Since October, I've had several opportunities to re-experience Guillermo del Toro's adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Revised notions have entered my head, most of which have proven minor and fleeting, and yet one remains pronounced: that misconstrued need among some to malign Victor, prior to the heartless, self-serving point where he's moved to incinerate his towering creation.
Let's keep in mind that it's Victor, and no other, who constructed the neo Adam. Yes, Harlander may have financed Victor's endeavors, but it's Victor's genius that bestows life into the assembled, dead parts. The Creature exists only because of him, and unlike in Shelley's novel, Victor doesn't abandon his "child" upon its birth, but rather takes the time to nurture it, only to face an infuriating succession.
Beyond uttering Victor's name, the Creature dares not speak, and it's only when Elizabeth, betrothed to Victor's brother, William, enters the scene that any viable communication is achieved. Even then, the results are limited. Still, the Creature takes to the beautiful Elizabeth, and can one blame the poor, primal soul? Still, its acceptance of her (considering that she applies little effort to secure the favor) is a terrible snub to its ardent maker.
Granted, Victor's decision to discard the Creature, to burn it alive, is an unforgivable turn. It doesn't gain Victor any sympathy, any more than in Shelley's novel when Victor allows poor Justine to be hanged for William's death, even though his monster did the deed. In a similar way, Victor wins no points in Del Toro's movie when he fires upon his "son" and kills Elizabeth in the unintended process. Victor owns the heedless blunder, pure and simple.
Whether good, bad or just plain ambitious, Victor emerges as the misunderstood and downtrodden one in Del Toro's revisionist world. One can presume that the director (re)designed him as the retelling's implacable antagonist, based on the same biased, social-commentary he applied to The Shape of Water. Because the scales are so tilted against the titular genius, his plight feels far harsher than what his Creature endures.
Well, there's my defense. Some will disagree with it, but I hold the verdict close to my heart, and why not? That's what visionary art does. It plants the necessary seeds to grow those outcome(s) that best suit one's unfeigned views.
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