Feminist Feminism In Frankenstein

Being the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft, a well-known feminist for her book A Vindication of the Rights of Women, it is no surprise that Mary Shelley too would become a strong advocate for equal treatment of women. Though it may be strange to think that a feminist would write a book without any strong female characters. It is the absence of women that create a feminist theme within Frankenstein. Throughout Frankenstein, Shelley showcases the importance of women in society, through the flaws and mistakes of men in the absence of women, along with criticizing the limiting role the idealized woman holds.

Frankenstein is a story about the creation of an unknown evil by one man, Victor Frankenstein. The unusual nature of the monster’s birth in addition to his humane experiences serve as a counterpoint to describe the importance of the roles of women in British society. Along with being companions of men, women play a central role in contributing to the stability of the prevailing social order. In Mary Shelley’s gothic fiction, Frankenstein, the motif of gender roles and identities of women are explored through the creation of an unnatural monster set in an otherwise idyllic society to depict the envisioned position that men hold over women in the views of society.

In the 18th century, a woman by the name of Mary Wollstonecraft became one of the first great proponents of feminism, a movement that promoted the rights and abilities of women. During the 1960’s and 1970’s, feminism was still on the rise. The movement spawned a generation of great women, and thus, many interesting sayings. In Frankenstein, a book written by Mary Shelley, who happens to be Wollstonecraft’s daughter, the main character Victor creates a monster that would come to rip his family apart and destroy his life. But if one key thing had changed, his downfall would have never happened. When thinking of this book, one specific saying from this era of feminism comes to mind; “behind every great man is a great women”. The lack of prominent and influential women in Victor Frankenstein 's life is what ultimately leads to his undoing.

The novel “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley, and the article “Of the Pernicious Effects” by Mary Wollstonecraft, both have relations when regarding the importance of feminism during their time periods. Throughout Shelley’s novel feminism is addressed because she uses female characters to further her plot and display her viewpoints. If Wollstonecraft evaluated the female characters in Shelley’s novel, she would realize that Elizabeth, Justine, and Safie all show an importance to the flow of the novel and the purpose of equality that Shelley is sending about feminism through these characters.

Mary Shelley brings attention to feminist issues simply by exposing the speaking limitations, the level of control men have, and suppressed decision making.

Ever since Eve was created out of Adam’s rib in the Garden of Eden, women have been often viewed as second to men. “She will be named ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man” (Genesis 2.23). This idea of men being superior to women is one that has been around for awhile and is clearly shown in the popular gothic horror novel, Frankenstein. Mary Shelley juxtaposed the females of the story to the female stereotype of the 1800s, which in turn shows modern society how women should be taken seriously. In Frankenstein, the women of the novel are the unsung heroes that portray: the themes of society in the 1800s, unfair gender roles and how Shelley defied social norms as a woman. Shelley’s famous novel shines a light on women as a whole in a time that women were seen as weak and powerless bringing light to issues that needed to be resolved.

Like Caroline and Safie, Elizabeth Lavenza’s father causes her unhappiness. However this is drastically confounded by the egotism of Victor Frankenstein who seeks to take on the vitally female role of the creator. Elizabeth is constructed by Shelley as an extremely positive character, whose ‘saintly soul’ shines ‘like a shrine dedicated lamp’ in the Frankenstein’s ‘happy home’. She, like her foster mother Caroline, keeps the family together ‘veiling her grief’ for the benefit of the children. However, when victor attempts to take on the role of a woman and ‘create life’ Shelley shows us that it is an unfortunate masculine characteristic to doom idealism with egotism and the pursuit of glory. Despite his noble goals of ‘unfolding the mysteries of creation’, to confer ‘inesteemable benefit’ on all mankind, Victor’s masculine egotism endures

Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, had been raised by strong women’s rights advocates, which makes her characterization of the women in her story a wildly controversial discussion topic even all these years later. Mary Shelley’s philosopher father paid for her high education, and her mother wrote several works about equality for women. She lived a substantially progressive lifestyle, considering the time period in which she lived. This has raised many questions regarding the weak female characters in her story, due to her own very contrasting beliefs.

