The 1931 rendition of Frankenstein is one of the most well-known and oft-repeated tales of man playing God, looking at the film from a queer perspective can reveal interesting perspectives about the era's treatment of those who are "different." The reaction of both Frankenstein and others to the 'monster' he creates is very telling of the response toward homosexuals that people experienced in 1930s Hollywood - the relative acceptance of homosexuality in LA at the time inspired a sympathetic tale of a gay man who is unfairly treated by a misunderstanding world. The monster is ostensibly created by a well-meaning parent figure, but is then ostracized and angrily reacted to for being different, people reacting in fear with regards to what he is.
Dr. Victor Frankenstein may be easily likened to a misunderstood and frustrated parent figure, whose child he has just discovered is gay. His own zeal at his creation is palpable right when the monster is born, but Frankenstein himself is put off and made to fear the creature. He learns that his child has a "criminal's" brain (which could be considered as synonymous with "sick" or "homosexual," as homosexuality was still considered a mental disorder at this time), and is somewhat suspecting of it afterward. The monster recoils in fear at fire in front of Frankenstein, who becomes afraid of the monster in turn due to lack of understanding.
Frankenstein and Fritz come to the conclusion that the monster, like homosexuals, were unable to fit into society because of the damage that he could do, locking him up as a result. Attempts are then made to "fix" or "examine" the creature, from both Frankenstein and Dr. Waldman, a move synonymous with attempts to "cure" homosexuality through drugs and therapy. Fearing these strange motives and actions, the monster flees and attempts to find a way to belong in society. Meeting the young girl, whom he then drowns because he does not understand the world, the film likens this phenomenon to homosexuals attempting to "pass" in society, but not knowing the rules, being doomed to failure, and making terrible mistakes that cause them more grief. The girl represents innocence; often, homosexuals are claimed to destroy all that is good and innocent about society, making the monster's inadvertent drowning of the girl much more malicious to their eyes. The monster, however, does not realize or believe he is doing this, and it is entirely accidental.
Eventually, the monster attempts to return home and confront his maker who rejected him (Frankenstein). This is a notable and direct attempt to understand why he has been rejected so soundly by society; the townspeople have already started to look for him, in order to prevent him from destroying more of society's innocence. Fighting against his creator, the monster is eventually killed by the villagers who wish to kill that which is different and which threatens the sanctity of their established society (homosexuality). In conclusion, the tale of Frankenstein is the story of a misunderstood homosexual's attempt to fit into the world, despite a confused and torn father figure and the fear of damage to "normal" society that others project upon him. These messages were presented to the audience at the time to show that homosexuals were not truly innocence-destroying monsters - just misunderstood people who were not given a true chance to survive in society.
