Frankenstein

In the film’s closing moments Victor Frankenstein, gravely wounded and surrounded by ice, recounts his tale to the Arctic captain. As his life wanes, he finally drops the mask of arrogance that has defined him throughout the story, admitting his culpability for the deaths of his brother, his fiancée, and countless others. He kneels before the creature—not as a master, but as a man seeking redemption—and asks for forgiveness. The monster, whose own immortality has become a curse, grants it, allowing Victor to die with a measure of peace.

After Victor’s breath fades, the creature stands alone on the frozen shore, watching the ship depart. The camera lingers on his solemn silhouette, suggesting that, freed from the weight of his creator’s condemnation, he must now confront an endless existence on his own terms. The film leaves his fate deliberately open‑ended: he is immortal, yet now carries the possibility of choosing how to live, rather than being driven solely by vengeance.

The tragedy that fuels this resolution is rooted in the brief, tender bond between the creature and Elizabeth, Victor’s intended bride. Their unexpected connection offers the monster a glimpse of humanity, but it also provokes Victor’s jealous rage. When Victor discovers them together on her wedding night, he fires a shot that mortally wounds Elizabeth, and she dies cradled in the creature’s arms, whispering that she never belonged in this world. Her death cements the creature’s turn from seeking acceptance to exacting retribution, while also cementing Victor’s ultimate realization that his own hubris made him the true monster.

Throughout these final scenes, the recurring vision of the flaming angel—once a symbol of Victor’s yearning for divine guidance—transforms into a skeletal visage, mirroring his descent from lofty ambition to bitter remorse. In the end, Frankenstein trades the novel’s bleak conclusion for a bittersweet note: the creator dies absolved, the creature gains a sliver of hope, and the lingering, icy landscape stands as a quiet testament to the monstrous consequences of unchecked ego.

Last Updated: December 28, 2025 at 10:50