes etc. You get this effect in a lot of ito's stuff, where you can see both the horrific monstrosity that something is but also still recognise the human that it (usually) once was
I think the emphasis on the nearly perfect teeth goes a long way. The contrast of facial features makes it so much more unsettling. I’ve seen a thousand horror characters with generic monster teeth, but no others with a set of nice pearly whites.
Ikr! Junji is such a wholesome and unproblematic guy in real life too
I'm pretty sure I seen some Bernie wrightson art in there as well always liked Bernie wrightson artwork
yeah! i've never seen the monster depicted like that. he's always over exaggerated in the wrong ways
It's not just a horror, it's also among the first sci-fi novels ever written.
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Props for using the Junji Ito manga for references. He is up there with Stephen King and RL Stein in terms of horror literature. His drawings are done with so much care and detail to extract every ounce of fear and nerve from the reader. It very much turns Frankenstein into a modern horror story.
The original, written by Mary Shelly when was only 18 (yes you have to say this everything, it's that impressive) in the early 1800s was the first Science fiction book, the first Gothic literature, the first piece of horror literature, and a beautiful insight to the world at the time.
Just look at the adaptations over the years, each is a reflection of societies fears at the time. It's one of the most timeless pieces of literature ever penned. The narrative depth is evident to anyone who reads it. There is a good reason almost all English or literature courses in college cover it
The illustrations of Frankenstein are just stunning. Really bringing to life what a monster he is. The lines in his face and body, such solemn and wide eyes, deep, black and thin hair.
however, in the book victor is a relatively young attractive man with wealth and status so 99% of drawings are inaccurate
@@j0rD3n_ victor isn’t the monster though
@@j0rD3n_ sorry I was talking about the monster. I just used the name Frankenstein
@@j0rD3n_ yeah hes like late 20s early 30s or something if I remember right. cant have been older than that.
Speaking of highly misrepresented content, I think you should do a video about the mysterious case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde! It's definitely another literary peice that's handled very differently throughout time. This was an amazing video I absolutely love this book and would love to see even more content like this!!
I agree!
I absolutely agree, Jekyll and Hyde is one of the most influential and, at the same time, misinterpreted stories in mass culture, to the point where "Jekyll and Hyde" trope became just a conflict between a good and a bad personality, which is pretty much the opposite of what the book was about.
i second this
i would love this!!!
absolutelly agree! Wendigoon's should def make video on this, it'd be just great!
Fun fact, the monster's name wasn't Frankenstein, it was actually Carl Karcher, who you may recognize as the founder of fast food chain Carl's Jr
I believe its called Hardee's
i thought the while point was that the creation didn’t have a name, because he would never be human it seen as anything but a disgusting creatire
If you think about it, Frankenstein was the monster for creating something just for creations sake and then abandoning it to the world
@@damionsmith3219 Bro don't talk about Carl's Jr like that
I don't get the joke
For anyone that hasn't read the novel or at least listened to an audio rendition of it, it really surprised me how elegantly and almost poetic the writing is. I personally was shocked at the stark contrast between how well-written the story being told was and how gruesome yet thought-provoking the actual story is. Unfortunately for me, this was never assigned reading to me in school so It wasn't until my mid 30's I had the pleasure of experiencing this story for the 1st time. . . Welldone Wendigoon. Keep up the great work my friend.
This story is so well written and has so much more to it than is usually portrayed in modern media. Frankenstein is a timeless piece because it is reminiscent of the ancient tragedies, but also inspired the horror of today.
The show Penny Dreadful came the closest
Probably reading into this a bit much, but I always thought the Monster’s eyes being a dull yellow symbolized Victor’s fear of his creation and his cowardice in running from his responsibility, yellow being commonly associated with cowardice (Source: Back to the Future 3, “What’s wrong dude? You yellow?”)
There's a beautiful clip of a game show of sorts and the question is what does being called yellow refer to. The White child buzzed and said "Chinese"
Awkward Silence. An Asian boy buzzed and said "a coward"
Calling someone, “yellow,” years ago, was actually racist because of anti-Chinese sentiment.
