Frankenstein and Feminism In her 1818 novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley portrays the victimization of women as passive objects in a patriarchal society, proving her flagship novel a groundbreaking feminist work of her time. In the story, Justine finds herself charged with the murder of William Frankenstein without the ability to change her outcome. The author used this scenario to depict the victimization of women without any means of voicing their opinions or defending themselves. While imprisoned and under trial, Justine resigned herself to her ultimate fate: "that pang is past. God raises my weakness and gives me courage to endure the worst. I leave a sad and bitter world; and if you remember me and think of me as of one unjustly condemned, …show more content…
Victor Frankenstein, representing patriarchal beliefs, destroys the female monster due to a fear of female power and sexuality. As Victor contemplated sexuality and desire, he concluded that he should kill the female creature, suggesting that the female body is more menacing than the male body and deserves less consideration. Readers can interpret Victor’s lack of tolerance for the female creature as misogyny and fear of female sexuality: “I thought with a sensation of madness on my promise of creating another like to him, and trembling with passion, tore to pieces the thing on which I was engaged. The wretch saw me destroy the creature on whose future existence he depended for happiness, and with a howl of devilish despair and revenge, withdrew.” (Shelley) This particular situation comes back to the ideas of female victimization and the mistreatment that men did not have to deal with. Victor did not even give the female creature the right to life while he did with the male one. Further representing the patriarchy, Victor particularly feared the autonomy that the female creature would’ve had since it wouldn’t Pires …show more content…
Margaret Saville is yet another character used to further the story, and apart from the role of receiving letters, it is otherwise irrelevant. Margaret’s sole function as a receiver of Robert Walton’s letters reinforces the domestic normalcy expected at the time, which only furthers the portrayal of passive females in a patriarchal society. Elizabeth Pires 4 Lavenza, Victor’s adopted sister and eventual wife, has also suffered much. She lost her family at a young age, she lost her adopted mother, Victor put off her wedding, and she ended up being murdered by Victor’s creation. The author also portrays her as a character whose function is to further Victor’s story: “The death of William, the execution of Justine, the murder of Clerval, and lastly of my wife; even at that moment I knew not that my only remaining friends were safe from the malignity of the fiend; my father even now might be writhing under his grasp, and Ernest might be dead at his feet. This idea made me shudder and recalled me to action. I started up and resolved to return to Geneva with all possible speed.” (Shelley) The quote shows how the monster has furthered the story by slaying Elizabeth, as Victor insinuated at the end of