Chapter Text
When writing this piece, I wanted it to serve as a kind of commentary on the treatment of the creature in the novel, whilst also using it to illuminate a possible queer reading of the narrative. This piece is mostly directed towards others who have experienced queer stories, and therefore will easily understand some elements of the creature's emotions and link them to their own knowledge. I wrote this piece in a way that I feel it could easily be inserted into the original text, with descriptive and detailed language that references a gothic style, whilst also making use of the epistolary format that Mary Shelley used. In order for this piece to come across as rather genuine, I wanted to slowly introduce Clerval's gay feelings for Frankenstein and the way they impact him, which gradually increased throughout the letter. I did this in a form that would be consistent with the time was through adding his thoughts in and then using the strikethrough tool to symbolise how he would have edited this letter afterwards. Due to queer themes and actions being prosecutable crimes at the time, it would have been something he would have had to hide from everyone who knew him.
When I initially read the story, I feel I sympathised with the creature quite frequently. When consuming other inspired media, I only felt that understanding stronger. The creature's story is quite similar to one that many queer people are either familiar with or have experienced. Thrown asunder from his parents (Victor's) gaze once his true nature is revealed, the creature must fend for himself, criminalised and attacked constantly for things outside of his control. He is denied basic rights, care, and love simply because of the threat others perceive of it, and constantly questions his own actions to discern if there is anything he can fix. He is seen as less than human, rejected and shunned by society as an outcast. Those few who he finds companionship with (DeLacy), know a false or incomplete version of him (without image) whilst he pretends as though he is normal, just to be accepted and offered basic needs. Whilst the queer experience is one that has improved in recent years, stories just like the creatures are still happening to people today. The concerns of isolation and
rejection by society stood out in the original novel, and I wanted to expand on how they may impact a human's life, as the social distinction of 'other' often only protects ourselves.
I also wanted to investigate the themes of care and parenthood that are within this novel. Frankenstein is seen as the parent of the creature, and it can be understood that his actions against the creature initially after its birth are what doomed the story. Whilst some may find Victor's actions redeemable or understandable, I wanted to cast them in a different light and portray the creature as a human concept to shift the perspective. In my letter, Clerval says that he understands the queer pain of isolation and would offer shelter and care to those who needed it no matter their social state, and he poses the question to Frankenstein whether he would do the same. This serves as a form of dramatic irony as the audience is aware that Frankenstein in fact wouldn't as he cast the creature out before he truly understood its nature. I'm also using it as a device to critique Frankenstein's actions in that moment and display his lack of parental responsibility over this creature that he created, one which should be his masterpiece of science, and is instead a nightmare that haunts him. This also harkens back to the queer narrative, and the reaction among some parents of queer children, where they feel they have the right to revoke their care and unconditional love from their children when they're no longer the ideal they had hoped for them to become, just like how Frankenstein imagined the creature to be handsome and divine once come to life, but cast him out upon realising that the simply appeared monstrous.
As well as using the epistolary and gothic style, I used other key references and tropes that were common in the novel to tie it in together and offer further insights into the novel. This letter is dated around the time when the creature was brought to life, only furthering the dramatic irony of Clerval's question, and the impact it may have had on Frankenstein. In order to properly highlight the queer reading of the narrative, I used Clerval as a mirror to the creature, furthering gothic tropes of tragic romance and characters. The creature is condemned from the beginning, and, with the addition of this letter, so too is Clerval. Both of them will never find proper love and will suffer tragic endings at the price of others, namely Frankenstein and his actions. Even in the book, Frankenstein and Clerval's relationship is used as a contrast to Frankenstein and Elizabeth's relationship, which was also what I wanted to draw on, and further show Frankenstein's lack of empathy and understanding.
I was mostly inspired by the Ingolstadt section of the book just after the creature comes to life, being able to properly see the dynamic between Frankenstein and Clerval and the way it impacts them
both. However, I was also further inspired by the Frankenstein play written by Nick Dear, where the representation of the creature allowed me to fully understand the complexity of his character. Another piece of writing that contributed to this was the poem 'Hidden Flame' by John Dryden, one which reads as a rather queer poem, speaking of forbidden romance which one must conceal from the other.
In the process of writing it, I managed to learn the importance of editing, or in this case, pretend editing. By giving myself that power to further dive into Clerval's thoughts without seeming out-of-character for the time period, it allowed me to explore the different ways that some may edit their work, and how I can change the meaning through it. It was also rather comforting for me, as a queer person myself, to be given this chance to reflect on how society has changed since this book it set. We are less criminalised, and more accepted, and I can only think of it as a step forward, that our own society may be one that would accept the creature for who he is.