Science, Horror and the Unknown: Frankenweenie as Gothic

The nature of horror and science are similar in the ways in which they deal with the unknown. In horror, the fear aspect is derived from a sense of uncertainty and the unresolved. The main goal of science, however, is the pursuit of knowledge and to answer big questions, much like literature in that sense. As such, *Frankenstein* and its adaptations provides grounding for these similarities to interconnect and work off one another. The influence of *Frankenstein* and its many adaptations are apparent throughout *Frankenweenie* but certain expectations are twisted to provide both originality and a more childlike narrative. The most obvious example of this is the ‘monster’ of the text – rather than an amalgamation of a man, the creature in this narrative is Sparky, Victor’s beloved dog. The first experience with mortality most children encounter is through the death of their pets, so this changes provides a way for children to explore the themes of death present in the source material but in a way that is more light-hearted and more impactful for them.

While questions of playing God and how far science should go is there, an interesting aspect of *Frankenweenie* is the way in it explores the link between Victor, the monster and conceptions of childhood. The interpretation of the creature as a metaphor for the childhood fear abandonment and social exclusion is on that has been explored plenty of times, and how as such their monstrous acts are spurned on by becoming the cultural perception of them. This isn’t necessarily restricted to the monster, either – the original Victor Frankenstein is a socially withdrawn man with a morbid interest in life and death. In *Frankenweenie*, Victor is similar in the sense he is a quiet and introverted child, opting to spend time alone – with Sparky, however – creating movies or experimenting, with his parents growing concerned over his lack of social activity.

This can once again be tied back to a question of agency; the creature in most Frankenstein texts lack autonomy over themselves, from creation to its abandonment. In *Frankenweenie*, the sense that Victor and the other children inhabit an adult-oriented world without much agency of their own is made apparent, both visually – with the camera often on level with the children, making the adult characters loom over them and dominate the frame – and narratively, with Elsa unwillingly singing at a fair. However, the Gothic narrative allows agency to be restored to the children; Jackson, Coats and McGillis point out in Gothic narratives aimed at children, the child protagonists often embrace the darker elements presented to them and are able to find the strength to combat it rather than run from it, unlike their adult counterparts. Victor certainly does this, where he ultimately puts an end to the monsters’ rampage and is the one the adults turn to in the end for the resolution, as ‘sometimes adults don’t know what they’re talking about.’ By utilising and twisting Gothic narratives in such a way, *Frankenweenie* restores a sense of agency and respect to the children while not sacrificing some of the darker themes of the source material, giving a sense of inclusivity for children and their placement in science and the world around them.

### References

1. ↑ Morné Visagie, 'Fear of the Unknown – How Horror Uses Our Imagination to Scare Us', *The Cinema Cult*. 18 October 2018. <https://thecinemacult.com/2018/10/18/fear-unknown-horror-uses-imagination-scare-us/> [accessed 7 Dec 2020]
2. ↑ Charlotte Sleigh, *Literature and Science* (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), pg.7
3. ↑ Steve Wheeler, 'Frankenstein's well-meaning monster', *Learning with 'e's [BLOG]*, (2019), N/A
4. ↑ Laura P. Claridge, 'Parent-Child Tensions in *Frankenstein*: The Search for Communion', *Studies in the Novel*, 17:1 (1985), <http://knarf.english.upenn.edu/Articles/claridge.html>, para. 2
5. ↑ Anna Jackson, Karen Coats & Roderick McGillis, 'Introduction' in *The Gothic in Children's Literature: Haunting the Borders*, ed. by Anna Jackson, Karen Coats & Roderick McGillis (New York: Routledge, 2009), pp. 1-14 (pg.8)
6. ↑ *Frankenweenie*. Dir. by Tim Burton. Walt Disney Pictures. 2012. [DVD]