A Feminine Perspective In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Our history has always had the habit of expecting much of women without thinking much of them. This attitude is reflected in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, where the female characters are relegated to the domestic sphere and denied agency. The novel's protagonist, Victor Frankenstein, sees himself as needing to leave behind his domestic life to achieve greatness, ignoring the impact of the women in his life. However, it is his neglect of feminine influences that ultimately creates the problems that lead to his suffering, a realization which he only partially comes to when he attempts to make a bride for his monster. In this essay, I will argue that Frankenstein is a feminist work because it exposes the consequences of ignoring the feminine perspective

It is in these times that women were not expected to enter the public sphere to express their agency, but as Smith puts it, they were viewed as rewards for men’s efforts. Victor’s account details the early childhood in that both he and Elizabeth lived. Though they had different desires and perspectives, they still were very close. As Victor reaches adulthood, his mother passes away from disease, leaving Elizabeth to be the woman of the house while he goes to school in Ingolstadt. As Victor becomes more fixated on his studies and goals, he begins to neglect giving attention to those at home, including Elizabeth. Victor does this to keep Elizabeth from being a part of his creation of the monster. When the monster breaks this separation by invading Victor’s “domestic sphere”, Victor is forced to create a female partner for the monster to preserve his own domestic life. Yet during this process after having created much of the female monster’s body, Victor decides to destroy it, fearing the impact that the two monsters could have on humanity if they combined. The monster, in an act of revenge, kills Elizabeth after she and Victor get married. Elizabeth’s death marks the end of the last woman in Victor’s

Going to the lengths to threaten Victor to fulfill his goal, the monster sees having a companion as the means of ending his isolation. This emphasis that it be a female, shows that he lacks not just a friend, but rather the whole feminine perspective. Victor on the other hand has Elizabeth in his life but still fails to take her views into account. But it is in his creation of the female monster that Victor begins to truly reflect on the impact that the feminine can have. Victor states: “she might become ten thousand times more malignant than her mate and delight, for its own sake, in murder and wretchedness.” If the feminine can make someone whole, then it could empower the monster to commit more evil. What Victor finally asks himself is the consequences that his action could have for humanity as a whole. The ability to make children and work in cooperation, the introduction of the feminine could have dire consequences. And so Victor destroys the female, dooming his loved ones’ lives and preventing the monster from being able to gain power. The novel is validating the presence of femininity in all aspects of our