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Role Of Female Characters In Frankenstein

427 Words2 Pages

David
Nov/01/15
Frankenstein

In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, women are shown as passive, disposable, and mainly serve to effect men’s lives. Female characters, such as Elizabeth, Justine and Agatha do not have their own roles, but are there to clearly represent the male characters in the novel. Female characters revolve around men and effects men from the events that they go through. Every woman character in the novel serves a specific purpose in the Frankenstein. A maid in Frankenstein’s house, Justine, is a very passive character. Having grown up poorly, Justine is tossed back and forth between her family and Frankenstein’s. Not being able to speak up for herself, Justine is wrongly accused of murdering William Frankenstein. Although everything said about her is false, Justine remains calm and says, ““God knows how entirely …show more content…

Described as a gentle character from the beginning, Elizabeth has always been loved from Frankenstein. Elizabeth is seen as an important possession to Victor. Eventually, the monster, in order to hurt his creator, plans to kill Elizabeth. However, even when Elizabeth’s life is threatened, Victor forgets about her and advances his fight with monster. “She left me, and I continued some time walking up and down the passages of the house and inspecting every corner that might afford a retreat to my adversary…when suddenly I heard a shrill and dreadful scream” (173). This shows that although Victor loves Elizabeth dearly, he heads on for what he finds more significant. Elizabeth has become just like Justine, another inert victim from the insanity between the monster and the victor. Elizabeth’s role has been reduced to simple tool for revenge. Every female character has a demeaning characterization, because women are easily used, identified and abused. All of them live their lives for specific reasons to impact a man’s

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In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein does not mature, as illustrated when he lets Justine die for her accused killing of William, when he destroys the female creature in front of his first creature, and finally when he tells Walton’s crew to endeavour upon a dangerous trip, with no regard for their safety. Through analysis of Victor’s actions throughout the novel, his immaturity is proven during many encounters, especially by his inaction during vital situations. When Victor discovers that Justine has been accused of killing William, he chooses to remain complicit in her cruel persecution, and not speak of his creation, thereby exposing his immaturity and lack of responsibility. Although Victor “believed in her innocence”

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(165) Once Elizabeth is killed, Victor finally realizes what the creature meant. He had always thought of himself as the one to get killed, rather than other people. Additionally, he had spent so much time worrying about protecting himself, and didn’t stop to wonder if people around him would be affected instead. Victor Frankesntein’s selfishness and egocentrism attests to his own monster-like

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To him, femininity is synonymous with weakness, and masculinity is synonymous with power, and he creates his characters accordingly to this belief. Similarly, author Mary Shelley also creates characters in a sexist manner in her novel Frankenstein. She creates female characters who serve little purpose other than to be disposed of by males. This can be seen in the way the Creature values the lives of females in the novel. In an attempt to seek revenge on Victor Frankenstein, the Creature frames servant to the Frankenstein family, Justine, for the heinous crime of murdering Victor’s young brother.

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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.

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The narrative introduces a minor character, one Justine Moritz as a catalyst for social examination. Justine’s brief segment in the narration of Frankenstein primarily highlights Victor’s callous nature. It effectively shows how easily a servant can be destroyed in societies that do not value them. There are two arguments in regards to Justine Moritz, the first that she is a convenient victim of the monster’s actions that of Victor’s silence. The second, acknowledging that she is a victim which places Justine under the weight of the monster’s actions and because of her low social status.

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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.

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When Victor rejected The Creatures want for a girl companion he replied, “I go; but remember, I shall be with you on your wedding night.” When this was said, Victor knew of the possible danger that Elizabeth was now in but refused to warn her of this danger and this lead to her death. The penalties that Victor faced due to keeping the existence of this creature a secret it what lead to the deaths of the people that he cared for, and the fact that he had the ability to save these lives but chose to not even try says a lot about

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Victor sharing the story through his very emotional perspective, causes critical information to be skewed or misinterpreted. When Elizabeth is murdered by the creature, Victor describes the event very theatrically. He recalled crying over Elizabeth, looking up at a dark, “hideous” and “abhorred figure, with a grin on the creature's face, pointing at Elizabeth(149-150). With the assumption that the creature was going to kill Victor, he could not believe the creature would go in this direction. Along with this very

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Even when close to death or dead, Victor describes Justine innocent, despite her surroundings in jail, and Elizabeth as beautiful as she once was when she was alive. Their beauty and youths give them an advantage, in

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As the monster falls victim to hatred resulting from abuse, his “grasp was on her neck, and the breath had ceased to issue from [Elizabeth’s] lips (Shelley 145). Since the monster is forced to suffer while Victor enjoys happiness, jealousy overpowers the monster's guilt, and he kills Elizabeth, signifying how his soul has been corrupted to a point where he can never enjoy happiness. The lack of loyalty, trust, and sympathy for the monster inadvertently causes him to turn evil and inflict harm upon others. The monster’s failure to establish a bond of love or friendship causes his benevolent actions to turn wicked and

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Because of this, Elizabeth had to play all feminine roles towards Victor: mother figure, sister, and wife. While Elizabeth becomes like a mother, Victor had already formed a friendly bond with her. Victor describes Elizabeth as “gentile and affectionate” (20), motherly characteristics, but Victor would never be able to see Elizabeth as a mother. Elizabeth and Victor had grown up together since the age of four. She was the only one who could make him forget his troubles, and he was the only one who could console her after the death of William and Justine.

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