This article contains major character or plot details.
Mia Goth didn’t quite know the inner workings of her Frankenstein character, the luminous and pure-hearted Elizabeth, until she found herself in a fitting with the film’s costume designer, Kate Hawley. “I tried on a dress for the first time, and it clicked,” Goth tells Tudum. She understood she had been carrying a piece of Elizabeth inside her the whole time.
“She was always far closer to me than I knew,” Goth says, reflecting on that moment of epiphany. “It took a lot of work — in a roundabout way — to finally realize she exists in my most quiet moments, when I can be my most authentic self.”
In Frankenstein, directed by Guillermo del Toro and adapted from Mary Shelley’s masterpiece, Oscar Isaac’s Dr. Victor Frankenstein becomes enchanted by Elizabeth, who happens to be his younger brother William’s (Felix Kammerer) fiancée. The more Victor is exposed to Elizabeth’s wit, intellect, and willingness to speak her mind, the richer his affections grow. Goth had an experience similar to Victor’s; the deeper she delved into her role, the more charmed she became by Elizabeth … and Claire, Victor’s beloved late mother. Goth serves double duty in Frankenstein, portraying not only Victor’s present-day obsession, but also the embodiment of maternal comfort and his lost childhood innocence.
When Goth first boarded Frankenstein, she didn’t expect to play two roles; she thought she was only playing Elizabeth. But, in her initial conversations with del Toro, the actor mentioned she had recently become a mother. “In that moment, I saw Guillermo’s eyes light up,” Goth says. “He said to me that he hadn’t completely figured out who Elizabeth would be. I wonder if, in that moment, he started to put Elizabeth and Claire together for the first time,” Goth continues. “As much as Claire is Victor’s mother, I also think there’s an incredibly maternal side to Elizabeth.”
That part of Elizabeth’s persona is fully unspooled once Victor manages to do the impossible: to create life where there was only death, in the form of his Creature (played by Jacob Elordi), a being comprised of scavenged body parts. While Victor is repulsed by his creation — and punishes him for his mere existence — Elizabeth offers the Creature his very first brush of kindness.
“When she sees the Creature for the first time, there’s an immediate connection there,” Goth says. “She understands him. She just knows, ‘I see you. I may not look like you, but I feel like you.’ That was a big point for me.”
In fact, Goth defines Elizabeth by her tenderness. She points out that Elizabeth is the only character in all of Frankenstein who actually sees the Creature and doesn’t view him as a monster. “Elizabeth exists whenever I’m in service for somebody else,” Goth says. “She’s there for me when I ask somebody a question. She’s there when I ask, ‘How’s your day going? How was that doctor’s appointment?’ ”
It’s no surprise that Elizabeth is able to see beauty where others might find revulsion. She is fascinated by insects, and even presents Victor with a butterfly early in their relationship (that scene was Goth’s first during filming). “I see Elizabeth as a butterfly or a moth,” Goth says. “She’s fluttering and trying to find her place in this world.”
Elizabeth’s wardrobe, from her elegant gowns to her intricate jewelry to her ornate headpieces, reflects her passions and personality. Costume designer Hawley was inspired by entomology, botany, and the natural world, studying everything from the anatomy of bugs to organic cellular structures.
“Guillermo wanted Elizabeth to be very ethereal, and there’s an iridescence and ephemeral nature to some of those colors and fabrics that helped us,” Hawley says. “It’s all about echoing those insect and beetle-like qualities.”
While Elizabeth may perceive herself as a flying insect, the men of Frankenstein view her as their spiritual salvation. Victor is captivated by Elizabeth’s goodness, and she appears to the Creature like an angel. That’s why it was equally important to outfit the character in divine iconography befitting her maternal spirit. “Religious language is a big part of Elizabeth’s character, and that bonnet is like a halo,” Hawley says. “I used colored veils to move away from tradition. Mia has such an amazing, mercurial face — one of the first fittings we had, we put that bonnet on her, and we put the yellow veil over her, and she just became this other creature.”
Now, Goth holds Elizabeth (and Claire) in her heart — and wants audiences to feel the same. “The entire experience was just magical. So I hope they watch Frankenstein and they feel seen. I hope they feel a little less alone,” Goth says. She, after all, is heartened by the character. “In many ways, I feel like Elizabeth was mothering me throughout this whole process.”
Feel Elizabeth’s warmth yourself by (re)watching Frankenstein, now streaming on Netflix. And keep coming back to Tudum for more news out of Victor’s laboratory.
Watch the Trailer for Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein
