Novas narrativas para velhos monstros: como Penny Dreadful reinventa Frankenstein

Abstract

This work aims to understand how the television series Penny Dreadful reinvents the character of the Creature from the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, resignifying its monstrosity in order to humanize it. For this, both productions will be used as a fictional corpus of analysis. It will start from two fundamental premises: that the is monstrous — and, consequently, the monstrosity — is a cultural concept, as defined by Jeffrey Cohen; and that the process of adapting Shelley's novel is also an expansion, as Penny Dreadful must be conceived as a cinematographic production, and therefore, it is capable of constructing meaning and reality from its technical aspects. At first, the construction of the monstrosity of the Creature in Frankenstein will be analysed, using a conceptualization of Cohen's monster combined with a historical overview of Stephen T. Asma on the monstrosity. Then, the place of Frankenstein within Gothic Literature will be discussed, based on the writings of Fred Botting and David Punter. In this stage, the narrative of the novel will be analysed, focusing on the trajectory of Victor Frankenstein's monster. The second moment will be dedicated to understanding the monstrosity of the Creature in Penny Dreadful. Asma will be resumed so that the monster is understood not only by its exteriority, but by also interiority, from the emergence of Psychoanalysis, in the 19th century. Following, it will be a propose a reflection about the place of Penny Dreadful on US television in the last 50 years, based on Brett Martin's analysis on the subject. Then, a concept of adaptation will be built, using André Bazin's writings on the essential objectivity of the cinematographic image, and Andrei Tarkovski's on how filmmaking appropriates the record of reality to build new meanings. To focus on the specific technical aspects of film adaptations, comments by Frédéric Subouraud will be brought. Julie Sanders' writings on adaptation as an expansion process will follow. Finally, the trajectory of the Creature in Penny Dreadful will be analysed