The Role Of Women In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Words: 706
Pages: 3
Open Document
In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein the title itself presents a man’s story. In the time and place this story takes place, women are seen as unequal to men and thus that ideology is reflected throughout the story. Victor Frankenstein, the narrator, presents women on a different scale than that of men. The females, who in reality place a big emphasis on the story as a whole, are reflected as trifling individuals. Throughout the book the women of the story are victimized and proven to serve merely as male companions. It is not coincidence that Mary Shelley, whom wrote the book, originally submitted it anonymously in correlation to the time period. It is not coincidence that Victor Frankenstein outcast the women characters in the novel much like Frankenstein (the book) was outcast by society of the time being written by a woman author. Frankenstein is dominated by the voices of the male characters while the women’s voices faintly exist at all.
In following, women in Frankenstein are present for the sole purpose to be companions for the men that help push the men’s version of the story along. The directors of the story are: Victor Frankenstein, Robert Walton, and Frankenstein’s monster. At no time in the story do women speak directly. In Elizabeth’s letter, being one of the longest times Elizabeth speaks in the novel, that Victor received as him and his …show more content…
After all the narration was by: Victor, the monster, and Walton- all men. The woman were merely present in the story to serve as male companions that help push ‘their’ story along. Women in this story didn’t even get equal voice portrayal. Though it was clear that the men needed women to be happy they still enacted to dis-empower women. Unfairly the women were victimized throughout the entire novel and when they literally all died the men felt their absence hard. Frankenstein proved to be a story of inequality, denigration, and loss
Show More

Related Documents: The Role Of Women In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Women's Role In Frankenstein

Has the role of females been the same throughout history? In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein the roles of women are constantly changing. In the novel, Victor Frankenstein lives a comfortable life in Geneva with his family. He then decides that he wants to figure out how one lives life so creates a monster. However, Victor is horrified at the creature he created and he flees, leaving the creature uncared for. Although women in Frankenstein play a very minor role, they play a major role in the readers…

Words 1849 - Pages 8

Mellor And Poovey's Literary Analysis

Elizabeth is swept up, to a life of comfort, by the Frankensteins. Mellor and Poovey may be correct in their discussion of Elizabeth’s oppression, in the revised edition’s…

Words 1551 - Pages 7

Masculinity In Frankenstein

taking parental role has prominently been the employment of the mother. Gender roles have established and restricted the duties of parents: fathers are the breadwinners: mothers are the coddlers. Although these gender roles have not always been enforced in all parts of the world and all throughout history, they were prevalent in eighteenth century Europe. In the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley explores the complexity of masculinity and femininity and the importance of parental roles, especially of…

Words 934 - Pages 4

Role of women Essay

“Role of Women in frankenstein” Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein keeps all of the literary standards of the gothic horror novel playing . Nightmares, murder, and the monsters are just some of the tools that positions their heads within the narrative. But there is an added thing which makes it horrifying to any unsuspecting feminist who might decide to pick up this classic, and that is the strict division of gender roles that are assigned to the novel’s characters. The close…

Words 1230 - Pages 5

Alienation In Frankenstein

“One man's life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of the knowledge which I sought, for the dominion I should acquire and transmit over the elemental foes of our race” (Shelley 23). Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein follows the path of a young scientist, Victor Frankenstein, before and after the dramatic event which forever alters his life--his creation of life. His failure to maintain relationships and support his creation mirrors the failures of his own father. The beast’s carnage…

Words 2249 - Pages 9

Article Summary Assignment Essay

6, 2015 English 301 In “Possessing Nature: The Female in Frankenstein”, Anne K. Mellor observes the gender roles in Geneva in the nineteenth century and their impacting influence on the happenings in the novel. Mellor asserts that the events in Mary Shelley’s life play significant roles in determining the events, attitudes, and character limitations in Frankenstein. Mellor’s 3 most noteworthy claims are as follows: The restricting roles of the male and female are responsible for many of the problems…

Words 1136 - Pages 5

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: A Conviction Of The Patrimony Of Man

nineteenth century, women were perceived as being gentle, kind, and motherly beings. Men were not held up to such high standards as women. Many of the actions deemed condemnable for women were largely ignored if done by men. To many, their sole purpose was to look beautiful, take care of children and the home, and entertain guests. After centuries of this oppressive lifestyle, women began to voice their unhappiness towards the treatment. One of the most influential ways for women to express their opinion…

Words 1293 - Pages 6

Motivation And Purpose In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

In class, we have been discussing Mary Shelley’s motivation and purpose in writing, Frankenstein, and how the novel isn’t really about the consequences of playing God but is written to warn against trying to circumvent nature. As we have discussed this, however, I have failed to see a complete distinction between these two points of view. To me, it seems like these two themes are interchangeable. Many people, especially progressives of that era, would have denied the existence of a “God” according…

Words 346 - Pages 2

Frank: Novel Frankenstein Essay

Frankenstein From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about the novel. For the characters, see Victor Frankenstein or Frankenstein's monster. For other uses, see Frankenstein (disambiguation). Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus Volume I, first edition Author Mary Shelley Language English Genre Horror, Gothic, Romance, science fiction Published 1818 (Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor & Jones) Pages 280 Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel written by British…

Words 7465 - Pages 30

Frankenstein: Frankenstein and Mary-kate Olsen Essay

repeatedly used to demoralize members of society. Frankenstein exemplifies how society’s high-expectations can lead to the corruption of the innate virtue of Victor and the creation; however, it also describes standards that are still present in modern-day that have tainted celebrities, such as Mary- Kate Olsen. Frankenstein displays Shelley’s perspective on the corruptive nature of society and the effect it has on people, such as Victor Frankenstein. As the reader starts to learn about Victor, his…

Words 1226 - Pages 5