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Motherlessness In Frankenstein

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Motherless Characters
(Intro, Intro, Intro)
Mary Shelley applies the psychological defense mechanisms of denial and repression in Frankenstein through her characters in order to express her thoughts and feelings about her own mother’s death. In the beginning of the story, Robert Walton is sailing to the North Pole in order to find the source of the Earth’s magnetism. As he is sailing with his crew he spots a huge man-like figure along with a weak Victor Frankenstein. As Walton nurses Victor back to health, Victor tells him the fantastic tale of how he created a monster along with stories of his own personal life. However, despite going into great detail about some of the parts of his personal life, he does not go into detail about his mother’s …show more content…

Firstly, Elizabeth is also a character in the story who had to face the absence of her own mother. Secondly, the tone of Elizabeth’s father is very aggressive. Readers can infer that Elizabeth’s father cares more about getting rid of her than he does about making sure his only daughter has the best opportunities she could possibly have in her life. Lastly, like Victor, Elizabeth also has an event in her life which parallels to Shelley’s. When Shelley was young, her family dynamic greatly changed when her father married Mary Jane Clairmont in 1801. Unfortunately, Shelley never got along with her stepmother and decided to send her biological daughter, Jane (later Claire), off to boarding school. Her stepmother saw no reason to educate Shelley since she saw her as more of an extra family member rather than a human being (Bio.com). The character of Elizabeth has neither a step-mother nor a mother. In order to avoid these negative feelings and express how absent her stepmother was, Shelley decided to repress her feelings by getting rid of all of Elizabeth’s parents …show more content…

The young girl spoke in high and enthusiastic terms of her mother, who, in freedom spurned the bondage to which she was now reduced. She instructed her daughter in the tenets of her religion, and taught her to aspire to higher powers of intellect, and an independence of spirit, forbidden to female followers of Mahomet. This lady died; but her lessons were indelibly impressed on the mind of Safie, who sickened at the prospect of again returning to Asia, and being immured within walls of haram, allowed only to occupy herself with puerile amusements, ill suited to the temper of her soul, now accustomed to grand ideas and a noble emulation for virtue. The prospect of marrying a Christian, and remaining in a country where women were allowed to take a rank in society, was enchanting to her. (Shelley

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