Frankenstein’s monster, perhaps, one of the most well known characters of fictional writing is seen to be the embodiment of a detached being with no propensity for caring and loving. Much like this well known character, another character, Edward Scissorhands is also portrayed as a detached being who is uneasy with all human interactions and the feelings that it provokes. These two characters are unique because they have been given human appearances but are sometimes termed as monsters and grossly misunderstood.
Frankenstein’s monster and Edward Scissorhands have also been given more human sides as we see in the movies. The tale of love and revenge has no application to things which are not human. This is something that these writers and directors have realized. In order to capture the attention of the audience, one must be able to personify these characters and give them feelings and even appearances that can be mistaken for human beings.
While arguably Frankenstein’s monster may be far from being human in the sense of the word, his feelings of revenge and even loyalty at times is too human to be mistaken for anything else. By employing the literary device such as personification and developing an understanding of the human body, today’s writers have evolved the genre from the simplistic undead of the earlier century. Edward Scissorhands, in comparison, does not suffer the same grotesque appearance that the monster is given. Instead, the curse that he suffers is from being unable to interact with other people on a normal social level. This becomes a problem towards the end as this is perceived by society as a trait which turns one into a monster and not a normal human being.
It does not seem right to call certain things that are beyond normal human understanding as monsters. Frankenstein’s monster and Edward Scissorhands have been unjustly called as monsters when in fact they may be no worse than other human beings. The main problem is that they have been misunderstood and their portrayals onscreen and in novels is such that it creates the impression of loneliness and sadness which are emotions that most human beings detest.
