Anne Mellor's Possessing Nature: The Female In Frankenstein

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In Anne Mellor’s article “Possessing Nature: The Female in Frankenstein,” she focuses on the role that women play in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Mellor explores the patriarchal society by providing evidence for the claim that Frankenstein is a feminist work. Mellor argues that Victor Frankenstein’s downfall is due to his fear of femininity and his need to become the creator of a human being. She begins the article with the argument that the division of spheres (public and private) within the book caused the destruction of many women. Mellor then explored the spheres that men and women occupied. Men would “work outside of the home” while women were “confined to the home”. This division of spheres had negative consequences as …show more content…
The actions of Victor seem to be more the products of masculinity than the fear of femininity. Mellor claims that the destruction of the female companion was a direct cause of his “fear of female sexuality”. She asserts this with 5 main points: The fear that the monster will have her own “desires and opinions”, will be “sadistic”, “ugly”, attracted to humans, and have control of her reproductive powers. However, none of these claims hold any weight. Having desires and opinions is not a trait synonymous with being female. Moreover, Victor held the power in the creation of the female monster. He could have made her attractive, and more importantly he could have made it so she could not reproduce. Instead he got scared and ran away from his problems. Something we see him do on multiple occasions throughout the novel. The creation and destruction of this monster seems to be an act of power, a trait that is, in fact, synonymous with masculinity. I also found irony in Victors fear that the female monster would be sadistic. Victor tears apart an almost human like creature that he promised would be made as a companion for Frankenstein. He was also aware of the consequences for not doing what he was told. Yet he breaks the rules just like he broke the boundaries of nature, both of which he must pay for. This is where I agree with Mellor in her assertion that the killing of Elizabeth is the revenge for victor
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