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The Representation Of Women In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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Mary Shelley was the daughter of one the first and most important advocates for feminism, Mary Wollstonecraft, and writer of the novel Frankenstein published in 1818. Growing up Mary Shelley was strongly influenced by her mother's writing. After her mothers passing, her father continued to expose her the feminist works from a very young age. These radical and feminist views changed her way of thinking and shaped her work and life (study.com, 2003). The representation of women in the novel Frankenstein, no doubt inspired by her mother's Vindication of the Rights of Woman, are complex and contradictory ,on one hand, she presents an argument for the importance of women in the household, but on the other hand, women are depicted in traditional …show more content…

In 1815, women were treated as inferior to men. The society which Victor Frankenstein inhabits is based on the division of sex roles: men are able to go out to work and to travel, while women are confined to the house, for example, when Victor leaves on one of his many travels, Elizabeth was not permitted to go with him and “regretted that she had not the same opportunities of enlarging her experience and cultivating her understanding”. (p. 151). Anne K Mellor states that “As consequence of this sexual division of labor, masculine is kept outside of the domestic realm; hence intellectual activity is segregated from emotional activity”, This statement implies that victor can only focus on one thing at a time and since he is so focused on his “outside realm” ie, his science and the creation of his monster, he began to neglect his friends and lover Elizabeth. The separation of masculine works and feminine affections, ultimately caused the downfall of Frankenstein. (Mellor, 2012) The women in this story are portrayed as nurses, child care providers, housewives, or even as servants. While the male figures in the story are depicted as strong, independent, smart individuals who can roam freely, travel the world, and do whatever they please. Due to this division of roles, many women are unnecessarily killed throughout the duration of the novel and die because based of Victors extensive fear of female …show more content…

Throughout the novel, Elizabeth is not afraid to share her thoughts about any given situation, specifically when Justine is tried for murder. Elizabeth is adamint that Justine was not at fault for the murder of William, and she wasn’t afraid to share her truth with anyone who was doubtful. Elizabeth is considered an independent woman, this is what Victor fears the most and the ultimate reason he destroys his female monster. What would the world do if there was a female figure that was so independent and strong minded? For the 19th century, this type of independance in a woman is considered too powerful. Victor believed that his female creature, “like rousseau’s natural man…” (Mellor, 2003), would be ten thousand times more evil than his first creation, and would kill for her own pleasure. (Mellor, 2003). In this novel, women are depicted as “sexless”, Elizabeth’s relation with Victor is more like a brother-sister relationship. The murder of Elizabeth on her wedding night is extremely significant. Elizabeth was thrown across the bed in an “erotic” fashion, and the object of man’s desires, this is shown to the reader so Victor's greatest fear is

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“‘Cooped Up’ with ‘Sad Trash’” Analysis Dr. Johanna M. Smith, the author of the scholarly article “‘Cooped Up’ with ‘Sad Trash’”, is an associate professor of English at the University of Texas at Arlington. In her article “‘Cooped Up’ with ‘Sad trash’” her approach to the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is one that takes a feminist viewpoint. In her article, Smith divides her argument into two sections, one that focuses more on the notion of an unpayable debt of gratitude, and the other that focuses on Victor Frankenstein’s transition from alchemical science to chemistry and how that relates to the “tensions and conflicts of contemporary gendered science” (324). Both articles, although presented as two separate entities, flow together magnificently and

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