Edward Scissorhands: a "Frankenstein" story

The Tim Burton film Edward Scissorhands contains many elements that classify it as a “Frankenstein” film. One of the primary reasons for this, perhaps the most obvious, is the simple fact that Edward himself is reminiscent of Frankenstein’s monster. Much like Frankenstein’s monster, Edward Scissorhands longs to be accepted by a society in which he doesn’t belong.

Edward is an unfinished creation whose creator died before Edward was completed. As a result of this, Edward is left with scissors in place of human hands. This leads him to be shunned by culture and society, as many people prejudge him as an “evil creature.”

Frankenstein’s monster learns about world history, literature, and language by observing the people whom he is around. Edward Scissorhands also learns in this manner. Watching the film, it is obvious that Edward is not very vociferous at the beginning of the movie, but he speaks more as the plot proceeds. One can make the assumption that this is because, like an infant learning how to speak through his toddler years and early childhood, Edward learns more language as time goes on.

Another reason for Edward Scissorhands’s similarity to Frankenstein’s monster is his motives for his actions. Like Frankenstein’s monster, Edward does not intentionally cause harm. For example, there is a scene in the film in which the son of the family with which Edward is staying runs out into the street. Edward pushes him out of the way of an oncoming van, but this action causes nearly as much trouble as it prevents, as Edward’s scissors get in the way and accidentally cut the boy. Also, nearly everyone who observes Edward caring for the boy assumes that Edward was acting out of malicious desire to harm the boy. This scene could be considered a parallel to the scene in Frankenstein in which the monster rescues a drowning young girl. Everyone who observes this scene assumes that the monster has attacked the girl.

In the wake of his rejection, Frankenstein’s monster vows revenge against all mankind for the way he is treated. He decides that, since everyone considers him to be a monster, he will act like a monster. He acts out of vengeance and kills his creator’s brother. Similarly, in the climax of Edward Scissorhands, Edward murders his love interest’s boyfriend. Both Edward and Frankenstein’s monster give up on trying to be accepted as kind, civilized creatures, and decide to become the monsters that society has made them out to be.

One significant difference between Edward Scissorhands and Frankenstein is the status of the inventors. Edward’s inventor has died during the creation of Edward, and Edward must carry out acts of vengeance on the people who treat him poorly, rather than avenging his creator for making him a “monster.” Frankenstein, on the other hand, is alive throughout the course of the story, allowing the monster to avenge his creator directly.

Edward Scissorhands’s journey for approval is not an easy one; similarly to Frankenstein’s monster, he must overcome obstacles such as language barriers, prejudice, and lifestyle differences in order to be accepted. Ultimately, neither Edward nor Frankenstein’s monster achieve their goals. However, both Edward Scissorhands and Frankenstein are tales of seemingly wicked creatures who only desire one thing from the world they are brought into: acceptance.