Frankenstein The Monster's Mother Analysis

In many literary works, authors project their selves into their work by writing based on their experiences, opinions, and preferences. Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley, is another one of them. In the article, Female Gothic: The Monster’s Mother, Ellen Moers implies that Mary Shelley has written the novel Frankenstein based on her own experiences. Ellen Moers starts off by stating that Gothic novels originated from women. The Gothic space allowed women to go beyond the boundaries in terms of novel writing and this is an initial strong evidence-based claim that sets up the rest of the article. Moers introduces Gothic literature by giving the example of Ann Radcliffe. Radcliffe used gothic themes to expand the female boundaries, writing about women going on exciting journeys and adventures, things men had long done before in …show more content…
Moers brings up the example of Thackeray and how he depicted exactly that in his novel, Vanity Fair. The main character Amelia, is pregnant and in “a state of comatose grief” when her husband dies. However, when she gives birth she becomes extremely delighted and content. Thackeray depicts Amelia as a wonderful mother who has the most positive and perfect reaction. Moers states that while Thackeray depicts a reality he’s “expressing a sentiment”. His own wife, Becky Sharp, became depressed and hostile after the birth of her first child and suicidal and insane after the second. This led to Thackeray raising his children on his own. He inserted his experience in Vanity Fair by depicting a reality he wished for himself but never got. The overly positive and perfect description of Amelia came from a lack of love Thackeray saw Becky have towards her children. Moers strengthens her argument by using Thackeray’s example to show that authors depicted their own feelings and opinions based on their personal