Thus, this three-sided entanglement appears to be Whale's interpretation of the Freudian Oedipal complex, where the female's sexuality is dismissed in the interest of the male rivalry in order to "unbridle" the woman, or in this case, the bride/monster's sexuality is concealed from the viewer/voyeur in order to allow the male competitors to play off each other's sexual vices. Sexual identity and gender in this film is reminiscent of Harry Houdini's famous disappearing act, where the woman in the black box mysteriously vanishes, thus leaving the male audience members to ponder her fate. Dr. Praetorius, the elder "creationist" male figure, obviously attempts to exclude both the bride/monster and Elizabeth Frankenstein (Valerie Hobson) from his amorous battle with Henry which makes their relationship homosexual in nature, for in one proof positive scene Dr. Praetorius tells the naive yet confident Henry "together, we will create his (the monster's) mate."

    Since many film variations on the Frankenstein myth have been produced since 1931, a brief overview of the original source material is needed. In Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein, Or the Modern Prometheus, the story is told from several narrative viewpoints, first by Captain Walton through his letters and diary entries and second by Victor Frankenstein, the young, ambitious student of the alchemical arts who relates his tragic involvement with his artificially-created, anonymous creature. Following the murder of young William, Victor's brother, and the hanging of Justine, the alleged murderer, the creature demands a female mate from Victor who adamantly refuses his request. The novel concludes with the untimely death of Victor and the banishment of the creature to the ice fields of the North Pole, forever alone and undead.

    In James Whale's 1931 film adaptation, the plot is highly simplified through a sensationalized script and the focus is placed on the creation of the monster via a magnificent electrical storm, the drowning of a young village girl, the monster's attack on Elizabeth, Henry's bride, and finally the monster's "death" by fire in a deserted windmill. The Bride of Frankenstein, however, focuses on the creation of a female mate for the monster. The film fades in quite ceremoniously with a discussion between Lord Byron, the exiled British poet, Percy Shelley, the self-avowed atheist and creator of Prometheus Unbound and Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (a dual role for Miss Lanchester) in December of 1816 at the palatial Diodato chateau on Lake Geneva in Switzerland. The trio, upon a challenge from Lord Byron, decide to create their own ghost stories or tales of German phantasmagoriana in the vein of E.T.A. Hoffmann. Mary then relates the plot of Frankenstein through flashbacks but then "dilates" upon a devious plot twist--the monster has miraculously survived the windmill fire which allows Henry to become the unwilling alchemic partner of Dr. Praetorius. In the dramatic climax of Bride of Frankenstein, the two "creationists" give artificial life to the bride/monster and upon seeing her husband-to-be rejects his marital advances and falls into the waiting arms of Henry which infuriates the monster and prompts him to destroy them but then kindheartedly allows Henry and Elizabeth to escape, thus providing fodder for another sequel.

    When we consider the presence of gender in the sexual atmosphere of Bride of Frankenstein, the film becomes a crowded cemetery with headstones bearing numerous gender epitaphs. Henry, the lead protagonist, virtually duplicates Elizabeth via the creation of the bride/monster whom William K. Everson describes as "like the monster in every respect, except for the obvious sexual differences" (146). The gender of the monster is quite clear, as is that of the bride/monster. Yet the question arises as to why the bride/monster is called the Bride of Frankenstein--the monster is anonymous with no given name; therefore, is the bride/monster meant for the male creature or for its creators? One could conclude that the bride/monster has been given this title due to Henry's surname. But everything cascades into shape when sex enters the picture, for Henry and Dr. Praetorius may have had intentions of mating with the bride/monster, thus making them necrophiliacs, especially Dr. Praetorius who sat amongst the bones and cobwebs of the crypt to satiate "his only weakness" with a good bottle of wine and a smoke.

    The Bride of Frankenstein also explores the issue of heterosexual ideals and constants through the use of phallic symbolism. The final scene in the film features what could pass for a phallus, namely the long, metallic shaft which "elevates" the bride/monster to the roof of the castle where she becomes electrified and brought to life. In addition, during the raging storm, Henry shouts to Praetorius "It's coming up" several times.

