The delineation of female characters in “Frankenstein” and “Araby” is in a very passive manner. Both Mary Shelley and James Joyce urges the readers to ponder upon the then existing social status of women. The women in these works of fiction are treated as material goods and have minimal privileges with respect to the male character. In Frankenstein, Elizabeth Lavenza is depicted as an object with minimal rights and privileges. She is portrayed as a possession for Victor Frankenstein to protect. In the same manner, Araby explicates the character of Mangan’s sister as a submissive sex. Araby is a narrative about a boy who embarks in a quest to achieve success in his love. Both these stories have the female characters in pivotal roles, but fail to depict them in a humanized form. There is strong evidence within the texts, suggesting the “othering” of at least one female character in comparison with the male characters.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley portrays the entire lifetime of a Genevese person named Victor Frankenstein. The story introduces mainly three female characters, Caroline Beaufort, Elizabeth Lavenza and Justine Moritz. As far as the plot is considered, Elizabeth Lavenza plays a pivotal role in the lifespan of Victor Frankenstein, the main protagonist. She is Frankenstein’s fiancé and is depicted as a possession for Frankenstein to protect. She does not have many rights and say in the novel and the only purpose of her character is to reflect the male protagonist. Her physical and mental attributes are opposite to that of Frankenstein but still, “there was a harmony in that very dissimilitude” (Shelley, 66). Frankenstein considered himself more intellectually capable than Elizabeth Lavenza. He is depicted as a calm and phi...
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...rtunes, Shelley was successful in evoking questions within the readers which helped to bring down the then existing patriarchal society. On the other hand, James Joyce, by “othering” Mangan’s sister was able to communicate the dream of Irish people for home rule. The metaphorical representation of Mangan’s sister as Middle East and the bazaar named Araby all illustrates the Irish people’s want to escape from the colonization to world with romance, enchantment, and freedom.
Works Cited.
Joyce, James." Araby". Theory into Practice. Ed. Ann B. Dobie. Toronto: Nelson Thomson, 2002.230-233. Print.
Moore, Lorrie. “You’re ugly too”. The Broadview Anthology of Short Fiction. Ed. Julia Gaunce and Suzette Mayr. Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview Press Ltd., 2004. 275- 276. Print.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Peterborough: Broadview Press Ltd., 1999.Print.
In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley highlights on the experiences her characters undergo through the internal war of passion and responsibility. Victor Frankenstein lets his eagerness of knowledge and creating life get so out of hand that he fails to realize what the outcome of such a creature would affect humankind. Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, highlights on how Frankenstein’s passion of knowledge is what ultimately causes the decline of his health and the death of him and his loved ones.
Elizabeth Lavenza (later Elizabeth Frankenstein) is one of the main characters in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. She is a beautiful young girl; fragile and perfect in the eyes of all. Her father was a nobleman from Milan, while her mother was of German descent. Before she was adopted by the wealthy Frankenstein family, she lived with a poor family. After Alphonose and Caroline Frankenstein adopt Elizabeth, they lovingly raise her alongside their biological son, Victor Frankenstein, in hopes that the two will eventually get married. When Victor goes off to Ingolstadt college, Elizabeth writes letters to him that later become a crucial part of the story. It weaves together every piece of the story, holding together each individual
Joyce, James. “Araby”. The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Eds. R.V. Cassill and Richard Bausch. Shorter Sixth Edition. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2000. 427 - 431.
Certainly the male characters in ‘Frankenstein’ are more developed that those of the females. Elizabeth Fay has suggested that the female characters are ‘idealised figures’ in much of Shelley’s work, particularly in the descriptions of Caroline and Elizabeth, the two mother figures in the novel.
Anne Mellor, author of “Frankenstein: A Feminist Critique of Science” argues that Victor Frankenstein represents the patriarchal society. Mellor also argues that Victor is afraid of the female sexuality. “A fear of female sexuality is implicit in a patriarchal construction of gender” says Mellor. She continues with her argument, saying that the death of Elizabeth Lavenza, Victor’s bride-to-be, is extremely significant to the feminist backbone of the story.
Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, has captured people’s attention since it was first written. People often wonder how much of Mary Shelley’s life is documented in her novel. From the theme of parental abandonment, to the theme of life and death in the novel, literary scholars have been able to find similarities between Frankenstein and Shelley’s life. The Journal of Religion and Health, the Journal of Analytical Psychology, and the Modern Psychoanalysis discuss the different connections between Shelley’s life and Frankenstein. Badalamenti, the author of “ Why did Mary Shelley Write Frankenstein?” in the Journal of Religion and Health, primarily discusses the connection between Victor
Mary Shelly (1797-1851) is one of the world’s most renowned authors and has authored numerous books which are still read and highly respected today. However, her best known work is Frankenstein. Mary Shelly’s first novel, Frankenstein, is one of the world’s finest pieces of literature and the definitive novel of the English Romantic Era; the novel combines a detailed critique on humanity with many powerful themes and multiple characters in the novel reflect the troubled woman who authored the classic tale.
