Frankenstein
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 primary fe
ar, but not his only fear. Victor, it seems also posseses a fear of women. When Victor did not create a female monster, not only was he denying his creation a partner, but he was also an active participant in the movement against feminism. 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? In a sense, one could easily agree with Victor's reasoning for not creating a second monster. But, when one looks at this with a feminist viewpoint, the reasoning seems different. Victor represents the society in which mary Shelley lived, and during this time, women were seen solely as an object, or a possession of man. If Victor were to have created a female, he would have given some of the power held within society by males to the female. Mary Shelley shows us in this novel that women are more than objects or possessions; women have abilities, they have power, and they have potential. With help from Shelley and the feminist movement, more women, and men too for that matter were able to realize this. The period of the early to mid 1800's, which is the time of Frankenstein's creation, Mary Shelley lived in a society in which she, as a woman, was essentially powerless (Ellis, 123). To her, Frankenstein is a way of
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Approximate Word count = 1051
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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