Examples Of Masculinity In Frankenstein

Molly Kneeland

Instructor Stephen Webb

English 103

March 17, 2023

Victor Frankensteins' Fragile Masculinity In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: How it led to the downfall of all those close to him, and himself.

Victor Frankenstein of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a narcissistic individual, who always thinks of himself first in any actions he takes, overlooking others' perspectives and how he may affect them. This leads to disaster in every circumstance as those surrounding him always face the consequences of his actions while he faces little to no repercussions. His creation of the monster is entirely self-motivated, seeking constant validation from others and avoiding the embarrassment of his actions by not admitting fault. His aspiration to

He expresses his insecurity through his overly ambitious task of creating life as he yearns for the credit of being god-like “ I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers” (Shelley 76) and “ I alone should be reserved to discover so astonishing a secret” (Shelley 79) which together show how Victor wants to be the one true pioneer of creating new life and on his own will complete it. Victor's scientific dominance is a reflection of the lack of praise he gets in his life from his family members for his intelligence as he rarely communicates with them. He supplements any true relationship with his ambition. Victor Frankenstein is the embodiment of the Victorian doctor archetype as described by Kohlke “dualism of both Victorian masculinity and the period more generally, vacillating between public probity and secret vice, rigid self-control and gratuitous self-gratification”(123) as he told Walton he wanted to make this discovery to improve the world while it was only for his satisfaction and ego. He disregards the dead bodies of others, using them as mere scraps in his lab to create something monstrous that destroys any living relationships in his life. Victor creates the monster with flawed ethics of stealing dead bodies showing as Kohlke states a “fundamental egocentricity to male ethics, which too readily disregard

The concept of masculinity is traits that are conventionally associated with boys and men. These may be physiologically defined in terms of physical or biological traits, but more commonly masculinity is considered to be socially constructed and restricted by the norms applied to boys and men in a given culture. (Gabriel, 7). Mary Shelley characterizes Victor, using societal and gender norms to motivate him as a victorian doctor. His motivations lay in that of conventionality, to feel good about himself as a man because of his insecurities. He will do anything to pursue his ambition, even if it means letting his entire family down “Victor Frankenstein seen as the archetype of the scientist who sacrifices all other considerations in his quest for knowledge and power” (Higgins, 29), which is how he ends up all alone in the end, with only his creature. Mary Shelley revolutionized the gothic genre as a female author, offering new perspectives in her novel which is given thought to by Hogle “the Gothic has long confronted the cultural problem of gender distinctions, [...] and how boundaries between the genders might be questioned to undermine or reorient those structures”(10), using Victor as a character in pursuit of “masculine interests”. Overall Mary