RETURN OF FRANKENSTEIN
A Stage Sequel to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
by Richard Sharp
(Version 1.3)
Copyright 1993 Richard M. Sharp
CHARACTERS
(In order of appearance)
IGOR...... a hunchbacked servant
HILDA...... a servant/cook
HERR SCHMIDT...... a lawyer
Dr. ALBERT FRANKENSTEIN...... Victor Frankenstein’s cousin
ELIZABETH MANNING...... Albert's fiancé
Dr. WEISS...... a man of the cloth
THE CREATURE...... Victor's creation
CONSTABLE SCHWARZ...... a Policeman
TIME: A few weeks after the death of Victor Frankenstein and the disappearance of the Creature on the arctic ice-flow.
SETTING: Frankenstein Castle, Germany.
Act One
Scene One
SETTING: The main hall at the castle.
AT RISE: IGOR is arranging a temporary bier from sawhorses. HILDA stands crying.
IGOR
There! Tell them to bring it in here, and stop your blubbering.
(HILDA exits. IGOR continues to adjust arrangement of the sawhorses. After a moment, HILDA returns, followed by MEN carrying a coffin.)
Over here
Richard Sharp
(The MEN set the coffin on the sawhorses.)
Now get out.
(The MEN exit.)
Will you stop it. We've known for a long time that he must be dead.
HILDA
But I always had hope. As long as we didn't know for sure, there was hope.
IGOR
Well now we know for sure, and there are other things to think of. They will be here soon. See if you can find something to drape around the bottom here, something to cover up the sawhorses.
HILDA
Oh, my poor Victor.
IGOR
Go!
(HILDA exits. IGOR waits until she has gone, then he unlatches the lid of coffin, raises it a little, and cautiously peers in. He is slightly stunned by what he sees. Then his look briefly turns to one of disgust then to one of confirmation. He shakes his head and closes the coffin. HILDA enters just as he finishes closing the latches.)
HILDA
Is it him, for sure?
IGOR
Yes. We must bury him soon.
HILDA
Let me see him.
IGOR
No. You will prefer to remember him as he was.
(HILDA begins to arrange a drape around the base of the coffin. A LOUD KNOCKING is heard off.)
They are here.
Richard Sharp
(IGOR Exits. HILDA quickly raises the lid of the coffin and peeks in. A look of horror crosses her face. She hears Igor returning and quickly closes and latches it, then exits. IGOR enters followed by HERR SCHMIDT, a lawyer.)
HERR SCHMIDT
They said he was embalmed aboard the ship, and then frozen in ice. But it has been several days since the last of the ice melted. I see no need to wait much longer. I will send Dr. Weiss as soon as I leave. Once he has said a few words over the body, you can proceed. I see no need to have a large funeral.
IGOR
I will dig a grave immediately.
HERR SCHMIDT
Has the cousin arrived?
IGOR
No.
HERR SCHMIDT
He should be here by now. I was told he would be on the same train as Victor’s body..
IGOR
It is sometimes difficult to find a carriage driver willing to come up the hill.
HERR SCHMIDT
Yes. Well, I shall wait for an hour, if he is not here by then we shall just have to wait until tomorrow. I have other commitments.
IGOR
As you wish. I shall get started on the grave.
HERR SCHMIDT
Very good.
(IGOR exits. HERR SCHMIDT paces a bit, then he goes to the coffin, unlatches the lid and looks in. He winces.)
Ah, Victor, you fool.
(A KNOCK is heard. He closes and latches the coffin lid. HILDA enters, still trying to control her emotions, followed by Dr. ALBERT FRANKENSTEIN and ELIZABETH MANNING, his fiancé.)
Richard Sharp
HILDA
This is Herr Schmidt. Your cousin's lawyer. Herr Schmidt, Dr. Albert Frankenstein, and his fiancé.
ALBERT
Elizabeth Manning. Happy to meet you Herr Schmidt.
HERR SCHMIDT
Very Good to meet you Doctor. The resemblance between you and Victor is amazing. Miss Manning. I am happy to know you. How was your journey?
ELIZABETH
Very long and tiring, I'm afraid.
HERR SCHMIDT
I do not envy you. I went to England once. I was seasick going and coming, the entire time. I would not do it again for anything.
