Someone who may not be an entirely obv gay in is a monstro amalgamatn of grave-robbed body parts. However, spe his odd origs, Frankenste’s Monster is jt that - an in. Frankenste has fluenced queer art for s, whether he’s starrg art stallatns or spirg some of our favoure cult films like Rocky Horror…
Contents:
THE GAY LEGACY OF FRANKENSTE
Jam Whale (1889-1957) was a gay man, and that may have ntributed to the llapse of his reer the late 1930s. It is now believed that the Monster, as nceived by Whale, was the director exprsg his own tratn over how gays were treated by society. Bri of Frankenste is a dark edy, filled wh graveyard humor and an obv gay subtext.
Watchg Bri of Frankenste today, is hard to image that 1935 dienc failed to see the obv: that this was the work of an unashamed gay filmmaker. Over the years, many film historians have speculated that Whale’s openns regardg his homosexualy may have st him his reer. Gay rights activist John Lrsen ntu to argue that Mary Shelley was not the te thor of Frankenste.
JAM WHALE: FRANKENSTE’S GAY FATHER
Rather, he believ, her hband Percy wrote secrecy to air his latent homosexualy. Walton is also rarely looked at om a queer perspective, spe the persistent, homoerotic overton of his narrative (which opens and clos Victor’s narrative). His relatnship wh his Creature is well wrten on, aga, and there is some cril theory that sists he is d as homosexual: his sire to create a child whout heterosexual terurse; his fur vlence towards the Monster has been read as an act of ternalised homophobia; his distert Elizabeth and sistence that she is his “child” and “sister” seem very flat, if heterosexual at all.
Walton’s relatnship wh Frankenste, however, is not viewed through this lens of homoeroticism. That’s gay..
To end, here is one of my favoure homoerotic moments om Walton’s letters:. Charlie Fox’s article ‘Why Frankenste’s Monster Hnts Queer Art’ at Goldhammer‘s ‘The Queer and the Creepy: Homosexual Dire Mary Shelley’s Frankenste‘ at Shultz’s article ‘Explorg the Inherent Queer Unrton of Mary Shelley’s Frankenste‘ at Fern Riddle’s article about Mary Shelley’s own bisexualy at you have accs to JSTOR (so jealo, if you do! Yet there’s somethg about this story of unhallowed arts that mak darkly ronant for queer artists beyond any other you’re gay and grow up feelg like a hio misf, fully nsc that some believe your sir to be wicked and want to kill you for them, intifyg wh the Monster is hardly a stretch: A misunrstood beast fds solace the solu of the woods, but seems to endlsly face the wrath of the torch-bearg, small-md habants the world beyond.