DOI: 10.20375/0000-0011-4956-b
title: Frankenstein

description: Abstract: 
The play Frankenstein is a theatrical and modern take on the tale of Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus, primarily crafted by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley in the 19th century. The play stages the original story of Viktor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a humanoid monster that, for lack of empathy and instinct sublimation, murders his brother and friend. The play alternates with dialogues of a group of non-abled individuals, reflecting on gender, disability, and the relation between nature, culture, and civilization, as well as a possible orchestration of this constellation in Shelley´s original story. The othering of Frankenstein´s Creature is an allegory to the othering of non-abled people.
Details: 
The play begins, the stage is darkened, and six disabled actors gather in a row in front of the set. Presumably, they are Viktor's family; together, they tell of a storm in which lightning struck a tree. In the next cut, the group can be seen, which consists of 11 members. They deliberate upon the message in "Frankenstein" and a possible adaptation, with the women, in particular, arguing for a feminist reading in which the play revolves around a feminist social critique. At the same time, the men assume a "boys-own" adventure. The women cite Shelley's parents, the feminist Marie Wollstonecraft and the anarchist William Godwin, as references. 
The piece continues. Victor and his family are introduced: his wife, Elizabeth; his father, his mother; brothers Earnest and William; housewife Justine; and his best friend, Henry. After his mother's death, Viktor moves to Ingolstadt for his studies, vowing to overcome death in memory of her. This oath, the will to defeat nature, and his studies' influence drive Viktor to create "Frankenstein's Creature" - a non-living body into which life is breathed. After the Creature escapes, he has a nervous breakdown.
It cuts back to the group's discussion, which debates how life can come from nothing. It is agreed that the rest of Frankenstein's soul had lived in other people (men and women) before, but that his consciousness begins at zero. So he is strong, like a full-grown man, but cognitively inexperienced. Thereby partly findings of the psychoanalysis are used: The Creature's being is rudimentary since he lacks civilizing learning experiences such as appropriation by parents and drive suppression. It is stated that Frankenstein's Creature thereby (for that he cannot communicate and looks different) also represents an "other," i.e., is subject to marginalization processes by "normal" society. 
Henry visits Viktor in Ingolstadt and brings letters from his family, where he learns that his brother William was murdered (by the Creature, as is later revealed). He quickly decides to travel home to Geneva. On the way home, he meets his Creature and learns that William was killed by it. 
The group discusses whether William's death was Viktor's fault since he created the Creature or if it was a mistake, but one for which he should not bear responsibility. His young age and zeal come into the field, as well as his delusion to tame nature. 
Reunited with his family, Viktor learns that Justine, the housewife accused of William's murder, has been sentenced to death. She has no alibi, and a picture of Williams was found in her bag. Panic-stricken, Viktor tries to prove the opposite, concealing that he created the murderer. 
Then it comes to the confrontation between Viktor and the Creature. Viktor swears to destroy him, but the Creature asks him for a pact. Before proposing, he tells Viktor about his formation after his creation. He learned to talk and write, as well as a proto-human habitus, through observation and autodidactic. Even though he is an ultimately peaceful creature, others are repelled by his appearance. The death of William was a misunderstanding - he had strangled him by mistake. He wanted to suppress his screams. Out of fear, he conned Justine. 
The group compares the Creature to a tree, with feminist voices arguing for an elastic tree that can withstand storms, while the "male" side promotes a rigid tree, an oak. They also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the pact. Finally, there is an understanding that Viktor accepts it for both sides, as it is a good solution, but also for the dangers that two Creatures are probably an even greater danger.
The offer follows: The Creature demands a partner who is like it so that it is no longer excluded from the earthly happiness of the social life of humans. Together they are to live secluded from all humans and not endanger anyone. In return, the Creature promises not to curse Viktor and never to come close to other people again. Viktor agrees but soon changes his mind again: the danger of another monster causing even more deaths seems too great. 
The Creature is enraged when it learns of Viktor's plans. Both confront each other again in Scotland, where Viktor wants to carry out the creation. However, it curses Viktor and his marriage to Elizabeth; the wedding is imminent. As a result, Viktor wanders to Ireland, a small village that blames him for the murder of Henry, whom Viktor wants to track down. Viktor is overwhelmed by the accusation and the experience of the death of his best friend. Once again, he has a panic attack and a nervous breakdown. He suspects that the Creature is behind the murder. In the end, he is acquitted. His father brings him back to Geneva, and the wedding takes place. However, Viktor is restless - he aspires to find the Creature and end it once and for all. To do this, he follows their tracks to the Arctic, where he is found, half frozen, by a crew.
The group concludes that although the play is characterized by male protagonism, it is nonetheless a feminist play because it exposes male domination and patriarchal patterns. The discussion jumps to the question of how contemporary the play is. Although it is about 200 years old, most find the messages still valid today. The core questions are whether it is reasonable to take domination of nature to the extreme like Frankenstein and overcome death; they all answer negatively because this instrumental reason leads to even greater chaos; it reifies man. Today's reference is the production of commodities and humanly-made climate change: Products of man, which he has created for himself, but now they dominate him. Nature cannot be suppressed; it must be a matter of reconciliation with it.
The final scene follows: Viktor dies, and the Creature gets on the crew's boat. He discovers the corpse and finds it does not satisfy him, so there is a reconciliation between culture and nature. The Creature vows to take his own life, never to endanger another human being again. With Viktor's dead body in the middle, his family again resumes the stage, repeating the opening scene on the thunder and the tree, this time in the past tense.