Modern Feminism In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Modern Feminism has various strands of thinking as different factions of criticism strive to explain the world. Gregory Castle says, “What all of these women have in common is an interest in exposing patriarchal forms of power as the cause of the unequal and subordinate status of women in Western societies” (96). In particular, Susan Gilbert and Susan Gubar comment on the characters women must assume in literature, offering the three roles of angel, witch, and, less common, ghost. These stereotypes offer flat characters that block the development of new female characters in writing. Specifically, Gilbert and Gubar state, “the images of ‘angel’ and ‘monster’ [witch] have been so ubiquitous throughout literature by men that they have also pervaded women’s writing to such an extent that …show more content…
Mary Shelley is no exception to this rule; the women in Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus (1818) follow these positions as they represent the culture in which Shelley writes, and the dangers of limiting …show more content…
The Creature views her as Frankenstein views Elizabeth; she is holy, perfect, and innocent. When he first sees her, he describes her as “young and of gentle demeanor” and “she looked patient” (Shelly 71). Agatha is the gentle and noble angel, even upon first sight. The Creature then continues to watch Agatha, and he sees “the girl met him [Felix DeLacy] at the door, helped to relieve him of his burden” (Shelley 72). She is unselfish and caring of her brother as her roles indicates. Lastly, “the gentle manners of the girl enticed my love” (Shelley 72). Agatha, without even knowing, has used her simple gentleness to impress the Creature. She is the perfect, innocent angel. Likewise, when Safie comes to live with the DeLacy family, she too is the role to the Creature. He first describes her as having “a countenance of angelic beauty and expression” (Shelley 78). Her simple, first description links her to this