Who was William Frankenstein?

The New York Times runs a section called “Corrections.” You may have seen it. It’s tucked away in a modest corner of the paper, rather inobtrusive, and, my guess, does not make a regular appearance if there are no mistakes to correct from the prior week. I happen to enjoy reading the section while savoring my first cup of steaming American coffee, al fresco, on a crisp Sunday autumn morning,

The other week, amid the typical corrections for dates and titles, one correction in particular caught my eye. It had to do with the latest movie version of Frankenstein, introducing Dr. Victor Frankenstein’s younger brother, William, into the plot of Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein.

By way of recall, Victor Frankenstein (alias Henry Frankenstein in the 1931 movie version) was “The Dr. Frankenstein” and the creator of the famed monster. He also happened to be engaged to Elizabeth Lavenza. In the Netflix version, also entitled “Frankenstein,” writer and director Guillermo del Toro has Elizabeth engaged instead to William, and thus, Elizabeth is not Victor’s fiancée as the New York Times originally printed then corrected.

Why should William’s appearance in the storyline come as a surprise? Why the double take? After all. there is precedent for an expanded family tree. For example, in the 1974 version, Young Frankenstein, actor Gene Wilder, plays Dr. Frankenstein’s grandson, Dr. Frederick Frankenstein.  One must also consider that an enduring classic such as Frankenstein, is bound to open up artistic possibility and innovation.

That said, perhaps the randomness of this particular correction, coupled with learning that there is not only a Dr. Victor, a Dr. Frederick, a Dr. Henry but now a William Frankenstein, all in the context of Halloween approaching, kindled a sense of irony, at least in the moment. Who knows?  I guess you have to have been there.

It's admirable to consider that a newspaper as prestigious as the New York Times owns up to occasional reporting errors, however minor they may be, and all in a day’s work. Perhaps journalistic transparency is more important than ever these days, part of the covenant with the readership. At one point, I actually thought of clipping out all of those corrections for some type of Art Deco collage, but alas, other obligations intervened...

In closing, my thanks to the New York Times for always being there with interesting news, and to Mr. del Toro for re-creating a forever iconic tale in his new movie. Vive les deux!  I can’t wait to see the new Frankenstein!

Reference:

The New York Times, Inside Culture, Sunday, September 21,2025.