ipl-logo

Frankenstein Women Essay

527 Words3 Pages

Frankenstein was written in the 1800s when women were expected to be housewives and stay in the background while their husbands provided for their families. The women in Frankenstein, such as Caroline, Elizabeth, and Justine, are only seen as possessions, background characters, or scapegoats. All the women in Frankenstein suffer and die in the end. How these women are written and treated in the book fits the societal norms of the time. Mary Shelley portrays women and their roles in society accurately. Victor Frankenstein objectifies to Elizabeth in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. He saw and treated her as an object he had, but never paid attention to. She was a possession of a lot. He loved her and treated her kindly because he always had her. …show more content…

All praises bestowed on her I received as made to a possession of my own"(Shelly18). He eventually marries her, making her another target for his creature. He was so selfish that he married her, but never took into consideration the threat the monster told him. Victor saw Elizabeth as his possession that he never took care of, but has always had because it was handed to him. Victor's actions and indifference towards Elizabeth in the book accurately portray the way women were viewed in society at the time Mary Shelley wrote her book. Margaret Saville, Robert Waltons sister, is only mentioned at the very beginning of the book and is only there to add to Robert's story. “Margret is seen as the only thread connecting Robert to the world back home and the comfort he turns to for moral support” (FZE). The only thing known about her is that she is married with kids. This is a good portrayal of how women had to stay home while men got to go to work or travel. Justine was accused of murder and she was punished for it. Frankenstein’s creature was the one who committed the crime. Victor knew that Justine was innocent and hardly tried to prove her innocence. He used her as a

Show More
Related

How Does The Yellow Wallpaper Respond To The Treatment Of Women In Frankenstein

921 Words | 4 Pages

The women in Frankenstein and The Yellow Wallpaper are sheltered. As Victor is recounting his childhood in the beginning chapters, he explains that his father “strove to shelter [Caroline]…from every rougher wind” (Frankenstein, 35). Alphonse, Victor’s father, shelters his wife which isolates her from the rest of the world; she is unable to interact with people other than her family and close friends - people who Alphonse approves of. Additionally, he prevents her from seeing the different personalities of women. Due to this, Caroline believes that the only role for women is a caretaker who obeys her husband because this idea is the only one she sees.

Read More

Elizabeth's Love For Long Time Analysis

386 Words | 2 Pages

Victor goes to university to create his monster and stay there for long time. Victor 's passion about creating the monster is more important than staying with Elizabeth. When Victor was there for long time busy creating the monster, he loses contact with elizabeth, which made her thought that Victor found someone else he loves or he doesn’t love her anymore. This illustrates women weakness and inferiority. Elizabeth doesn’t have any power over Victor because her love is only from one side.

Read More

Frankenstein Rhetorical Analysis

1053 Words | 5 Pages

Victor regrets what he has created but feels remorseful for leaving Elizabeth defenseless. Victor and Elizabeth's relationship arouse many emotions for readers. Mary Shelley exhibits through Victor's contemplations and dialogue his feelings for Elizabeth whom he loves. Overall, pathos opens the readers minds to understand and get a feel for all of the mishaps. Is utilized during the beginning of the story, as Walton’s letters to his sister communicate and empathize his fondness.

Read More

Foils In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

174 Words | 1 Pages

With this simile at the beginning of Frankenstein, Shelley sets the family dynamic within the household. By comparing her to a “shrine dedicated lamp,” Shelley establishes Elizabeth as the quiet light, who represents virtue and the domestic anchor for the household. Elizabeth forms a foil to Victor’s rashness and egocentrism. This sets up for her loss later in the novel to wreck Victor’s psyche all the more heavily. By showing Victor chasing a form in the Arctic, distraught and emotionally wrecked, the reader knows Victor and the monster come into conflict eventually.

Read More

Daddy Issues In Frankenstein

1223 Words | 5 Pages

One character, Justine, is very passive and used as a device to make Victor feel guilty for creating The Creature; as her major contribution to the plot was The Creature framing her for her brothers death and shortly after, being sentenced to death. Another female character, Safie, is used to teach The Creature how to speak: “My days were spent in close attention…and I may boast that I improved more rapidly than the Arabian…I could imitate almost every word that was spoken… I also learned the science of letters” (Shelley 106). Even the most prominent female character in the book, Frankenstein's lover and wife, Elizabeth, is killed by The Creature on their wedding night, in order to again make Victor regret creating The Creature, and eventually die of his unhappiness. Mary Shelley's depiction of women might be her indicating the roles of women at the time as inferior, a similar thesis brought about by Mary Wollstonecraft in A Vindication on the Rights of Women.

