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Changes for women in the industrial revolution
Changes for women in the industrial revolution
Changes for women in the industrial revolution
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Zeynep Özbulut
15093062
FEMINIST IDEALS IN FRANKENSTEIN
In the late 18th century, the concept of feminism was taking its first roots in England which is nowadays called under the title of classical-liberal feminism wave.The philosophical basis of liberal feminism lies in the principle of individualism, the belief that human individual is all important and therefore that all individuals are of equal moral worth. Individuals are entitled to equal treatment, regardless of their sex, race, colour, creed or religion. (Heywood, 2012, p. 238)
In 1792, in an attempt to defend these individual rights, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, the first feminist work arguing for the educational rights of women, was written
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Women were seen weaker than men and they were not playing a decisive role in earning a living for the family. Society gave them roles as caring the house, giving birth and bearing children, morally supporting their husband. Single women were not respected. Only women educated were belonged to rich families. They could not own or inherit property. Conversely, men could possess their wife’s inheritance. We can simply say that it was a patriarchal society.
On the other hand, the Industrial Revolution was changing the lifestyle of English people. The increasing number of factories led people to live and work in the cities instead of rural districts. With the enhancement of science, life changing inventions were being made. But those developments and the hunger for knowledge and exploration in humans had also come up with destructive and damaging consequences which we observe a kind of example of it in Frankenstein. The monster Shelley described symbolizes the coming of industrialization to Europe, and the death and destruction that the monster wrecks symbolizes the ruin.
So the bottom line is, nearly none of those detrimental experiments which interfered the nature and life were caused by female scientists. A male-dominant, disrupting science was holding sway which is also what Shelley fairly criticized and depicted a fictional
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She is very clever and gentle, and extremely pretty; as I mentioned before, her mien and her expressions continually remind me of my dear aunt.” says Elizabeth about Justine. No matter how much she loves her and trusts that Justine did not kill Victor’s brother, Elizabeth can not thwart her execution and we can say that a woman’s rejection against a sentence was not really considered.
Meanwhile the author gives us an important detail about the class distinction in the country while talking about Justine. “A servant in Geneva does not mean the same thing as a servant in France and England. Justine, thus received in our family, learned the duties of a servant, a condition which, in our fortunate country, does not include the idea of ignorance, and a sacrifice of the dignity of a human being.”(Shelley p.41) Shelley denotes that being a member of the lower classes need sacrifice of dignity in England. Also with Justine character, the author symbolizes the purity, dignity and righteousness and with her death .
Another notable detail is that the monster demanded Victor to create a woman partner for him in order to resolve his solitude. Again, woman is seen as a companion even by the monster and when Victor did not carry out his request, monster kills Victor’s beloved one, Elizabeth to
Although he agreed to fulfill the task of creating a female partner for his monster, Victor
‘[The] characters and plot of Frankenstein reflect . . . Shelley’s conflicted feelings about the masculine circle which surrounded her.’
Men and women were seen to live in separate social class from the men where women were considered not only physically weaker, but morally superior to men. This meant that women were the best suited for the domestic role of keeping the house. Women were not allowed in the public circle and forbidden to be involved with politics and economic affairs as the men made all the
The period during which Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein there were many scientific developments in the world, that contributed to the gothic genre of her novel as well as the author’s personal experiences. The main scientific development that possibly may have inspired the author to produce a gothic novel is similar to Luigi Galvani’s experiment, during which Galvani observed the relationship between electricity and life. In chapter four, Shelley has mentioned the scientific improvement that occurred during the 19th century: “when I considered the improvement which every day takes place in science and mechanics”.
Frankenstein “supports a patriarchal denial of the value of women and of female sexuality” (Mellor, 356). Mellor’s point is significant here because a woman was devalued if she was not able to produce children or if she showed signs of independence. Mary Shelley’s own mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, defied gender roles and strongly advocated for the freedoms of women. This influence shines through Shelley’s novel as the deaths of the women
After Victor destroys his work on the female monster meant to ease the monster's solitude, the monster is overcome with suffering and sadness. These feelings affected his state of mind and caused him to do wrong things. He did not deserve to see his one and only mate be destroyed.