I might also be reading into this a bit much but there is a condition referred to as "suboptimal intake jaundice" that occurs when a baby does not receive the correct amount of breastmilk. The analogy here being that the monster did not receive the correct sort of "nourishment" from Frankenstein required to produce a healthy baby.
y'all gonna pull a muscle if you keep reaching that much
@@TuxedoMask77 You might be right, that would have been more of a problem during Mary Shelley's time.
The only TH-camr where I’ll watch the whole hour and a half or longer and want more.
@do not please don’t
Not the only one for me, but definitely one of the few!
@@yggdrasil4986 fair!
Several themes of this story resonated very strongly with me, and it took me a while to figure out exactly why, but I believe I’ve traced my feelings back to their origin. Once, when I was a young child, I switched to creative mode in my Minecraft world, and spawned in hundreds and hundreds of sheep. It was so fun to see the wooly swarms crowding and expanding across the land, as if I had made a landscape of clouds. But when I changed back to survival mode, I realized that having so many sheep was incredibly loud and inconvenient, they were everywhere and wreaked havoc on my framerate. I decided I didn’t want them anymore, but then came to a dark realization-my only option to remove the sheep was to kill them. I had created life, and that process could never be reversed. Murder was not a clean reversal to creation, the way mining a block is a reversal to placing it. I would have blood on my hands, and my choices could not be rewound. Being a softhearted child, I chose to accept the responsibility I had created for myself, and live among the sheep I had brought into existence rather than allowing them to suffer for my own foolish choices. This Minecraft world is now long gone, but I will never forget the intense dread I felt as I first realized the crushing weight of my frivolous creation of new life. Since then I realized that creating life can be a truly terrifying thing, and one should never, EVER risk creating a being (even if it’s nothing more than a simulation of a being) without being absolutely prepared to deal with the full weight and responsibility of its continuing existence. Thank you, Mary Shelley, for somehow perfectly capturing the same feeling as my childhood Minecraft existential terror in this masterpiece of a story.
As someone who would spawn in hundreds of mobs _specifically_ so I could kill them all one by one "for fun", I feel like a monster after reading this lol 😭
Though this is funny, I love how you were able to relate Frankenstein’s pain back to your own life and sympathize and resonate with the pain and moral dilemma that came with what seemed to be a good idea. I do feel your pain though. Those sheep are so loud and make so many noises. I can only imagine the lack of grass blocks in the area lol
Fantastic.
You're kidding right
@@MJAce85 hey don’t hate bro Minecraft is emotional
I love the idea that Percy Shelley was just a dude who believed in his wife, like its the 1810's and women are generally shunned from every aspect of the world but Percy is out here like, "youre good enough dont listen to them" and was right
Oh wow.. I actually just wanted to listen to this while drawing (since wendigoon's videos are always very interesting and help me with staying focused), but I didn't expect this video to make me cry. This story is.. amazing. I feel embarrassed that I have never heard the actual story before now.
Me too!! I didn’t expect it to be so good, even knowing how widely loved it is
Its absolutely a wonderful read, it feels like this story should be something that everyone should read!
Oh don't worry about it I've never read it either. Way different from what I expected. Though I don't know what I even expected in the first place other than Weird Monster Stuff
@Mooph Kaiser yeah but not everyone does
Education must always come before belittlment :)
The first time I read Frankenstein, what hit me first was that the "monster" is actually a giant beautiful yellow-eyed man, not the patchwork of flesh with neck bolts
with long flowing black hair
But why was everyone so repulsed by him then?
Isn't he made from a mix of random corpses though?
@@chickenwalker6458 a pretty corpse is still a corpse
@@tlshortyshorty5810 Not necessarily! But modern methods of embalming, and embalming in general, only started to become more widespread with mortician services by the 19th century, so unless Frankenstein was taking largely research corpses (which I doubt, since he'd probably have been caught since they need them for... yknow, research), then The Monster's body would be largely made out of untreated actively decomposing body parts, which obviously isn't exactly pleasant...
Does you making this video because of Ito's adaptation means that there's a chance for a video on his works coming? Because I would be hyped beyond belief for you to talk about Junji Ito's works in depth, easily one of my all-time favourite authors
For REAL!!!
Ito's adaptation of No Longer Human 👀
@@KanadaJin That's such a good one. Ito's so good at adaptations
@@KanadaJin
Hearing the premise of the original book I didn’t think Ito’s art would fit, but I was completely wrong.
