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.
JAM WHALE: FRANKENSTE’S GAY FATHER
Gay rights activist John Lrsen ntu to argue that Mary Shelley was not the te thor of Frankenste. 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..