ALBERT
We were planning to come to Europe on our honeymoon two months hence, but events seem to have inverted the order of things. We thought of moving the wedding up when we received your summons, but since all the arrangements were already made, that was impossible. So, it seems that we shall just have to have our honeymoon in advance of the wedding instead of the other way around. (He chuckles.)
HERR SCHMIDT
Yes, well let us get down to business then so that you may get on with your. . .honeymoon. Hilda will you fetch Igor since what we are about to discuss will no doubt affect your tenure here.
(HILDA exits)
Tell me, how much did you know about your cousin?
ALBERT
Very little actually. My father told me of his existence, that's about all.
HERR SCHMIDT
You knew nothing of the estate, the castle?
ALBERT
Not until I received your message. (Pointing to casket) Is that . . .Victor?
Richard Sharp
HERR SCHMIDT
Yes, it is. His body has only just arrived, and it is not in very good condition.. We shall have to bury him soon.
ALBERT
Your letter told me very little.
HERR SCHMIDT
Yes, I know. Not everything is known to me, but I shall tell you, as best I can, what I do know. Apparently, your cousin Victor was experimenting with re-creating life. It seems he assembled a creature from various stolen body parts and succeeded in giving it life. Unfortunately, however, he was unable to control it. It murdered both his younger brother and his intended bride, as well as his dearest friend, Henry Clerval. In a vengeful rage, he pursued it, vowing to kill it at any cost. He followed it to the Arctic regions where he encountered many hardships. As a result, he fell ill and would have perished then, had he not stumbled across a ship immobilized by the frozen seas. It's captain, a man named Walton, whose expedition was seeking a route to the other side of the world through the Arctic, took him on board and nursed him back to a semblance of health. While they waited for the ice to break up and the ship to be freed, he related his terrible story to Captain Walton. The captain wrote it all down and sent it to his sister who was good enough to forward it to me. (He opens his briefcase and takes out a manuscript.) I have promised to have it transcribed and returned, but for the moment, I shall leave it with you, because I am sure you will want to read it.
ALBERT
Thank you very much. I shall.
HERR SCHMIDT
Unfortunately, Victor's illness returned and he died before the ship was freed. He was embalmed and then preserved in the block of ice. The ice lasted until the ship reached Bremerhaven. From Bremerhaven, he was shipped here by train, and as I have said, has only just arrived. I think you were on the same train. I'm surprised you didn't come up the hill with the body.
(HILDA and IGOR enter.)
ALBERT
Elizabeth and I stopped for lunch in the village. Then, we couldn't find a carriage, so finally, we were forced to ride up that incredibly steep road on a kind of tumbrel. Somehow, I expected someone would meet us.
IGOR
We did not know when you would be arriving. How do you do, I am Igor.
Richard Sharp
ALBERT
Hello, Igor. Herr Schmidt mentioned you in his letter.
(ALBERT extend his hand to IGOR, but IGOR passes him and ignores it.)
HERR SCHMIDT
Ah, we are all present, and this brings me to my true business here, the reading of Victor's will. But first, let me tell you that the will is very short. It was written just before his death, apparently in a fever, and witnessed by Captain Walton. It simply says: (reading) I leave all my worldly goods to my cousin, Albert Frankenstein in the hope that he will atone for the wrongs I have committed.
(IGOR turns and starts to exit.)
I feel sure Victor would have left you something Igor, and you too Hilda, if he had not been in the clutches of delirium and so far away from all that was dear to him. (to Albert) Igor and Hilda have served the Frankensteins for many years, caring for the castle and the grounds. You may want to consider some sort of a pension for them, or perhaps continued employment, whatever you see fit bearing in mind that I am sure Victor would have so stipulated if his memory had not failed him.
ALBERT
Of course. I shall discuss it with them as soon as we have settled in. (to Igor and Hilda) You may be assured you shall be provided for.
(IGOR mutters something that cannot be heard and exits.)
HILDA
Thank you, sir. (HILDA exits.)
