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. Shelley created the male characters in the novel with the intent of displaying their one sidedness, proving their lack of connection to domestic matters. She is also proving their extreme obsession when it comes to achieving goals, and the deep desire to become the hero. Among all of the male characters, Victor Frankenstein stands out as a strong representation of …show more content…
After Victor Frankenstein's creation had wandered from his residence, the creature took matters into his own hands, killing William, Victor's younger brother. The surprisingly intelligent creature had even framed Justine for the murder in order to cover his own tracks. It was clear to the creature, and Frankenstein that Justine was not guilty of this crime, nevertheless neither one spoke up. The small amount guilt felt by both male characters, and their inability to take action and make the situation right, shows the utter disrespect, and lack empathy that males had towards women. Along with this, Justine knew that she did not commit this crime, but she still never spoke up for herself, most likely due to the fact that no one would believe her if she
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.
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 Wollstonecraft, mother of Mary Shelley and author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, held the firm belief that women were equal to men. As such, it is hard to imagine that the daughter of a prominent women’s right advocate would only portray passive and disposable women in her novel, Frankenstein. Despite this, the story only includes women such as Justine Moritz and Elizabeth Lavenza, “each of whom relies upon male intervention and agency to save them” (Cadwell). While it can be argued that these women were used to show the flaws of misogyny, on the surface they each provide nothing more than character development for the male leads or a means by which to further the plot.
...r, Mary Wollstonecraft created in her book A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Which demonstrates to readers that Shelley used her mother’s book as a guide to creating her female character. Although Vindication of the Rights of Women was written in the late eighteenth century, Shelley applied it to women in the early nineteenth century for the reason in the twenty-six years since her mother’s book women have not changed. They were indeed the same as when Wollstonecraft wrote her book. Thus making the women of the novel perfect examples of women during the early nineteenth. Frankenstein provides it readers with prime examples of women in the early nineteenth century while also providing us with a cautionary tale. Frankenstein is an amazing novel that provides it readers with looks into many different aspects of the nineteenth century the most important being women.
Although Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is not technically a feminist novel, Shelley ever so subtly makes a strong case for the plight of women in a patriarchal society. Speaking from the male point of view, Shelley is able to depict everything that is wrong with society from subservient stereotypes, interpretation of procreation and the demeaning treatment of women as objects. While staying true to the gender roles in the time period, it becomes apparent that not only are men held to a different standard than women, but they are also undeserving. Rather than force her controversial observations down her readers' throats, she stealthily crafts the novel leaving one with a newfound respect and value of women and their role in society.
Mary Shelley’s, Frankenstein, depicts a patriarchal society in which men pursue their goals against hopeless odds. Victor Frankenstein is a major male character depicted in Shelley’s work. He is “portrayed as the patriarch who creates but cannot love and who fears sexual reproduction (Griswold 87). Frankenstein is a prime example of a man who pursued their goals against hopeless odds. He reflected back on his curious childhood. During childhood, he wanted to learn the hidden laws of nature and he desired to learn the secrets of the heaven and earth (Shelley 33). From the beginning of his life, Frankenstein had the goal to discover the existence of heaven and earth. He took this in to his own hands by trying to bring a monster to life. It is hard to fathom that an individual has the ability to create another human being. It is a hopeless odd that Frankenstein would have the ability to bring different body parts, unite them with electricity, and create a new form of life. Even though this is considered a hopeless odd,
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
Justine was killed because Victor Frankenstein’s younger brother, William, was murdered. An item that William was wearing during the night of the murder was found on Justine leading everyone to believe that Justine is the murderer. When Victor arrives back to Geneva and hears that Justine has been accused of the murder his reaction was, “Justine Mortiz! Poor, poor girl, is she accused? But it is wrongfully; everyone knows that; no one believes it, surely…”. Victor knew the Monster killed William and probably framed Justine. He knew Justine was innocent, but no one believed him. Justine was also forced to give a false confession, and was hanged. People dislike being insecure, like having a murderer loose among them, so they punish a scapegoat, like Justine, to ease their minds.
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.
Many consider Shelley as an early feminist. Certainly her mother’s views on the issue cannot be doubted. In her book “A Vindication of the Rights of Women” Mary Wollstonecraft criticizes society’s treatment of women. Similarly in Frankenstein Shelly, more than simply telling a story, challenges a dominant patriarchal value system. In the novel the women are constructed as victims of male egotism and selfishness. Caroline Beaufort, Victor Frankenstein’s mother, lived in ‘poverty’ due to her father’s ‘abominable pride’ that refused to accept help or charity. Safie, daughter of the Turkish merchant is almost kept from the one she loves by her father’s ‘treachery’. Thus we can see that Shelly presents us with a s...
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.
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.
While reading contemporary authors, their books may convey or portray current issues that are visible in our current society. However, in the example of the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley uses the creature to reflect gender equality. The creature wishes to be treated equal and to be equal to man in every aspect, however, man denies the idea and treats the creature as another species. This can reflect the idea of equality for women, also, the idea of discrimination can be interpreted. Since the creature is technically human because the body’s composition is made out of human body parts, the creature has the intelligence of a person and has the ability to show, feel or have emotions, yet he is treated differently due to his appearance. These ideas are also
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.
What is interesting about the way Shelley writes, is the fact that she glazes over the actual birth of the monster. Bringing the character to life was not the goal of the story. How society and how the main character handles the monster is the focus. ENotes assesses Frankenstein in their Critical Evaluation showing how although the monster “develops language skills, emotion, and consciousness, he appears as a grotesque being and is spurned by society because he does not fit any ideal” (eNotes 3). The monster is curious as is the townspeople, but simple inquiry isn’t enough to stop the people from rallying against Frankenstein’s Monster. The author purposely chooses not to shine the spotlight on the horror of the monster, but the horror of the decaying society. Shelley also features prominent male characters in her novel, possibly on account of events in her own life. She writes about the character Justine, who while facing “execution, … establish[ed] a bond [with Elizabeth] that begins during a brief conversation about their shared experiences” (eNotes 8). Shelley’s lack of female characters, whether due to death or not, in the novel might have a correlation with her personal life as well. She had to endure the death of her mother as well as her sister. She brings this level of emotions into her