frankenstein1
Mary Shelley put herself ahead of the revolutionary movements in feminism in the early nineteenth century. In her writing, she was attempting to show the problems in her own society in an age before others had begun to have similar ideas. Shelley wanted a more balanced society, increasing the power of woman, and decreasing the stature of man. Victor Frankenstein's newest creation, a monster, appears as such a horrible creation that people often label it as evil before ever giving him a chance. However, the monster is much more human one might think. The monster has a desire to learn and a want to love, but these feelings and emotions seem to disappear with Victor's denial of a female partner for him. "You must create a female for me, with whom I can live with in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being" (Shelley, 124). But why should Victor not create such a creature to satisfy the monster? The answer is quite complex. In Victor's mind, the creation of a female monster would allow for, "a race of devils... propogated upon the earth, who might make the very exitence of the species of man a condition precarious and full of terror" (Shelley, 140). It is the females' ability to reproduce that is Victor's prima
Justine for example, who has been accused of murder, becomes victimized by Shelley, such as the case in the courtroom. The courtroom scene gives us not the impression of Justine as being weak, but of Justine as a victim. Besides the fact that she was being accused of heinous acts of violence she did not commit, she was also being assumed guilty by her closest friends, further making the female look like the so-called "bad guy" and further opressing women. Victor, in his movement against feminism, attempts to hold women back in their fight to prove themselves as equals. He does not create a female not only for the fact she would be able to reproduce, but also the fact that she would be female, and at this moment males are in power. With the creation of a female monster, men would not necessarily be in power. Why would Victor want to overthrow his own power?
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1070
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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