ipl-logo

Treatment Of Women In Frankenstein

1357 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Mary shelley's frankenstein and society

Dane Kirk Dr. Basima Shaheen British Literature ENGL.2323 February 17, 2023 Subtext of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Or The Modern Prometheus, Shelley makes many comparisons between society’s views and treatment of women with the characters in the book. Though the book is mainly about two characters who are both male, Shelley doesn’t need a female voice to directly say her opinions because she finds the way to comment on society’s treatment of females through these male characters.Throughout the book, Shelley makes several comments on society through the actions of the male characters, the treatment of the monster, and the inaction of female characters in the story. After the monster asks Frankenstein to create …show more content…

In the case of this female monster, she’d come into existence already able to act and live independently. Without having grown up in society, she would have no internalized subservience. Frankenstein would realize that a female monster would not be subservient, and therefore could not be controlled. While in the story, this is just given as a reason to explain why Frankenstein does not create a second monster, this still makes a critique on society. The story expresses that women are just as capable as men, and the only reason women aren’t seen as equal to men is because of a society where people grow …show more content…

The importance of this role, and by extension, the importance of women, is shown through Frankenstein’s treatment of the monster. Frankenstein is essentially the only parent to the monster, and would have to act as both the Monster’s father and mother, but since Frankenstein abandons the monster, the monster becomes symbolic of someone who grows up without a mother. The monster spends a large time alone, learning to live by himself without a mother figure. Without having a mother, who would usually nurture a child, the monster “grows up” to be the violent and rash character that we see in the book. In the monster’s monologue in the ice caves, the monster tells Frankenstein “I was benevolent and good. Misery made me a fiend.” From this we can discern that from the monster’s perspective, all people are inherently good, just like himself, but it was because of the monster’s lack of guidance that he became the way he is. “He argues that the hateful, horrified eye turned on him as the newborn creature makes him a

Show More
Related
921 Words | 4 Pages

The women in Frankenstein and The Yellow Wallpaper are sheltered. As Victor is recounting his childhood in the beginning chapters, he explains that his father “strove to shelter [Caroline]…from every rougher wind” (Frankenstein, 35). Alphonse, Victor’s father, shelters his wife which isolates her from the rest of the world; she is unable to interact with people other than her family and close friends - people who Alphonse approves of. Additionally, he prevents her from seeing the different personalities of women. Due to this, Caroline believes that the only role for women is a caretaker who obeys her husband because this idea is the only one she sees.

Read More
1250 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
844 Words | 4 Pages

This in turn makes the monster upset when he was just happy exploring, trying to ease his loneliness. The creation of a female monster would create a similar reaction of fear in those who witnessed the monster. Even though it may make the male monster happy for a short while if they ever came in contact with a person they would get bad reactions, which in turn would make them unhappy. This shows that when actions benefit one over the whole, it ends up not benefiting the one after

Read More
1317 Words | 6 Pages

Morgan Boyd Ms. Coke English 12 Honors 20 March 2023 Feminism in Frankenstein Patriarchies are one of the most common, yet inequitable societies that are “acceptable” of mankind. Male dominated societies are predominant throughout the past and present and oftentimes under this authority women are exploited and oppressed. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley delves into patriarchy and portrays how women fit into this social system. Women are important to the story but are not present.

Read More
1439 Words | 6 Pages

After successfully creating the monster, Frankenstein is perplexed by what he has created. Due to the monster’s annoyance with Frankenstein, he acts back against Frankenstein mostly due to his lack of parenting and responsibility. Shelley’s novel strongly connects with the act of parenting. It is clear that Victor Frankenstein did not complete his role as a parent. Due to this, it further led the monster to misbehave and feel as if he does not have a purpose in life.