To begin, the monster longed for human connection so badly, he even begged Victor to create his wife: “You must create a female for me with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being. This you alone can do, and I demand it of you as my right which you must not refuse to concede,” (174). In this quote, the monster asks Victor to make him a companion, which Victor blatantly denies. This eventually leads to
This demonstrates the creatures moral ambiguity because he first saves an innocent girls life, but then he kills an innocent boy just for vengeance. In addition, he threatens to kill Elizabeth if Victor doesn't create female monster for him. This event also shows the creatures moral ambiguity because he wants to a female companion as hideous as he is, so that he won't feel alone if the world but Victor did not create the female companion he became enraged and killed Elizabeth whom was going to be Victors
In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley tests the motives and ethical uncertainties of the science in her time period. This is a consideration that has become more and more pertinent to our time, when we see modern scientists are venturing into what were previously unimaginable territories of science and nature, through the use of things like human cloning and genetic engineering. Through careful assessment, we can see how the novel illustrates both the potential dangers of these scientific advancements and the conflict between that and creationism.
When one considers the role that gender, sexuality, and their roles in societal expectations, the result shows how the fragile character of Victor Frankenstein who runs away from his creation and shows no social responsibility to his actions is still considered a ‘fine man’. Shelley highlights the ever obvious reality of her time that men were valued over women; moreover, it shows that men not man were seemingly meant to inherent the Earth and to become its God. Additionally, Shelley’s personal life and the male figures that shaped it offer additional evidence to the ideology of the fragile masculine identity (Gordon) and how Shelley subtly shows the lack of equilibrium that existed within literature and, by extension, reality. It is the underlying notion of the nineteenth century romantic literature that women are meant to hold only an aesthetic or pleasing purpose and value in life whereas men are capable of looking further past the ‘superficial’ and see the truth even when they’re young; Victor says, “While my companion [Elizabeth] contemplated with a serious and satisfied spirit the magnificent appearances of things, I delighted in investigating their causes,” (p. 38) suggesting that women are inherently shallow creatures unable to perceive deeper
Within Frankenstein, the level at which a female is portrayed is quite low. Like we have heard in class, women were not necessarily respected as much as men were when the novel was written. Published in 1818 by Mary Shelley, her story tells of the adventure of young Victor Frankenstein and the creation of his creature. Though deep within this narration of Frankenstein’s life, there seems to be an underlying theme seeping through Shelley’s writing. Shelley seems to venture into the idea of feminism and grotesquely show how men are treated much better than women. Her novel includes various concrete examples to support this hypothesis.
From the beginning of time in history, women have always been portrayed as and seen as the submissive sex. Women especially during the time period of the 1800s were characterized as passive, disposable, and serving an utilitarian function. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a prime example displaying the depiction of women. The women in Frankenstein represent the treatment of women in the early 1800’s. Shelley’s incorporation of suffering and death of her female characters portrays that in the 1800’s it was acceptable. The women in the novel are treated as property and have minimal rights in comparison to the male characters. The feminist critic would find that in Frankenstein the women characters are treated like second class citizens. The three brutal murders of the innocent women are gothic elements which illustrates that women are inferior in the novel. Mary Shelley, through her novel Frankenstein, was able to give the reader a good sense of women’s role as the submissive sex, through the characters experiences of horrific events including but not limited to brutal murder and degradation, which is illuminated by her personal life experiences and time period of romanticism.
In the book Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the women are portrayed as inferior to men in several different ways. Of the few female characters in this book, very few of them are mentioned throughout the entire book and none of them are considered main characters. The ideals of Romanticism emphasize the secondary nature of women to men. In addition, Shelley’s portrayal of the inferiority of women parallels Romantic ideals and some of today’s values but also contrasts some values of today’s society. Shelley uses these Romantic ideals in Frankenstein because all of the female characters are clearly subordinate and secondary to the male characters throughout the story.
Shelley’s use of describing Safie going against the passive role of women compared to Caroline, Justine, and Elizabeth symbolizes how women should have the same rights as men, such as getting an education, working in the medical field, and having their voices heard to others. Without the appearance of women in society, the workforce would be cut in half with men working and earning money for a living, and women taking care of children. Therefore, one should not forget that women are the backbone of our society.
Can you imagine Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's Frankenstein, the great work of literature, without, for example, such female characters as Mrs. Margaret Saville, Elizabeth Lavenza, and Justine Moritz? In this case the novel will have no meaning. All the women help to develop the plot, and without them Frankenstein will lose its spirit. Although these heroines have a lot in common in their characters: they are all strong-willed, kind, careful, and selfless, at the same time, each of them is unique, and each plays her own role in the novel. Mrs. Margaret Saville is the woman to whom the narrator tells the story. Elizabeth Lavenza is the beloved of Victor Frankenstein. Justine Moritz is the heroine who is accused by mistake of murdering William and executed instead of the fiend. There is close connection between the female and male characters, and if we break it, Frankenstein will have no sense. The author of the novel, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly, characterizes the women in the same way as the men, and shows that they are independent players. So, the female characters in Frankenstein are as important as the male ones.