Dressed in a lavender colored, 50’s inspired, ensemble Peg Boggs, the local Avon representative, arrives at Edward’s gothic castle hoping to make a sale. She enters uninvited and is confronted with a vast seemingly uninhabited abode full of dusty old machinery. Determined to sell Avon’s “exquisite new line of softer colors” Peg climbs the cob web covered stairs and finds Edward’s room. His “bed” is a straw mat located in the fireplace. Newspapers, Magazines and books litter the floor; Peg draws closer to view a collage on the wall above the bed. Newspaper clippings feature titles that read: “Newlyleds, 90 & to have a baby”, “Boy born without eyes reads with his hands: He feels heat of the words”, and “Boy begs strangers to ADOPT him – & they do!”. With a furrowed brow Peg turns from the collage and sees Edward for the first time. Lurking in the shadows, scissor’s snapping, he finally emerges and Peg’s eyes widen with fear. Tim Burton’s film Edward Scissorhands, while at times colorful and amusing, also has darker elements that mirror Shelley’s concern, in her novel Frankenstein, regarding the implications of creating life through unnatural means.
The components of Edward’s aforementioned collage are shown to the audience for exactly ten seconds. Their purpose is to give the viewer a brief but enlightening view of Edward’s complexity. He is not simply a monstrosity; he reads books and cuts images of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus out of magazines to hang above his bed. He takes pleasure in reading stories of individuals overcoming terrible odds and finding happiness. The collage is representative of Edward’s character; he is intelligent and apathetic, and throughout the film, shows an eagerness to be accepted and to prove his worth. Edward’s collage effectively introduces the audience to a gentle intelligent creation prior to observing his monstrous appendages. In this way, Burton instills empathy in his audience toward Edward without ever having seen him.
As Edward emerges from the shadows the initial reaction of fear, experienced by Mrs. Boggs and perhaps by Burton’s audience, gives way to curiosity as he implores the intruder not to go. The viewer combines this gentle plea with the enlightening images from his collage and immediately pathos has taken effect Mrs. Boggs exclaims “What happened to you?!” Edward replies, “I’m not finished”. Her next question: “Where is your family? Your Mother? Your Father?” he responds, “He didn’t wake up.” As the story progresses the viewer learns that Edward is incomplete. His creator died just as he was preparing to give Edward human hands. Edward’s abandonment scene is very poignant for as The Inventor slips to the ground, his eyes wide, and empty with death, Edward reaches out to grasp his new hands and in slow motion the blades rip through the rubber-like flesh of the unattached appendages. Edward’s countenance conveys his horror as he watches his only companion and his only hope for normalcy fall at his feet. He stares down at the mutilated hands blankly and the camera zooms out so that the audience sees Edward standing above the remnants of his would-be hands and the lifeless body of The Inventor with his scissor hands splayed. He then reaches out to stroke The Inventor’s cheek and bright red blood oozes from the resulting cuts. Edward raises the blood-soaked blades to his face and examines them, his face filled with horror. Just as Frankenstein’s creation is aware of his monstrosity, Edward too recognizes the violence he unwittingly possesses. His inventor’s “abandonment” resembles Victor’s, though Edward’s creator, shows him love by teaching him etiquette and reading him amusing poetry; he still leaves Edward unfinished and unfortunately monstrous.
The scenes featuring Edward’s creator are flashbacks that occur as the present drama of the film swells. Edward remembers The Inventor’s death as he is confronted with animosity from the Bogg’s neighbors. Peg brought Edward home to her suburban neighborhood after their first meeting. Unlike Victor’s creation who was scorned by all who observed his figure, Edward is at first largely accepted by the neighbors. His scissor hands are exploited for gardening, barbering, and pet trimming. It is not long however, before his hands are exploited for other means such as robbery. Caught in the act, Edward is brought to prison and deemed by a psychologist to have a “radically underdeveloped” vision of reality. The psychologist also claims that the years Edward spent in isolation without any guidance have left him with no context for right and wrong. These explanations are irrelevant to the neighbors who enjoy the vicious gossip that spreads about Edward. A scene developed by Burton that mirrors Shelley’s novel occurs as Mrs. Boggs young son Kevin walks home from a friend’s house. A car full of drunk teenagers is careening down the road just as Kevin crosses the street to go home and Edward pushes him out of the way just in time. Unfortunately what would be gentle inquisitive strokes on Kevin’s face are various cuts and slashes. The neighbors emerge from their houses in horror confronting the terrified Edward. As he looks around him at all the angry faces and listens to the sirens approaching he turns and runs back to his castle. This scene is reminiscent of Shelley’s monster’s narrative in which he explains his attempt rescue a drowning girl and the subsequent abuse he receives from her father. Both creations have good intentions however their monstrous forms prevent them from being productive members of a society.
Tim Burton concludes his Frankenstein-esque story with Edward’s return to his castle separated from the society he had benefited because despite his gentleness and his desire to use his hands for good, their sharp blades are too large to be ignored. Similarly to Shelley, Burton develops a film that explores the dangers of creating life unnaturally. Burton emphasizes the danger it presents to the creation who risks living a life isolated from others as the object of scorn. While having to confront the reality of Edward’s monstrous frame one recognizes that while he cannot touch you, his story will.