It really drove home how pitiful and morbidly sad that man’s life was, and the sort-of change in the ending was downright masterful.
One of my favorite mangas from one of my favorite authors.
I love the Junji Ito Frankenstein adaptation
This story is one of great importance, the bind between the monster and Frankenstein himself. The monster detests Frankenstein as a person of selfishness and pride. But is the monster not the same? He admits himself that he is a mistake, something that shouldn't exist, he hates his own existence. But asks Frankenstein to make another, not because he's lonely, he says it himself "they would never reject me" he wants it for his own selfish reasons, his pride is hurt seeing the happiness others have as it shakes his ideals to their core. That he's this deep being, misunderstood and hated, he loathes himself but sees himself as better than humans. Yet any time a human does better than him, he murders them, he is exactly what he supposedly "hates" he simply refuses to accept it, his own self inflated pride not allowing him to accept anything but his own way, only realizing after he ruined everything.
i dont think the monster isnt the same because mr frankenstein already had everything, he had food shelter loving friends and family, while the monster never had any love or family, and while its not exactly human its still a person that deserves and needs that fundamentally, so him being selfish is much more justifiable and understandable than mr frankenstein who's selfishness and pride is more morally wrong.
...are you saying the monster was an incel?
the monster knew it had no chance of any love with a human, thats why it wanted victor to make him a mate. To not be alone.
Victor got everything given.
I love that you highlighted Junji Itou's adaptation so much. It paints this sad tale of a horrible monster forced into existence, only being able to bring misery onto himself and others, and ends on a very somber note. It's a wonderful story, and one of Itou's tamest works.
The mention of you going through his work has me hopeful for videos on some of his more iconic pieces. A full video on Uzumaki and it's lovecraftian themes, as well as the influence it's had on japanese media would be fantastic. Maybe a video tackling his most well known one-offs, like Amigara Fault, The Human Chair, and Army of One. A video on his short stories like Hellstar Remina, Black paradox, and Gyo could work. Or even a video on some of his more humorous stories, like the Souichi stories. He has such a diverse body of work, that you could easily get more than one video analyzing his work.
The Human Chair is an Edogawa Rampo adaptation. He also did an adaptation of No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai. Ito really has excellent taste.
Seconding this request!
@@dannahbanana11235 wow after all these years I didn't know that.
So what's the actual book called, asking so I can buy the book and read it myself.
Junji Ito made a good choice adapting it since he has that skill to draw the Monster like he should look. Also the full title is the Enigma of Amigara Fault. And for some reason, Viz cut the first word in Hellstar Remina and I have no answer as to why.
Ito’s take on Frankenstein is so phenomenal. He’s truly a horror legend and I hope his stories becomes as ubiquitous as Mary Shelley’s someday. Probably not though. It’s not every day you basically invent science fiction and horror while sitting around making up ghost stories with your friends. If ito is a legend, Shelley is a Titan
What you said at 1:13:57 gave me chills. I'd never thought about the stigma surrounding Frankenstein and his name that way before, and it really is very poetic!
My brother in Christ, how did you get to 1:13:57 in the low low time of three or so minutes this video has been up?
@@evidaent it was posted earlier today. Wendigoon reuploaded
@@redrumnoir7552 Yeahh, I knew beforehand. I just couldn't miss the joke.
@@evidaent The joke is old hat.
Wendigoon needs to record audiobooks, the passion and emphatic emotions he puts into passages he reads make the words come alive so much more than me just reading them in my head.
You know, I was thinking about how crazy it is that Frankenstein and the monster end up in the north pole, but even weirder, I was thinking how funny it would be if the monster had gotten attached to the huskies pulling its sled. Like, the monster's whole thing is that he wants to stop being lonely and a dog would probably not be enough for it but the image of Frankenstein catching up to the monster to find it petting a husky all like "Oh hey, actually I'd rather spend my time with this dog" just makes me chuckle.
That would be a fantastic ending. "Yeah, no, this is actually doing this. Sorry about the wife, Vic, I think I'm gonna stay up here."
th-cam.com/video/0QRGrXt0aJs/w-d-xo.html
ITS FINALLY HERE
Personally. I've always seen this story as a metaphor for "Skeltons in the closet". You can't run from your past, it comes back to haunt you and it can massacre reactionships in every sense
Knowledge is knowing that Frankenstein is the scientist.
