Even in 2023, women are still considered to be the less powerful and advanced gender in regards to men. This discrimination has been occurring for centuries and represented throughout media, film, novels, etc. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the women are shown to be insignificant to the plot, resulting in the loss of individuality and autonomy for the female characters.
Firstly, the women in Frankenstein are shown to be insignificant to the plot due to the loss of autonomy within the characters. “.....our union had been the favorite plan of your parents ever since our infancy,” (Shelley 138). Ever since the beginning of the novel, it has been apparent that the relationship between Victor and Elizabeth would result in a romantic one. However, since this has been set from earlier in the novel, Elizabeth never had the opportunity to pursue what she wants to pursue. Perhaps there is another partner in the world that would be a better match for Elizabeth, or maybe marriage isn’t what she wants at all. She doesn’t
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Throughout the novel, there are few points where the reader gets to learn about Elizabeth through her perspective. One of these few locations in the novel states “....our marriage would render me eternally miserable, unless it were the dictate of your own free choice” (Shelley 138). Rather than having the opportunity to inform the reader of her deepest thoughts and feelings, all she discusses is how she wants Victor to be happy and make his own decisions. Furthermore, she also says “....if I see but one smile on your lips when we meet, occasioned by this or any other exertion of mine, I shall need no other happiness” (Shelley 138). This quote is another example of how whenever Elizabeth has the chance to speak, it is always in regards to Victor since her character hasn’t had the development to pursue an individual