Read More
986 Words | 4 Pages

Guilty Until Proven Innocent: An Analysis of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein “Justine died, I rested” (111), were the words of the male protagonist, Victor, in Mary Shelley’s original 1818 text of Frankenstein. In Frankenstein, Shelley depicts a flawed legal system as it favors men and leads to women’s destruction in three trials: Justine’s, Victor’s, and the De Lacey families’ trial. The justice system in the novel is sexist as there are moments where male characters shirk responsibility at the expense of women. This paper will unpack each ordeal to further argue the sexist law system, such as Justine’s death penalty, including the De Lacey’s trial and Victor’s dismissal. Justine Moritz suffered from Victor Frankenstein’s responsibility, the

Read More
1223 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
3034 Words | 13 Pages

When Frankenstein creates life, he runs away from the creature he just created, just as his parents had done to him when he was young. The innocent and curious

Read More
915 Words | 4 Pages

In James Davis’ literary essay “Frankenstein and the Subversion of the Masculine Voice,” he discusses the oppression of women and the minor roles of females in Mary Shelly’s novel Frankenstein. With a feminist perspective, Davis claims, “He [Victor Frankenstein] oppresses female generation of life and of text; he rends apart both the physical and the rhetorical ‘form’ of female creativity. In fact, all three male narrators attempt to subvert the feminine voice, even in those brief moments when they tell the women’s stories” (307). Throughout his essay, Davis demonstrates the underlying message of Shelly’s subversion towards men and the social consequences of misogyny. Davis draws parallels between the three men, Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein, and Victor’s creation, Frankenstein, in which they

Read More
987 Words | 4 Pages

The moment Victor Frankenstein successfully infuses life into his creation he is overcome with horror and disgust. Without further examination he is certain to have created a monster, not a human being (Shelley 35-36). However, despite his grotesque appearance, Frankenstein’s creature was not born malicious. During the first stages of his existence, unbeknownst to Frankenstein himself, his acts are motivated by innocence and virtue, which even earns him the title “good spirit” (79). Frankenstein did not create a monster.

Read More
819 Words | 4 Pages

The monster continues by reassuring the creator of his independent intelligence and power over the creature by telling Frankenstein, “This you alone can do”. Here, the creature assumes a role of submissiveness and reliance on Frankenstein. Frankenstein’s monster gains the sympathy of the reader who, despite condemning the murder of innocent people, commiserate with the lonely creature who is in search of an acquaintance, which he will likely never find. The monster also displays power and aggressiveness over Frankenstein; “You are my creator; but I am your master; obey!” The monster wants to desolate Victor’s heart, not by killing him directly,

Read More
731 Words | 3 Pages

With no female monster to keep the male creature at peace, Frankenstein’s world becomes dark. This is because at the exact point that Frankenstein swears he will never create a female companion for the monster, it marks Victor’s ultimate demise as the monster claims he will get his revenge. While during the 18th century, in a marital relationships the man held most of the power, in the novel Frankenstein the real power lied in the life of the female monster. If we were to break the novel down, we would be able to see that had Victor simply created a female monster, the original creation would have stopped his rampage and never have exacted his revenge on Victor by murdering his wife to be. This lack of women obviously reflects Mary Shelley’s feminist views of the time period.

Read More
772 Words | 4 Pages

The Facing of Social Injustice in Frankenstein Mary Shelly's Frankenstein is a novel that calls attention to the social injustices of discrimination and prejudices through the treatment of Victor's creature and Justine's trial. The creature and Justine are marginalized and rejected from society because of their status as outsiders, which can lead to severe consequences. Shelley uses these injustices that she witnesses as societal norms in the current time to help the reader understand the importance of questioning the injustice of society and reformation. Victor's creation is one of the primary examples of social injustice in Frankenstein. Victor is a poignant metaphor for how society sees to mistreat minorities or those considered' different'

Read More
928 Words | 4 Pages

The Renaissance was a one of the best times in world history that made a big change in the world. A lot of people only know about few people that lived during the Renaissance for example Michael Angelo, William Shakespeare, and Leonardo de Vinci. Those are the names people recognize and know about the Renaissance because they are taught about at school but there are more people that did extraordinary things during the Renaissance and are not recognized in school. For example Michael Angelo is known for painting the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Leonardo is known for a lot of stuff because his stuff help contribute to modern day art, science, and math.

Read More
883 Words | 4 Pages

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Critical Analysis About the author Naomi Hetherington is a member of the University of Sheffield, the department of lifelong learning. She is an early researcher in sexuality, religious culture, the 19th-century literature, and gender. She holds a BA in Theology and religious studies, an MA and a Ph.D. in Victorian Literature. She currently teaches four-year pathway literature degree at Sheffield University for students who have already attained foundation degrees. Among the books, she has written the critique of Frankenstein.

Read More

More about Treatment Of Women In Frankenstein

Related Topics

Open Document