Wisdom is knowing that Frankenstein is the real monster.
True understanding is knowing that Frankenstein's monstrous arrogance brought into this world a perfect blank slate, which he would reject and leave to be molded by the worst life has to offer, creating a monster ten times worse than him.
@@spencerthestupidsamurai7326 well said
To quote the Francis Ford movie
"And I'm the evil one?"
jamiroquai
No doubt. Pretty much left his wife to die. While he endlessly wandered the halls of the inn lol
I've read Frankenstein before, but when Wendigoon mentioned that Junji Ito had created his own version, I was immediately interested. It was wonderfully tragic that Wendigoon referenced how things could've been different if Victor had told Henry what was going on, and come to find out as I'm reading Junji's version, this is exactly what occurs. I'm excited to see what ripple effects this has on the story!
So glad to see you covering Frankenstein. I absolutely love everything about this story. The fact that all of the characters surrounding Victor himself are, like, the coolest and most pure people on the planet, makes this story 20x more devastating (for me, at least). It’s also such a moral confliction as well trying to figure out if you should even feel bad for Frankenstein or his monster… there’s just so much to this story and I love it all.
th-cam.com/video/0QRGrXt0aJs/w-d-xo.html
ITS FINALLY HERE
already watched this w the premier but this is genuienly beautiful. i cried so many times at this, especially at henry and elizabeths death. its a difficult story because you truly empathise with both main characters, leaving you conflicted. love u wnedigoon, you're truly the best story teller.
why did you have to spoil it like that come on man
😊
nah dude this book mid af
Spoilers for real
I love Frankensteins character, it’s so fascinating.
I had to read the book in 8th Grade and in all honesty it completely changed my view on Victor‘s ‚Monster‘. It is absolutely incredible how the story is told and how the ‚Monster‘ interacts with things, the world around him and the people he‘s near.
I think you ment to do this: "monster". Not too sure what ,monster' is supposed to be lol.
@@skullkid692 if you still understood what I meant then it doesn‘t really matter
It's worth pointing out that Mary Shelly with this book basically popularized the horror concept of
"Mankind does things because they CAN without asking if they SHOULD."
That's become such a huge concept in horror, but she was really the first person to bring that idea into the modern consciousness. At the time she wrote Frankenstein, the scientific world and society in general really was obsessed with rampant discovery and experimentation. The enlightenment had propped up this idea of "man being the measure of all things" and so it was man's duty to uncover the secrets of the universe. With this novel, Mary Shelly for one of the first times challenged if doing that was really a good idea...
It wasn't exactly her idea, although she brought the idea into the horror novel, which Frankenstein is sort of the first modern version of. But the Industrial Revolution and Scientific Age was seen by some as a glorious age of progress, but Traditionalists and especially the religious community already saw it as turning away from Nature and God. Some people thought it would raise up the standard of living for everyone, while others thought it would reduce humanity to cogs in a machine. She was a part of the Romantics, who wanted to return to a mythical Natural state of mankind. Religious people didn't really like the Romantics, either, because they wanted to return to a more primitive life with drugs and sex. Culture was moving into a technological age, while conservative people wanted to keep things in the recent past, and the romantics wanted to return to the archaic age of living with nature. Frankenstein deals with these tensions and kind of predicts a lot of misery. I guess you could even consider it proto-cyberpunk, although it's a huge stretch, there's no corporations or cyberspace, but the idea of science giving birth to things inimical to humanity is maybe the original scifi horror.
Wendigoon is a genuinely amazing content creator due to his research and depth of topics covered.
Deserves much more recognition.
honestly these long form literature type videos have been some of my favourites. my lit degree really made me lose my love for literature - trying to pass a degree with unmedicated adhd during a pandemic via online school is torture - but seeing these videos has really brought that interest back. these stories are just absolutely fascinating
You know there’s no job for you after graduation, right?
@@imperialhistorian4201 funny how I graduated and have a job then isn't it? maybe get off your high horse and stop judging people based off their choice in degree
Nice easter egg from Wendigoon to release this video twice just like Mary Shelley did with Frankenstein