Frankenstein in its basic sense is about a monster being created and the havoc he causes. However, if you look more in depth you will see there is much more to the story, like the role of women. In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the women are characterized as submissive, passive, and in some cases lost without male superiority. Some many say that Shelley intended to show that women were superior but when you analyze the book you see that is not true. The three main characters: Caroline, Justine and Elizabeth serve as nothing more than docile servants and lessons for the men in the novel. The first woman that Shelley introduces is Caroline Beaufort who is the mother of Victor Frankenstein and the wife of Alphonse Frankenstein. Since she is
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Shelley writes, “His daughter attended to him with great tenderness…” (Shelley, 32) She is portrayed in this scene as the loving and caring daughter, always attempting to aid her father when he is ill. When he father dies, she is still depicted weak because she has nowhere to go, “… and in the tenth month her father died in her arms, leaving her an orphan and a beggar” (pg.32). Now notice that Caroline became a beggar after her father died, not because she couldn’t work, but she had no male authority figure telling her she had to. Since she didn’t have a male to run her life, her world just became chaotic. However, since Alphonse- and the other males- was the dominant sex in the novel, he was there in to aid Caroline and began to dictate Caroline’s life from then on. Yet, there was one time that Caroline did not bend to the will of the men- Victor and Alphonse- in her life. This was when Elizabeth had scarlet fever and the men did not want Caroline taking care of …show more content…
Unfortunately, women’s right activists will be sorely disappointed by this book. This book was first published in 1818, when women wanted rights, but were not granted them. Mary Shelley had to conform to the norm of society by making women seem as second class citizens to men in the book. If she hadn’t she could perhaps have become a social piranha considering all else she did in her life. So, one could probably come to the conclusion that by writing this book and making women submissive, Shelley was attempting to put her unsatisfactory actions in the past and finally listen to
Shelley writes, “His daughter attended to him with great tenderness…” (Shelley, 32) She is portrayed in this scene as the loving and caring daughter, always attempting to aid her father when he is ill. When he father dies, she is still depicted weak because she has nowhere to go, “… and in the tenth month her father died in her arms, leaving her an orphan and a beggar” (pg.32). Now notice that Caroline became a beggar after her father died, not because she couldn’t work, but she had no male authority figure telling her she had to. Since she didn’t have a male to run her life, her world just became chaotic. However, since Alphonse- and the other males- was the dominant sex in the novel, he was there in to aid Caroline and began to dictate Caroline’s life from then on. Yet, there was one time that Caroline did not bend to the will of the men- Victor and Alphonse- in her life. This was when Elizabeth had scarlet fever and the men did not want Caroline taking care of …show more content…
Unfortunately, women’s right activists will be sorely disappointed by this book. This book was first published in 1818, when women wanted rights, but were not granted them. Mary Shelley had to conform to the norm of society by making women seem as second class citizens to men in the book. If she hadn’t she could perhaps have become a social piranha considering all else she did in her life. So, one could probably come to the conclusion that by writing this book and making women submissive, Shelley was attempting to put her unsatisfactory actions in the past and finally listen to