Joyce, James. “Araby.” The Norton Introduction to Literature, Shorter Eighth Edition. Eds. Jerome Beaty, Alison Booth, J. Paul Hunter, and Kelly J. Mays. New York: W.W.Norton.
The narrator cannot stop himself from fantasizing about her perfections, such as when “the light from the lamp opposite our door caught the white curve of her neck, lit up her hair that rested there and, falling, lit up the hand upon the railing” (Joyce 2). Through his constant thoughts about Mangan’s sister and her physical beauty, the narrator reveals an intricate piece of his innate desires. It isn’t exactly Mangan’s sister that continually captivates his heart, but his idea of her and her greater embodiment of love. Ironically, despite the fact that she is the source of all the action that takes place in “Araby”, the narrator reveals very little about her. In “Exhibition and Inhibition: The Body Scene in Dubliners”, Sheila Conboy wrote, “While the boy narrates the process of his sexual awakening, the girl remains anonymous, merely the petticoated object of his desire, never given a voice to express a desire of her own” (Conboy 4). Because the narrator treats Mangan’s sister as only an object of desire -- as opposed to a person capable of desires -- reality is destined to disappoint him. Through Mangan’s sister, we come to understand that the narrator at the end of the story is not only distraught because his idea of love has been dashed, but ashamed that
After learning about the life of Mary Shelley, I have grown to appreciate the novel, Frankenstein, even more since the first time I read it. She led a life nearly, as tragic as the monster she created through her writing. Mary seems to pull some of her own life experiences in Victor’s background, as in both mothers died during or after childbirth. Learning about Mary’s personal losses, I have gained a better appreciation of her as an author and a woman of the 17th century. She had association with some the most influential minds of that
In “Frankenstein” penned by Mary Shelley, the author depicts the roles of passive women through the roles of Caroline, Elizabeth, and Justine. Caroline marries Victor’s father, Alphonese Frankenstein, despite the huge age difference between them, and gets approval from her husband to make Elizabeth part of the Frankenstein family. Elizabeth joins the Frankenstein family after Caroline takes her from the orphanage, has superficial beauty, and constantly writes letters to Victor, waiting for his return and his hand in marriage. Justine cannot prove her innocence in court without the appearance of Victor. On the other hand, Shelley depicts Safie as a woman willing to stand up for her religion, disobeying her father’s orders of going to Constantinople, and finds Felix. Through the portrayals of Caroline, Elizabeth, and Justine, women are depicted as possessions by men, admired for their superficial beauty, and do not take direct action without the appearance of men. However, Safie’s portrayal in “Frankenstein” symbolizes a woman who longs to have her own rights and a woman who goes against the role of passive woman.
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Shelley characterizes the female characters as passive, disposable and serving an utilitarian function. Women such as Safie, Elizabeth, Justine, Margaret and Agatha provide nothing more but a channel of action for the male characters throughout the novel. Meaning, the events and actions acted by them or happen to them are usually for the sake of the male character gaining new knowledge or sparking an emotion. Each of Shelley’s women serves an important role by way of plot progression are otherwise marginal characters. Yet, this almost absence of women is exactly the reason why they are important. This use of the female character introduces a concept of feminism; here, female politics exists due to the vacancy of a “role model.” Women such as Justine, Agatha, Elizabeth and Margaret in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein play a key role, whether it’s for mere plot progression or by their absence.
“Allure, Authority, and Psychoanalysis” discusses the unconscious wishes, effects, conflicts, anxieties, and fantasies within “Frankenstein.” The absence of strong female characters in “Frankenstein” suggests the idea of Victor’s desire to create life without the female. This desire possibly stems from Victor’s attempt to compensate for the lack of a penis or, similarly, from the fear of female sexuality. Victor’s strong desire for maternal love is transferred to Elizabeth, the orphan taken into the Frankenstein family. This idea is then reincarnated in the form of a monster which leads to the conclusion that Mary Shelley felt like an abandoned child who is reflected in the rage of the monster.
Mary Shelley, the author of the novel Frankenstein grew up in the early 1800’s with her father, a radical philosopher that believed in the equality of the sexes, and her mother, a vindicator of women’s rights. Shelley followed the footsteps of her parents and became a strong feminist advocate, and supporter of gender equality. The development of her novel granted her with the opportunity to express her feminist ideologies in a subtle, and realistic way, unlike any other authors during her time period. Thus, in the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley incorporates her feminist beliefs with the purpose of portraying the realities of a woman’s life during the early 1800’s.
Caroline’s decision to marry Victor’s father symbolizes a woman in need of a man to protect her. Furthermore, Caroline’s passivity is displayed when Caroline brings Elizabeth from the orphanage and asks her husband to make Elizabeth part of the Frankenstein family. Victor describes Elizabeth’s background by stating, “Her mother was a German and had died on giving birth.... ... middle of paper ...