Gris Grimly's Frankenstein

Frankenstein’s monster is the deuteragonist of the story as well as the heart of its exploration of nature versus nurture. Frankenstein’s monster begins life as innocent as anyone, with a strong desire to learn and to be loved, but he is rejected by the world for his appearance, which eventually leads him to seek revenge against both humanity and the person who created and then abandoned him. In this, he becomes the monster everyone believes him to be: He kills everyone Frankenstein loves and only admits to feelings of remorse after Frankenstein is dead.

The monster’s actions against Frankenstein’s loved ones force Frankenstein to consider his duties and culpabilities, as the monster refuses to let his creator forget or escape what he started. The first time the monster confronts Frankenstein, he demands that Frankenstein listen to his story, noting, “I am thy creature” (83)—a remark that points not only to Frankenstein’s literal role as the monster’s creator but also to his role in shaping the monster’s moral character. The monster points out Frankenstein’s hypocrisies and ignorance in creating life without considering the possible consequences of his actions; he also describes how he came to learn about humans and himself, including the total distrust and hatred that humans have for him. Ultimately, he takes Frankenstein with him to his death, signifying the inseverable tie that exists between a creator and his creation.

Frankenstein creates his monster in a laboratory after years of study and months of trial and error. He collects bones from graves and the organs of various animals to construct a humanlike form. The resulting monster is “born” with “yellow skin [that] scarcely cover[s] the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair [is] of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness” (41). His black lips and white teeth contrast directly with one another, and his stature is twice that of a human’s. Gris Grimly’s version of the monster is particularly gruesome with its exposed bones and tattered skin, highlighting that the monster is the work of a haphazard and self-absorbed man.

Captain Robert Walton meets Frankenstein while exploring the northern ice in an attempt to reach the North Pole. He finds Frankenstein after Frankenstein’s sled crashes in his effort to pursue and kill the monster. Walton and his crew take Frankenstein on board their ship and attempt to nurse him back to health with what little resources they have. Walton is the narrator of the frame story, which takes the form of letters to his sister Margaret detailing his excursion and later relaying everything Frankenstein told him.

Walton is a dynamic character whose journey begins with a need to prove himself and advance scientific understanding, just as Frankenstein did. Walton risks his own life along with his crew’s in the pursuit of discovery and with the hope of creating a lasting reputation for himself by charting new land. When Frankenstein is about to die, he warns Walton to avoid discovery for its own sake and urges him to consider a life of simple pleasures surrounded by loved ones. Walton heeds this advice and turns back for home, but not before encountering and confronting the monster that Frankenstein described. This experience confirms to Walton that everything Frankenstein told him was true. Walton criticizes the monster for his seeming heartlessness, believing the monster’s actions to be the reason for Frankenstein’s early death and forever siding with a man who, for a short while, became his friend.

Elizabeth Frankenstein is a static character defined by her role as Frankenstein’s cousin and romantic partner. In homage to film depictions of the “bride of Frankenstein,” Grimly’s Elizabeth has long black, white-streaked hair and wears green eyeshadow; she also usually has a look of sorrow or longing on her face.

Elizabeth is adopted into the Frankenstein family after her mother’s death, and she and Frankenstein are instantly paired by the family as future mates. They conveniently fall in love as they grow up and begin to entertain the idea of a life together. However, their love is put on hold by Frankenstein’s ambition. Elizabeth constantly worries about his health and writes to him while he is away studying, but Frankenstein gives little in return. When he does come home, it is only because William died, and Elizabeth remains neglected. Frankenstein puts their marriage off for another two years while he goes to complete the second monster; in retaliation for Frankenstein’s refusal to bring a second creation—a romantic companion for the monster—to life, the monster kills Elizabeth, Frankenstein’s own partner, on their wedding night. The moment that Frankenstein finds Elizabeth dead is the moment of total breakage within him, and there is no quelling his grief and rage in the months following it. The graphic novel’s only full splash page is dedicated to the horror of this scene, as Frankenstein stands wailing over his deceased wife’s body.

Alphonse Frankenstein is Victor’s father and an ever-present source of strength and wisdom in his son’s life. A fiercely loyal parent and friend, he is a flat character who is the head of the family and becomes the sole parent after his wife dies of scarlet fever when Victor is 17. Grimly depicts Alphonse as having a wide and powerful stature and a thick, straight mustache.

After his children are born, Alphonse leaves most of his work in the public sector behind to focus on raising and educating his children. It is for this reason that Frankenstein learns the importance of education and devotes his life to the pursuit of scientific discovery. Frankenstein’s father remains emotionally strong through the death of his wife and youngest son, encouraging Frankenstein to overcome his grief for his own sake and for the sake of those he loves: “Is it not a duty to the survivors, that we should refrain from augmenting their unhappiness by an appearance of immoderate grief? It is also a duty owed to yourself; for excessive sorrow prevents improvement or enjoyment” (73). That Alphonse himself dies of sorrow after the death of Elizabeth therefore symbolically underscores the true bleakness of Frankenstein’s existence: Victor is now totally alone in the world, with nothing to sustain him but revenge.