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Feminism and homosexuality in the introduction of frankenstein
Feminism and homosexuality in the introduction of frankenstein
Feminism and homosexuality in the introduction of frankenstein
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Homosexual Undertones in the Movie, Bride of Frankenstein
James Whale recreates the original horror of Frankenstein with his sequel Bride of Frankenstein, in which Henry Frankenstein once again tries to play God with the addition of an Eve to his already thriving Adam. "Henry Frankenstein...may attempt to reverse the Original Sin and re-enter the community by acquiescing to the horror cliché that 'there are things we are not meant to know'--except that his initial hubristic motive was not just to figure out eternity but to create life without the help of any Eve (he wants to 'be as God' in a double sense), and when in the sequel he manages to get married it is a sure bet that some Dr. Praetorius will 'force' him into an all-male effort
After hearing the monster’s side of the story Frankenstein started to show some compassion for the being and agreed to it’s desire for a mate. Now that Frankenstein has learned the full story of his creation he feels the need to take responsibility for it now with the line, “did [he] not as his maker owe him all portions of happiness” (Shelley 125), less the monster start to attack humanity out of
For centauries, women have been forced to live life in 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 in 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. In conclusion, in Mary Shelly’s novel Frankenstein, the female characters always fulfill the limited and archetypical roles that are set for them by society.
The issue of religion in women's horror is much like the issue of class. In most major organized religions there is a definite patriarchal structure of male dominance. The Father, the Son, the Pope, bishops and priests are all part of this structure that mostly lack woman influences. The religious structure reflects the male dominated society as a whole. As one would expect, women are frightful and perhaps horrified at this exclusionary system and in women's horror the idea of a woman Christ figure has been brought forth. Perhaps women are in touch with the idea of the Christ-like figure, one that is nurturing and motherly and by using a woman with Christ-like attributes, the structure of religion is commented on and destructured. Men's horror, however, works in the opposite direction by struggling to maintain the structure as it stands. While women battle to overthrow the ideas of a patriarchal religion, men battle to keep this disturbance in check and find comfort in the reassurance from male horror in the reassertion of male dominance.
When Victor and his creature depart, Victor travels back to Geneva, but he can not find the courage to construct another monster. Frankenstein believes that without months of work and as Frankenstein says “laborious disquisition” (Shelley 155). A wife for his foe would be impossible to make, and travels to England only to second guess his agreement he had made with the monster. Victor reconsiders his deal and fears that his next creature could be “ten thousand times more malignant than her mate, and delight, for its own sake, in murder and wretchedness” (Shelley 170). Victor starts to consider the consequences of another monster. What if the whole thing was a lie and the monster had no intention of leaving Europe and wished to stay and terrorize the land Victor called home? “One of the first results of those sympathies for which the daemon thirsted would be children, and a race of devils would be propagated upon the earth, who might make the very existence of the species of man a condition precarious and full of terror”(Shelley 170). Victor acts as God by the fact that he is denying an entire
The monster in Frankenstein just wanted to be loved and he had great and good aspirations in the beginning of the story. As the story went on he realized that the world was rejecting the physical form of his body which led to his evil doings. I think at first the reader felt sorry for the monster because he had no one that loved him but he saw what love truly was and got jealous and started going down an evil path with death and destruction. The monster seems to be similar to both Satan and Adam, he is made on earth and searches to find out who and what he is. After a while of searching and found out this information, he begins to turn against the
“I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.”
God and Frankenstein's creations stunningly resemble each other. The monster relates to Satan, Adam, and Eve. Victor quotes, "You may render me the most miserable of men, but you shall never make me base in my own eyes," this is when the monster asks for a companion, Victor refuses. The monster also shows that he will go to any extent to be happy and complete vengeance when he goes on a murder spree. Adam quotes " for with thee/ Certain my resolution is to die; /How can I live without thee?" Resembling the monster, hence he wants a companion, Eve.
Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein (1818) and the famous character Frankenstein monsters have drastically changed in pop culture over time. Mary Shelley’s original Frankenstein monster is torrid considering that everyone around feared and rejected him.While in modern day adaptations such as Frankenstein the movie filmed in 1931 directed by James Whale the monster seemed mute, not really interested in seeking vengeance on his creator, and almost remote. The monster showing itself in a soulful way is a key part of it’s character. Which is something most modern day adaptations of this novel seem to have forgotten.
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.
When discussing issues presented in Mary Shelley’s famous Frankenstein, sexism may seem completely irrelevant. One would expect Mary Shelley, a woman herself and the daughter of feminist author Mary Wolstencraft to present her female characters in a fair way. However, Frankenstein is a surprisingly sexist work. In this paper, I will analyze how the female monster from Frankenstein is a victim of objectification, a problem which has been rampant from Shelley’s time to the modern day.
According to Ben Michaelis, a person 's intelligence is not measured by how well they perform academically, but by how well they adapt to their situations and environment (Michaelis). The idea that students who attain outstanding grades in school are more intellectual than students who receive poor grades is unfair to all students. In 1983, Dr. Howard Gardner identified different types of intelligence, including interpersonal intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence, and musical intelligence (Fiero), so to assume that a person is unintelligent based on poor academic performance is unreasonable. In the article, “What Does it Mean To Be Smart?”, the author gives an example of a woman named Angie to demonstrate that academic intelligence is not the main indication of someone’s overall intelligence (Michaelis). Although she did not excel in an academic setting, she had the ability to adapt to her circumstances and capitalize on her talents and interests to create a successful career for herself (Michaelis). In order to start embracing the different forms of intelligence, society, as a whole, needs to eliminate its fixed mindset about what intelligence
The plot of the monster's life follows a mutated version of Adam's as he read it in Paradise Lost. At one point he relates, "But it was all a dream; no Eve soothed my sorrows nor shared my thoughts; I was alone. I remembered Adam's supplication to his Creator. But where was mine?" The monster relates himself to Adam and expects the same treatment from his 'God.' The full realization of the mockery of Adam and Eve is barely missed when Frankenstein decides to relieve Man of the burden of his monster race by refusing to create the monster's bride. Just as he has the power to create, has he the power to destroy. Yet, in the end, the monster is the one in control, and ultimately triumphs in the final chase, outliving his creator.
The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and the article “Of the Pernicious Effects” by Mary Wollstonecraft, both have a similar relationship when regarding the importance of feminism during their time periods. Throughout Shelley’s novel, feminism is addressed because she uses female characters to further her plot and display her viewpoints. If Wollstonecraft evaluated the female characters in Shelley’s novel, she would realize that Elizabeth, Justine, and Safie all show an important purpose to the flow of the novel, and the purpose of equality that Shelley is sending to her audience about feminism.
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).
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein exhibits many gothic elements, but most would argue that it is more of a Romantic novel considering its idea of true inspiration. Victor Frankenstein takes only his love for knowledge and science, and creates life. Although it ends up disappointing him and becomes the ruin of Victor, this monster came from much creativity. To create something from absolutely nothing is a most inspiring thing, classifying it as a romantic. Frankenstein is composed of many elements of romanticism, such as supernatural being, emotions produced by the characters of the story, and the effect of nature.