HERR SCHMIDT
There is one other thing you should know in dealing with Igor. He is the bastard son of Victor's father. He was reportedly a foundling, but there were always suspicions. The old man took Igor in, in spite of his deformity, and cared for him like a son. He had never admitted it to anyone, however, until finally, on his death bed, he confessed to me that he was, indeed, Igor's father and he asked me to see that Igor was always well cared for.
ALBERT
That would make Igor Victor's half-brother.
ALBERT
Richard Sharp
Yes. But Victor refused to believe it. He said his father, because of his sense of duty, was just trying to take care of Igor from the grave. But there is another dimension. You see, Hilda is Igor's mother. She was a young nurse-maid in the employ of Herr Frankenstein when Igor was reported found on the door step. But Victor, who could not bear the thought that his father was a libertine, was even less able to accept the idea that the two women he loved most, the two women who had shared in his upbringing, had been competitors for his father's love. At the time they lived in Geneva, and in their early life, the boys lived like brothers, Victor the older by five years. Apparently Victor's mother thought that Hilda had been seduced by someone outside the family and had no idea of the boys' true relationship, so she helped to conceal Hilda's secret pregnancy. Years later, when the boys were teenagers, for reasons known only to him, Herr Frankenstein installed Hilda and Igor as caretakers of this castle, which his family had owned for generations, and the boys were separated. Later, when Victor was came to study at Ingolstadt, he began to visit here and he and Igor were reunited, so to speak. Then, old Herr Frankenstein died, and since he had no desire to demonstrate his transgressions in his will, everything went to Victor with only the admonition that Victor should always care and provide for Igor and Hilda. Well, I must leave you now. You can find me in the village if you need anything further.
ALBERT
Thank you, Herr Schmidt. I appreciate everything you have done and everything you have told me.
(HERR SCHMIDT starts to depart.)
Oh, Herr Schmidt, one other thing.
HERR SCHMIDT
Yes?
ALBERT
The creature that Victor was pursuing, what became of it?
HERR SCHMIDT
No one knows for sure. Captain Walton encountered it at Victor's bedside just after Victor died. It was as if it somehow knew Victor was dead and sneaked aboard the ship to confirm it. The captain spoke with it briefly, then it climbed over the side and disappeared, saying that it could rest now that it knew Victor was dead. It apparently intended to construct a funeral pyre and cremate itself, though I have no idea where it thought it could find enough wood in that barren place. In any event, the Arctic is a very large place and the weather is very severe. If it didn't manage the fiery end it planned, I'm sure it perished in the cold. Good-bye.
ALBERT
Good-bye.
HERR SCHMIDT
Miss Manning.
Richard Sharp
ELIZABETH
Good-bye, Herr Schmidt.
(HERR SCHMIDT exits.)
ALBERT
Well, darling. Here we are.
ELIZABETH
At last. (She looks around) This place is kind of spooky isn't it?
ALBERT
I'm sure it won't seem so once we get used to it.
ELIZABETH
Will we have separate rooms?
ALBERT
Only if you insist on it.
ELIZABETH
I don't know Albert, I . . . .
ALBERT
We might as well act as if we're married. We're going to get married. This is our honeymoon, after all, and on the boat--
ELIZABETH
That was different, Albert. (pause) I only meant, I wonder how many rooms there are in this castle.
ALBERT
Plenty, I'm sure.
ELIZABETH
I wonder what they are like though. I mean, I wonder how comfortable.
ALBERT
Well, if they don't meet with your approval, we shall stay in the village until they are made right.
ELIZABETH
Oh, thank you, Albert.
Richard Sharp
(She kisses him. ALBERT moves to the coffin.)
ALBERT
So this is my cousin. Herr Schmidt said I look like him. I wonder.
ELIZABETH
Oh Albert, don't.
ALBERT
Just a quick peek, my darling.
(ALBERT unfastens the coffin lid and looks in. He is stunned.)
My God!
(ELIZABETH can't resist. She steps forward, looks into the coffin, and promptly faints.)
--End of Scene One--
Richard Sharp
Scene Two
SETTING: The same as Scene 1.
AT RISE: IGOR is about to remove the sawhorses that were the bier, HILDA is folding the cloth that was the drape.
IGOR
Cheated again! He didn't even mention us in the will.
HILDA
(Still sniffling) He was very distraught. He died in a fever.