Women's Role In Frankenstein By Mary Shelley

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Women’s role in Frankenstein Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, is a famous novel about a scientist names Victor who creates a monstrous creature in a scientific experiment. It is easy to realize that men seem to be dominant throughout the story, and that all the main characters are male. As a result, women’s role in the book seems to be less important and significant to the story. Why did Mary Shelley, a daughter of a leading feminist who wrote the book A Vindication of the Rights of Women to express her belief that women should be treated equally, create such a book as Frankenstein, which portrayed women as inferior to men? The explanation lies behind the roles of those female characters of the book: Caroline Beaufort, Elizabeth Lavenza, Justine
In the novel, Elizabeth Lavenza appears to be the most important female character. At the beginning of the story, Mary Shelley focuses more on describing Elizabeth’s physical beauty. It is good to mention and recall that Shelley does not mention a lot about the appearances of other women in the story, which contribute in emphasizing the significance of Elizabeth. Under Mary’s excellent and romantic pen, Elizabeth is portrayed as though she is an angel on the
First of all, she is presented to Victor Frankenstein as a “present”: “I have a pretty present for my Victor- tomorrow he shall have it” (21). Undoubtedly, she is equated to an object, rather than a person. As a result, Victor considers Elizabeth as his possession: “I, with childish seriousness, interpreted her words literally and looked upon Elizabeth as mine- mine to protect, love, and cherish […], since still death she was to be mine only” (21). Throughout the story, she makes no options or choices, and is extremely seldom vocal. It is not exaggerated to say that Elizabeth only exists as a purpose of Victor’s actions and ambitions. Her passiveness is also shown through the letters that she writes to Victor:
I confess to you, my friend, that I love you and that in my airy dreams of futurity you have been my constant friend and companion. But it is your happiness I desire as well as my own when I declare to you that our marriage would render me eternally miserable unless it were the dictate of your own free choice

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