Women in Frankenstein

Hello everyone! Here are some additional notes about the women in Frankenstein based mainly on the first volume of the novel (additional versions on how these ideas may change or develop throughout the novel are to come).

It is made clear from the very beginning of the novel that Frankenstein has a largely male-centred narrative. Evidence of this can be seen in Walton’s letters which are received by his sister, Mrs Saville, back in England who acts as the passive female listener of the story and is put in the same position as the readers are. The men are experiencing all the action whilst the women get the recounted story.

Importance of Mothers

As the story progresses, various female characters are introduced. From the opening chapters, it is made apparent that there is a lack of mothers in this story: Victor’s own mother Caroline was an orphan who was rescued by his father, Elizabeth is also an orphan rescued by Caroline, Caroline Frankenstein dies and Elizabeth becomes the only female/”mother” figure of the house, the creature is created by Victor and therefore does not have a mother, Justine is another rescued orphan who caused her own mothers death through complications in childbirth and the de Lacey family also does not seem to have a mother. This pattern suggests that Mary Shelley views motherhood as important being that all of these characters seem to meet a deadly fate, possibly due to their lives lacking an essential maternal figure. Even Mary’s own mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, died without ever meeting her daughter which is something that greatly affected the author’s life. All of this ties into further themes of nature versus science and provides the argument that: without human guidance and companionship (in this case between mother and child) no creature, human or otherwise, could survive.

Are the women victims?

Frankenstein, being a piece of gothic fiction, presents most women in a stereotypically helpless and innocent light. Particularly through their passivity and silent beauty they can arguably be seen as the victims of the story. As a result of the male character’s obsession with the pursuit of knowledge, the women in the story suffer from their dangerous actions. Examples of this are Justine’s unjust conviction and assassination as well as the pain Elizabeth experienced from Williams’ death. The earlier mentioned pattern of the principal female characters being rescued also suggests that they only exist to be saved by the males/ “heroes” of the story and that their problems only be solved by said men and their companionship. After all, without Victor and his strong attachment to her, Elizabeth would still be living as a poor and uneducated orphan. This, in combination with the various exaggerative behaviours such as fainting and weeping constantly shows the lack of power women have in the story and might also be a commentary from the author on the lack of power women of her era had.

Elizabeth Quotes

• “her hair was the brightest living gold”
• “crown of distinction”
• “heaven sent”
• “celestial stamp”
• “child fairer than a pictured cherub”
• “my more than sister, since till death she was to be mine only”
• “The peasant woman, perceiving that my mother fixed eyes of wonder and admiration on this lovely girl, eagerly communicated her history. She was not her child, but the daughter of a Milanese nobleman. Her mother was a German and had died on giving birth. The infant had been placed with these good people to nurse; they were better off then”
• “I…looked upon Elizabeth as mine – mine to protect, love, and cherish.”

She is portrayed as the perfect woman who represents domestic bliss and has little narrative voice and no direct speech.

Justine Quotes

• “the most grateful little creature in the world”
• “very clever and gentle, and extremely pretty”
• “I almost began to think that I was the monster that he said I was”
• “She was… blooming in the loveliness of youth and health”

Justine is the picture of innocence, a very Godly woman who has had a rather difficult upbringing so the readers sympathise with her.

So there was an interpretation of Mary Shelley’s intentions with the female characters in the novel as of its opening volume. Feel free to email us at englishlityear12@gmail.com if you have any questions, suggestions for future posts or alternative interpretations – I’d love to hear them!

Anne x

Frankenstein Context

Hi guys! As an introduction to studying Frankenstein in class, our teacher took us through some important context and I thought I’d share some key points on here to help with your AO3 🙂

Mary Wollstonecraft:

• Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) was Mary Shelley’s mother. She was one of the first feminists and a lot of people had a very negative opinion of her because of her ‘radical’ views. She was even dubbed a ‘hyena in petticoats’ by an establishment who disagreed with her views.
• A famous quote by her is ‘I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves’.
• She criticised the patriarchal society of the time by speaking out about how limited education was for females.
• She was the author of ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Women’
• Her views fit with other radical thinkers of the time such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau. A very famous quote from him is ‘man is born free and everywhere he is in chains’.

William Godwin:

• William Godwin was Mary Shelley’s Father, and he was regarded as an icon of radical thought and an inspiration for the Romantic poets such as Wordsworth.
• He strongly believed that society needed to become more equal in order to progress and for everyone to reach their full potential.
• He believed in the power of the individual and that each person could change the corruption and inequality present in society.

Mary Shelley:

• She grew up with her father as her mother died during childbirth, and was introduced to his intellectual circle at a very young age.
• She met Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley when she was 15 and although he was married at the time, he and Mary ran off together to France when she was only 16. She later married him.
• When her husband died in 1822 she dedicated herself to her work and to publishing his poetry. She did not remarry.
• In 1815, Mary fell pregnant. Her daughter was premature and died after 12 days.
• In 1816, she gave birth to a baby boy named William who died in 1819.
• In 1817, she gave birth to a baby girl called Clara who died a year later.

The Genesis of Frankenstein:

• In 1816, Shelley (Godwin at the time) spent the summer with her future husband, their son William and Lord Byron in a villa Byron was renting in Geneva. It was an awful summer weather-wise due to a large volcanic eruption. The reason wouldn’t have been known at the time so it would have seemed very supernatural. Due to the setting, Byron and his friends found themselves telling dark, Gothic tales. Byron suggested they take it further and each write their own supernatural tale, and this is when Frankenstein was born.
• Due to the awful weather, they spent a lot of time confined to the villa, and this gave them time to talk in length about political and scientific ideas of the time such as the Italian scientist Luigi Galvani, who found that striking dead frogs’ legs with electricity made them twitch as if alive.

The Novel:

• Frankenstein was first published in 1818 anonymously, and most people believed it was written by Percy Shelley.
• The book became an immediate sensation.

I hope you find this little summary helpful! Feel free to leave a comment down below or email me at englishlityear12@gmail.com if you have any questions or anything you’d like to discuss – it’d be great to hear from you!

Amber x