3 key differences between Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Guillermo del Toro’s Netflix adaptation

Frankenstein feels like the movie Guillermo del Toro always wanted to make, his ultimate creature feature. The director has long stated how he always sympathized with classic monsters and saw them as representative of the other, as anyone who has ever felt like an outcast. He once told IndieWire that monsters are the “patron saints of otherness.” He also maintains an impressive collection of props from early horror movies, including director James Whale’s 1931 iconic Frankenstein for Universal Pictures.

The director’s own take on Frankenstein for Netflix is a breathtaking and beautiful adaptation that’s likely to earn some Oscar nominations. In this rendition, Oscar Issac plays Victor Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi plays the Monster. For the most part, del Toro captures the essence and key themes of Shelley’s 19^th Century novel. However, there are some key differences. Let’s unpack them

William Frankenstein’s role and death

The Mexican auteur made a few major changes to Shelley’s characters, including William Frankenstein, Victor’s younger brother. In the Netflix film, William is much older than in the text and set to marry Elizabeth, who is Victor’s bride-to-be in the book. In both versions, the Monster kills William.

However, I’d argue William’s death is much more impactful in the novel. He’s a child who’s strangled by the Monster. His death marks a crucial turning point when the Monster turns to rage and vengeance. It also shows he’s willing to kill anyone and everyone in Victor’s orbit, no matter their age.

By this point, the Monster loses his innocence, especially after he’s shunned by Victor and eventually the DeLacey Family, who he observed for months in hopes that they would accept him as one of their own. Additionally, William’s murder sets up another key death in the novel, that of Justine, a kind and devoted servant, raised by the Frankenstein family. She’s falsely accused and executed for William’s murder. Even by today’s standard, William’s violent end in Shelley’s novel remains shocking.

Elizabeth’s more prominent role in del Toro’s adaptation

In Shelley’s novel, Elizabeth plays a passive role. This is also true of James Whale’s Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein for Universal. Elizabeth mostly writes letters to Victor in the novel, and ultimately, dies on her wedding night via the Creature’s hand after Victor refuses to make the Monster a bride. It’s one of the Monster’s final acts of vengeance.

In del Toro’s film, Elizabeth, played by Mia Goth, is a much more active character. Though she’s set to marry William, she frequently interacts with Victor and intellectually challenges him, which sparks Victor’s attraction. She also has a friendship with the Monster and shows him compassion. The fact Elizabeth has far more agency is a major upgrade from the 19^th Century text.

The Ending

The ending is the biggest change from Shelley’s novel. At the conclusion of her book, the Monster confronts Victor in the Arctic, vowing to finish him off once and for all. However, the scientist dies before the two can reconcile. Alone and totally shunned, the Monster exits Captain Walton’s ship, where Victor died, and vows to burn himself on a pyre. In the end, the Monster is consumed by agony and loneliness, to the point some of his last words are, “Soon these burning miseries will be extinct. I shall ascend my funeral pyre triumphantly and exult in the agony of the torturing flames.”

It's a bleak ending, underscoring, along with the setting of the Arctic, that the scientist and his creation are utterly cut off from human connection and love. In del Toro’s take, Victor and the Monster do reconcile, and with his last breaths, Victor begs the Creature for forgiveness, which is granted. The Monster then exits the ship and walks off into the sunset, hinting that, unlike Shelley’s novel, he’ll live and maybe one day find happiness. This change is a bit polarizing, but it fits with del Toro’s body of work, which often deals with redemption, hope, and healing.

Frankenstein is currently streaming on Netflix. Shelley’s novel is available to read for free via Project Gutenberg.