The Non-Speaking Creature : Characterisation in Relation to Speech in Frankenstein and Two of its Adaptations

Abstract: This paper uses narrative theory to take a look at how speech is represented in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and how speech is connected to the characterisation of Frankenstein's Creature. The paper also looks at how the Creature's characterisation changes when he is made non-speaking in Richard Brinsley Peake 1823 stage play Presumption and the 1931 film Frankenstein. In these two adaptations, the Creature's characterisation is changed to make him less complex, and simultaneously both more innocent and more monstrous. By connecting this change to Disability Studies, this paper finds that using disabled traits to dehumanise disabled people is not uncommon in fiction, and that using an autistic trait in a fictional monster can reinforce harmful stereotypes about autistic people.