Name and Identity in Young Frankenstein - by Kristi Haas
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In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, it becomes clear that the creature finds himself with an incomplete identity. He searches for a place in religion, in a master-slave dynamic with Frankenstein, and in family and social situations. The lack of identity that has stemmed this search proceeds from many different factors, which may include his unusual upbringing, his artificial creation, and his grotesque appearance. On the other hand, the film “Young Frankenstein” composes the creature’s identity crisis as more psychological; his brain was from “Abby Normal”. For many characters, the film highlights the self-identification of several characters by making use of their names. For the creature, Dr. Frankenstein, Igor, and Frau Blucher, name plays an important role in making their personality traits explicit. As is often true in society, the characters mainly define themselves by either their kinship, by their brains, or by both.
The most striking example of this theme is Dr. Frederick Frankenstein’s change in the pronunciation of his surname. Since he does not wish to be identified with his grandfather, Victor Frankenstein, Frederick begins pronouncing his name as “Fronkensteen”. Of course, the movie satirizes this futile search for identity; Frankenstein is well-known by his students as the descendant of the crazy scientist, while he himself prides himself on his reasonable, modern approaches to science. The movie makes it clear that a change in name, however, will not suffice to remove him from what he considers an undesirable identity.
Later, Frankenstein changes his mind and accepts – even embraces – the original pronunciation of his name. This acknowledgement of his heritage marks the outward expression of the doctor’s inward realization of the direction of his future and his intellectual pursuits. By using the brain of Abby Normal, another comical but arguably less meaningful play on the name theme, Frederick unwittingly transfers her mysterious identity to the monster. This obviously causes some problems for most of the characters. The movie draws to light the futility of attempting to define someone or something by what it is called rather than its actions or its relationships with other entities.
Frau Blucher, the maid of the castle and, apparently, the original Dr. Frankenstein’s former girlfriend, also has quite a stigmatized name. In the castle, each time her name is mentioned, the audience views the horses outside whinnying, momentarily frightened by the sound of her name. She, unlike Dr. Frankenstein, does little to suppress this reaction. She seems to have a more fatalistic view of identity; while she clearly resents the fact that even the horses sense some kind of aversion towards her, she reacts passively. What it is about her character that separates her reaction from one more like the immediate name-amendment of Dr. Frankenstein? The two certainly have different pasts; there may also be a play on the gender roles of these two characters. Frau Blucher identifies as Dr. Frankenstein’s partner, while Frederick identifies as his own, new character who is working towards truth and success. In keeping with her mild tunnel vision, the lady maintains her belief that since Frederick is related to her former boyfriend, they have similar identities – and the same taste in women. Frau Blucher’s role as female is historically the passive one, and in comparison with the doctor, this abstract role is brought to fruition.
Another character who makes interesting contributions to the theme of name and identity is Igor, Dr. Frankenstein’s assistant and the descendant of the original lab assistant. He is unlike the other characters discussed in that he makes direct “asides” to the audience; in both this role and his role as a character involved in plot, he invokes the name theme again. He mocks Frederick for the strange pronunciation of his last name by saying his own name as “eye-gor” instead of “ee-gor”. He thinks it ridiculous that Dr. Frankenstein would choose to say the family name differently; thus we may say Igor has a strong sense of family identity. He himself identifies himself as the lab assistant just as his “forefathers” had been. However, in his case, name makes no difference. It is the kinship that makes or breaks his self-identification and identification of others, not the label which is put onto the human.
The creature, as mentioned above, is a bit confused from the beginning due to the abnormal brain Frederick inadvertently used in his creation. He speaks little – only grunts or mumbles – throughout the movie and thus does not give us much insight into name and identity. At the end, however, after the switch to his creator’s brain, the creature delivers some eloquent, explanatory words regarding his past situation. The monster develops an identity based on power over his own creator, but he acknowledges Frankenstein’s benevolence in giving of himself, in the form of his brain, to the monster.
In these four characters, we see the role of name and identity developed through the film. It departs from Mary Shelley’s original novel by satirizing the idea that names have great influence on identity and that name can become a burdensome label. At the same time, this satire brings up an important point also visible in the novel: one’s identity more likely lies in relationships with others, such as the monster’s relationship with his creator and with DeLacey, that in the label a person is given by self or society. Frankenstein has transitioned from denying the intellectual heritage from his infamous ancestor to embracing it, and from there to realizing that he is very much responsible for his own identity. It is no longer names, brains, and heritages that define a person, but the person’s own actions and relationships.