Perhaps the strongest evidence of feminism in Frankenstein stems from what happens when Victor Frankenstein tries to create life without the help of a

The fight for domination amongst the sexes is a battle as old as civilization, where the ideas of gender hierarchies first began. These conflicts often manifest themselves unwittingly through literature, showing subtle signs of deeper tension that has ensued for centuries. The struggle between masculine and feminine becomes apparent through Frankenstein, a battle that results in the death of the potentially most powerful figure in the book. Frankenstein yields characters motivated by complicated thinking, specifically the title character, Victor Frankenstein. Victor is a brilliant 19th century Swiss scientist who succeeds in generating life with electricity, creating a creature that

In the beginning chapters of Frankenstein, Shelley reinforces the argument of the objectification of women as she describes Victor's opinion of the role of his love interest, Elizabeth, when she writes, "And when, on the morrow, she presented Elizabeth to me as her promised gift, I, with childish seriousness, interpreted her words literally and looked upon Elizabeth as mine—mine to protect, love, and cherish. All praises bestowed upon her I received as made to a possession of my own" (Shelley 21). The concept of viewing woman as man’s property dates back the the beginnings of human history and carries out through the Romantic Era as women had yet to gain to means to break free of longstanding societal constraints set by men (Geary). In order to have her work read, or even entertain the idea of publication, Shelley catered to a predominantly male audience, taking into account their belief of what a woman’s role was both in the home and out in

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a very important novel when it comes to looking at science fiction; her story has been so successful that it is hard to fine someone that does not know about Frankenstein. Even if they have never read her book the idea of Frankenstein has become a household name. Because of this it is very interesting to understand how such an influential book has portrayed the female character and what the book says about females in society. Depending upon how one looks at the novel Frankenstein can be have a very interesting take on the role of men and women in how they shape one another, how men shape women’s lives and if the novel it self can be called a feminist text.

In the novel Frankenstein, the author Mary Shelley reinforced the role of female nature in a book that is predominantly male-oriented. The female character is an underlying feature throughout the whole novel. For example, when Victor Frankenstein created his Monster from dead body parts, he disregarded the laws of female reproduction. Both Anne K. Mellor and Jonathon Bate argue that Victor defiled the feminine nature when he created his Monster from unnatural means. Mellor argued in her essay, “Possessing Nature: The Female in Frankenstein,” that Victor eliminated the necessity to have females at all (355). There will not be a need for females if new beings are created in a laboratory. The disruption of mother nature is one of the novel’s original sins (479). In Bate’s essay, “Frankenstein and the State of Nature,” he argued that Victor Frankenstein broke the balance between female principles of maternity and mother nature (477). Frankenstein broke nature and undermined the role of females. The argument of Mellor was more persuasive than the discussion of Bate because she was able to provide more evidence that Victor Frankenstein dishonored the role of female nature.

Feminism is an ideology that encourages women to fight for equal rights and common interests. Social ignorance and uneducated assimilations have created predeterminate roles for women. Mary Shelley, the author of “Frankenstein”, criticizes women’s roles in her novel by making female characters influential in Victor’s life. Elizabeth, Caroline (Victor’s mom), and Justine, represent independent women who impact Victor’s decision throughout the novel. Mary Shelley would have considered herself a feminist since she demonstrate the importance of women in men’s life, despite the view of women in her society.

As the first recognizable, female novelist in western history, Mary Godwin Shelley engraves her name on the figurative monument of accomplishment formerly reserved exclusively for men, and paves the course for future female greatness, leading the crusade for the respect and credibility of women as equal members of society. In her most famous work, Frankenstein, Shelley reflects the issue of the degradation and repression of women, as well as the neglect of their education, the nonexistence of their political voice, and their inability to showcase the fullest extent of feminine practical and intellectual skill during the Romantic era. Shelley indirectly reflects on the societal obstacles which deter women from achieving accomplishments worthy