The Role of Minor Characters in the Early Adaptations of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

ČOUPKOVÁ, Eva. The Role of Minor Characters in the Early Adaptations of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. In International Bicentenary Conference Mary Shelley‘s Frankenstein, Universita di Venezia Ca’ Foscari. 2018.

Základní údaje

• Originální název: The Role of Minor Characters in the Early Adaptations of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
• Autoři: ČOUPKOVÁ, Eva (203 Česká republika, garant, domácí).
• Vydání: International Bicentenary Conference Mary Shelley‘s Frankenstein, Universita di Venezia Ca’ Foscari, 2018.

Další údaje

• Originální jazyk: angličtina
• Typ výsledku: Prezentace na konferencích
• Obor: 60200 6.2 Languages and Literature
• Stát vydavatele: Itálie
• Utajení: není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství
• WWW: URL
• Kód RIV: RIV/00216224:14640/18:00102369
• Organizační jednotka: Centrum jazykového vzdělávání
• Klíčová slova anglicky: Frankenstein; adaptations; minor characters; monster; Gothic

Anotace

The paper discusses the early adaptations of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein for the nineteenth century stage. These adaptations modified the original story and introduced a number of minor characters that do not appear in Shelley’s novel. Shortly after its publication, Frankenstein inspired a row of dramatizations, starting with R. B. Peake’s melodrama Presumption; or, The Fate of Frankenstein (1823), followed by a number of more or less successful works. As some critics believe, these adaptations shaped the perception and popular conceptions of the work. The minor comic characters, most importantly the nervous, cowardly, and talkative laboratory assistant Fritz, contributed to the popularity of these adaptations and played multiple roles in the plot development. Apart from providing comic relief following the tradition of Gothic servants, Sancho Panza or Leporello, Fritz introduces Frankenstein to the audience and provides necessary background information, thus substituting the first-person narrative and descriptions of the setting in the novel. Therefore, the audience sees the decisive moments such as the creation scene through his eyes and accepts his interpretation of events.