Read More

The Destructive Sides Of Human Nature In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

992 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the novel, the ways in which Victor Frankenstein behaves represents the destructive sides of human nature. Early on in the novel, Victor is shown to be obsessive and dominating. Upon meeting his adopted sister for the first time, Victor claims her to be his to “love, protect and cherish” and that she will be his “till death”(Shelley, 21). The importance in Victor claiming his sister like an object does not just express his obsessive impulses, but also alludes to his disregard for other people and their individuality. Before she has even had a chance to decide whether or not she feels the same way, Victor has seemed to of set his mind on having her.

Read More

Women's Rights In Frankenstein

1494 Words | 6 Pages

In Mary Shelley’s, Frankenstein, Elizabeth, Caroline, and Justine represent a seemingly “perfect” woman. Mary Shelley ironically writes about each woman with a brief impersonal description of their status and relevance to the story. Elizabeth is presented to Victor as a object for his affection. Victor refers to his cousin as “My more than sister, since till death she was to be mine only” (Shelley 25).

Read More

Frankenstein Character Development Essay

1708 Words | 7 Pages

This sense of being completely alone in a world full of people is further emphasized by Shelley in her character development of both Frankenstein and his monster. Although all of Frankenstein is written in the first person, there are multiple narrators to give us multiple insights and outside perspectives on each character. Also, Mary Shelley characterizes her characters through the naming of her characters or lack of as well. For example, the main character is named “Victor” which could lead one to infer, “Victory” and/or “Victim.” The tale begins with Victor desiring to create a creature on his own, his fleshly desire is to be a sort of “god” and beat nature.

Read More

Female Monstrosity In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

1572 Words | 7 Pages

“A thinking and reasoning animal”: An analysis of female monstrosity in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein The female characters in Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, are rare and inconsequential. When they do make an appearance, it is as a doting mother, grateful wife, concerned sister, or helpless servant. In her article, “Frankenstein and the Feminine Subversion of the Novel” Devon Hodges writes,“her [Shelley’s]

Read More

Characters In Frankenstein

1492 Words | 6 Pages

Imagine a life in which there are no females in the human population. How different would people grow up to be? Many people have at least one of these female figures in their lives: a mother, sister, or an aunt. These female role models have a huge influence on people, especially with teaching them how to go about in life. Such is the case in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Read More

Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication Of The Rights Of Women

1911 Words | 8 Pages

All praises bestowed on her I received as made to a possession of my own” which indicates the strong, male control over the women during the Romantic time period (Shelley 21). The idea of Elizabeth, Frankenstein’s fiancee, being “owned” like a pet creates the feeling of helplessness and weakness, both mentally and physically. The point is driven further when Frankenstein’s says “till death she was to be mine only” (Shelley 21).

Read More

Beauty And Ugliness In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

1363 Words | 6 Pages

Victor Frankenstein, who describes his surrounding in great detail, based on physical appearance. Shelley reflects Victor’s judgement on physical representation based on the environment he is in. Using his situation in the cold and treacherous mountains to a negative and almost deathly environment, conicondently the place where he meets and speaks to the monster, and the beauty and calamity of home, a place where Elizabeth is often located. There is a major contrast in how he describes his lover, Elizabeth, and the monster he created, in which he relates their appearance to their innocence or evilness. When speaking about characters like Elizabeth and Justine, Victor often relates their physical appearance to their innocent behaviours.

Read More

Essay About The Monster In Frankenstein

675 Words | 3 Pages

One of the most significant of these deaths was Justine. She was working as a servant and when William died she was wrongfully accused of the murder. At the time of this occurrence Frankenstein intentionally does not mention his creation, as this would reflect poorly on himself. Justine was then executed leaving no one but Victor to blame, when he realizes the outcome he utters these words, “A thousand times rather would I have confessed to render her happy life, now all was to be obliterated, and I the cause!” , this clearly exemplifies how Victor is responsible for the actions of his creation (Shelley Ch.9).

Read More

Elizabeth's Role In Frankenstein Essay

884 Words | 4 Pages

In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley uses the women in the novel as an important part of creation; without them and their nurturing personalities, the story would not be able to progress. As one of the main female characters, Elizabeth did not play a strong character, but her role was still crucial because she helped move the story along in a way that showed that certain explorations of science can be harmful. First, historically the only reason she would be needed, as Victor Frankenstein’s mate, would be to give birth, but that role is filled by Victor himself. Right before Victor brings the creature to life, he thinks, “I beheld the accomplishments of my toils.

Read More

Victor Frankenstein Relationship Analysis

1242 Words | 5 Pages

Shelley depicts this unique affection Victor has for Elizabeth with this quote from Victor: On the evening previous to her being brought to my home, my mother had said playfully, “I have a pretty present for my Victor—tomorrow he shall have it.” And when, on the morrow, she presented Elizabeth to me as her promised gift, I, with childish seriousness, interpreted her words

Read More

More about Frankenstein Women Essay

Open Document