With Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming Frankenstein film creeping ever closer to creation, shall we finally put this lengthy and increasingly heated debate about the creature’s name to rest? 

While Mary Shelley intentionally did not give the creature a name, she gave him a fully fleshed-out personality, complete with an existential crisis and a search for his own identity. Quite the human experience for an alleged abomination, isn’t it? And like all humans, he had creators. One obviously is Shelley herself, a distant mother figure birthing the idea of him into existence. And the other is none other than Dr. Frankenstein, a man who should have been barred from holding such a title even in the days of yore. 

Dr. Frankenstein did more than create an offspring, albeit not of his own flesh and blood. He harvested pieces of the deceased and assembled them together, harnessing the power of the gods to electrocute his creation into the world of the living. He put more effort into creating another person than most people lacking a functional uterus do. Modern fertility clinics even put significantly less effort into creating a life for others than Dr. Frankenstein did – and they stick to the Hippocratic oath to boot. 

Many cultures believed so strongly that lightning was a sign of powerful deities across centuries to the point that many believe that being struck by lightning was a sign a god had singled a person out for their unholy behavior and wouldn’t even allow the deceased a proper burial, perhaps to prevent further angering the gods. 

Dr. Frankenstein wanted this creature to exist so badly he broke the laws of the land and nature to make it happen, spending months making his perfect specimen. Harnessing the power of lightning, centuries thought to be a power reserved for the gods alone, is another type of creator role Dr. Frankenstein stole without question. As with most children, this was to be his legacy and his proudest achieving moment. Sound familiar, parents old and new? 

And like most new parents (and perhaps the gods, who are currently unavailable for comment), Dr. Frankenstein was not entirely prepared for what he brought into the world. The idea of being a parent and the reality of becoming a parent is quite the lifestyle change that understandably takes time to adjust to. Did he feel pride at his new bundle of body parts taking his first breath? Did he feel any sense of protection for the new life he spawned? Or did he take one glimpse of his newborn, fully grown puzzle piece of a man, and instantly feel nothing but horror and regret?