    The comparison between Houdini's disappearing act and Elizabeth's exclusion from Henry also reveals a form of deviant male bonding, due to the stature of Praetorius as the elder authority figure (Praetor in Latin refers to a magistrate) and Henry's role as the subservient protégé. This bonding eventually evolves into a dependent relationship akin to the comradeship between two homosexual men.

    When Dr. Praetorius first arrives at the Frankenstein manor, we see Henry and Elizabeth huddled together in bed. As Praetorius enters the bedroom and announces himself as Henry's mentor, Elizabeth is asked to leave and the camera pans in a long shot until she exits the frame. At this point, a very uncooperative Henry begins his discussions with Praetorius on creating a mate for the monster.

    In the next scene, we see the two alchemical conspirators huddled together (a reflection of the bed scene) at Praetorius' laboratory, where he says to Henry "You must see my creations," and produces a collection of miniature people stored in glass cylinders (more phallic symbolism). Then, with the air of a Medieval wizard, Praetorius declares that his creations were made from some "strange tissue culture" gleaned from dead bodies. All of this takes place without Elizabeth, who at least in the eyes of Praetorius is nothing more than some unwanted germ in a petri dish.

    When Elizabeth finally becomes part of the plotline, we see her tied up in a cave with the monster who has kidnapped her via orders from Praetorius in order to force Henry into the creation of a mate for the monster. From here until the film's end, Elizabeth remains marginal and serves as a conflict thickener between Henry and his mad mentor.

    In the climax, we see Henry and Praetorius framed in a medium shot standing triumphantly on opposite sides of the newly-created bride/monster, mute and bandaged, a symbol of the exiled Elizabeth, now left to herself in a bedchamber in the manor following her release from bondage in the cave. 

    This pattern of male bonding also conceals the lurking, shadowy spectre of homosexuality. The arrival of Praetorius at the manor activates this scenario and brings forth a pseudo-sexual relationship between the two men. One could surmise that Praetorius, as a result of tempting Henry from his marital bed and inviting him to his laboratory, was instilling more than the mere bonding of two scientific minds. Imagine standing in the great hall of the Frankenstein manor and seeing Praetorius for the first time--he's tall and quite thin with an aquiline nose, pale complexion and wild, wind-blown hair, the exact representation of the stereotypical homosexual male. Film historian Everson sees Praetorius as "odd and sissified, with connotations of homosexuality" (157). This observation closely parallels the scene with Praetorius seated alone in the crypt while smoking a long cigarette with an effeminate grin on his pale face. It is also interesting to note that director James Whale was what is now called an "out of the closet" homosexual who often prided himself on his "gayness" and threw lavish pool parties at his Hollywood home frequented by young, sophisticated "admirers."

    In contrast to all this sexual chemistry and gender-bending, the image of the bride/monster as a maternal symbol is the only undeviant characteristic in the entire film, yet this too has possible repercussions, for Henry and Praetorius may have intended this submissive, living/dead woman to become the mother of the monster's vile, undead children, the ultimate schlock-mother with her stitched-up body resembling a Cesarean section performed by a demented seamstress.

    In addition, the bride/monster also represents the weird, demonized figure of repressed motherhood, for when she refuses to become the monster's mate via a blood-curdling scream of rejection, she immediately transforms into a maternal icon in control of her own destiny, especially when she falls in the loving arms of Henry Frankenstein, the ultimate father figure in her filmy, dead eyes.

    These issues of sex and gender in the Bride of Frankenstein can be summed up as being cinematically conventional, as in the lover's triangle, the existence of heterosexual ideals, male bonding and maternal symbolism. Yet the film is also highly unconventional for its time, due to the clear homoerotic undercurrent and the plethora of male anxieties related to sex. The bride/monster thus serves as the quintessential horror film model for sexual and gender ambiguity which exudes not only an eerie sense of sexual normalcy but also a disturbing image of sexual and gender deviance.

COPYRIGHT © - MICHAEL MCGLASSON, 2002

Everson, William K. Classics of the Horror Film. Secaucus, NY: Citadel Press, 1974.