The Early Adaptations of Mary Shelley´s Frankenstein

ČOUPKOVÁ, Eva. The Early Adaptations of Mary Shelley´s Frankenstein. 2018.

Basic information

• Original name: The Early Adaptations of Mary Shelley´s Frankenstein
• Authors: ČOUPKOVÁ, Eva (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution).
• Edition: 2018.

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Presentations at conferences
• Field of Study: 60200 6.2 Languages and Literature
• Country of publisher: Czech Republic
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• WWW: URL
• RIV identification code: RIV/00216224:14640/18:00102468
• Organization unit: Language Centre
• Keywords in English: Frankenstein; adaptations; deviations; plot development; exposition; creation scene; comic relief

Abstract

The paper discusses the early adaptations of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein for the nineteenth century stage. 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 adaptors introduced a number of alterations in the plots of the plays, most importantly the minor character of a nervous, cowardly, and talkative laboratory assistant Fritz, who 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.