Feminism is equality for all members of society, regarding political, social, and economic aspects. The feminist lens in literature focuses on how “women characters are portrayed, exposing the patriarchal ideology implicit in the so-called classics” (Feminist Criticism). Written in the early nineteenth century, Frankenstein clearly portrays the assumed and accepted gender roles of women and men of this time period, in which men and women were part of separate social spheres of society. Women were in control of the domestic aspects of the household while the men were in control of the social and political aspects, expected to make a living to support their families. In the novel, it is evident that women carry little substance to …show more content…
Mary Wollstonecraft was a feminist writer who is most well-known for publishing A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. The main focus of her work revolves around pushing for educational reform, so that women would be given the same access to educational opportunities as men. It is said that Wollstonecraft’s work is more of a counterargument to the ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who believed that women should only be educated for the purpose of teaching them to obey and please their husbands better (Mary Wollstonecraft). On the other hand, William Godwin was an acclaimed political philosopher known for writing Political Justice, which focuses on the treatment of the common people. Godwin’s other works focus on class distinctions between the Bourgeois and the Proletariat and how the higher classes often abuse their power (William Godwin). Wollstonecraft and Godwin married soon after she became pregnant; however, due to unforeseen complications, Wollstonecraft died shortly after giving birth to Shelley, so Shelley never really had a relationship to her mother. The lack of a maternal figure in Shelley’s life could have a strong correlation to the lack of importance of the women in the novel. A prime example of this correlation is when Frankenstein begins to put together the female counterpart for the monster. He is putting her together from pieces of different corpses, as he did with the male monster. Eventually, Frankenstein decides to halt his efforts in creating the female monster because he is fearful of what may come of
For centuries, women have been forced to live life on the outskirts of a male-dominated society. During the 1800’s, the opportunities for women were extremely limited and Mary Shelly does an excellent job portraying this in her gothic novel, Frankenstein. Furthermore, in this novel, Mary Shelly shows how society considers women to be possessions rather than independent human beings. In addition, the female characters rely heavily on men for support and survival, thus proving their inability to do it on their own. Lastly, the female characters in this novel are in many ways victimized by the male characters.
Gender inequality will always affect the way women are portrayed in society, the weaker, unnecessary, and other sex. It is not just a subject of the past, but still holds a name in society, however in the olden eras the way women were treated and are looked at, in a much more harsh condition. In Shakespeare’s Othello and Shelley’s Frankenstein women’s roles in the books are solely based on the way they are treated in their time period. The way women are portrayed in these books, demonstrate that they can never be in the same standing as men, considered the second option, and therefore will never have the same respect as men. In both Othello and Frankenstein women are treated as property, used to better men’s social standards, and lack a voice,
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
Mary Shelley’s novel entitled Frankenstein demonstrates women of the Romantic Era as powerless citizens of society. Throughout the novel, the women are secondary characters and are portrayed through the men’s perspective. Therefore, many would think that these female characters are passive and dependant as they are often described as companions and nurturers. Despite the unequal rights of women, Shelley, one of the earliest feminist, has developed female characters who show agency. This trait of taking charge of one 's course of life is reflected through Justine Moritz as she is willing to die for her beliefs, in Safie who defies her father’s and religious wishes and when Victor Frankenstein decides to abort
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.
Victor destroys the female monster for multiple reasons. The first reason being, Victor is uncertain that the female monster will comply with the male monster’s desire to leave society. Secondly, destroying her would ensure no procreation would occur. Anne Mellor states: “What Victor Frankenstein fears is female sexuality
The creature is physically male, yet exhibits feminine qualities, thus, it threatens to disrupt the foundations of the Victorian gender binary. Ultimately, Frankenstein challenges the view of gender roles and highlights the mistreatment of the oppressed female demographic within the rigid societal constraints of the nineteenth century. The female characters throughout Frankenstein are constructed to be passive, submissive and irrelevant unless they can be used to benefit men. This represents the ideology in which women were used within the social, historic and cultural realms of the nineteenth century. The women in the text hold no real significance; they are stripped of their voices, leaving only the word of the men that inhabit the rest of the novel.
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.
Mary Shelley depicts the Romantic ideal of inferiority of women in Frankenstein. These ethics can be compared and contrasted with values of today’s society. Shelley had all male narrators to accentuate the belief of male superiority. The female orphans of the story portray the assumption that women are helpless and the lack of letters from Margaret emphasizes the essential worthlessness of a woman’s opinions. Finally, the female presence in the workforce contradicts Romantic ideals, however housewives and male proposals parallel the ideals Shelley uses in Frankenstein. The Romantic ideals that women are secondary to men are expressed throughout Frankenstein as well as in Romantic times and today.
Beginning in the early 19th century, Frankenstein, which ironically was written by a woman, shows a somewhat unsurprising lack of revolutionary female characters. In Frankenstein, there are only four female characters who add important movement to the plot. Frankenstein’s mother, Elizabeth, and Justine are the human women in his immediate circle and each is only described in terms of their position relative to men. Caroline Frankenstein and Elizabeth Lavenza are described as his beloved mother and cousin, as if that is their own defining feature. The novel begins with Frankenstein telling Captain Walton of his mother and father: “He came like a protecting spirit to the poor girl, who committed herself to his care; and after the interment of
When reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, one cannot help but notice that the women characters seem to have little substance compared to the male characters. This may have been caused by the time period in which she wrote: one in which females were considered inferior to males. This difference between the sexes can be looked at using a variety of different perspectives. Johanna M. Smith, a professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, discusses this issue using feminist eyes in her essay entitled "'Cooped up': Feminine Domesticity in Frankenstein." The main points in Professor Smith's essay are that the female characters are there only to reflect the male characters, and that the Frankenstein family has a weird style of living, which she describes as a "bookkeeping mentality" (Smith 279).
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818), the characterization of women is based on the rigid gender division in eighteenth-century Geneva, which greatly resembles the social status of women in contemporary London. In Frankenstein women’s efforts are represented as ineffective and inessential to the public sphere by expressing men confidently as scientists, politicians or explorers. On the other hand, women are confined to the home as mere companions, wives and often caregivers to the children. However, Shelley upholds women’s views of family and familial affections by critiquing men’s deficient commitment to the familial, ultimately revealing the indifferent attitude towards Frankenstein’s creation which arouses tension in the cultural situation
In “Frankenstein” penned by Mary Shelley, one cannot help but notice the role of women in the novel compared to men. Even though Mary Shelley is the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft, a mother advocating for women’s rights in society, she displays the roles of Caroline, Elizabeth, and Justine as passive women. This may be the time period when women were considered inferior to men. Caroline, Elizabeth, and Justine are depicted as possessions by men, admired for their superficial beauty, and do not take action without the permission of men. On the other hand, Shelley illustrates Safie as a woman who speaks up for her own rights when her father forbids her to find Felix.
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.
Mary Wollstonecraft was a self-educated, radical philosopher who wrote about liberation, and empowering women. She had a powerful voice on her views of the rights of women to get good education and career opportunities. She pioneered the debate for women’s rights inspiring many of the 19th and the 20th century’s writers and philosophers to fight for women’s rights, as well. She did not only criticize men for not giving women their rights, she also put a blame on women for being voiceless and subservient. Her life and, the surrounding events of her time, accompanied by the strong will of her, had surely affected the way she chose to live her life, and to form her own philosophies.