Frankenstein: Examples Of Feminism In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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When first reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley the examples of feminism are not apparent. Although learning more about Mary Shelley 's history helps one relate the events in Frankenstein to what occurred in Shelley 's actual life. Shelley 's feminist pedigree plays a huge role in her novel Frankenstein as it sublimely elaborates her own tragic loss of her first born child, reflects a man 's decision to create life, and Victor the creator of Frankenstein, leaves despite the connection with his own creation, and last influences Shelley 's jargon throughout her novel.For example, the moment the monster was created and throughout the rest of the story he was isolated from society. All the characters in the novel automatically feared the monster …show more content…

The crucial process in Frankenstein is Victor giving birth to a kind of human without a female womb. By doing this, he repudiates the law of nature. Bearing children is an intrinsic function and perquisite of women. Moreover, Victor decides against creating a female creature. Thus, he aims to create a patriarchal environment that consciously disregards women and consists only of men because Victor assumes women are not needed any longer. This actually backfires on Victor because the result of life without a matriarch is a monster. Accoriding to Mellor a feminist critic, "In trying to have a baby without a woman, Frankenstein denies to his child the maternal love and nurturance it requires, the very nourishment that Darwin explicitly equated with the female sex"(Anne K. Mellor, A Feminist Critique of Science). Victor Frankenstein 's unwillingness to provide his monster with motherly affection demonstartes the narrative consequences of procreation without a woman. Even if Victor was indeed able to provide his child with a mother 's care, he could not have prevented its social castigation and misery. When Victor 's monster came to life he explained how the …show more content…

His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks. He might have spoken, but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but I escaped and rushed downstairs. I took refuge in the courtyard belonging to the house which I inhabited, where I remained during the rest of the night, walking up and down in the greatest agitation, listening attentively, catching and fearing each sound as if it were to announce the approach of the demoniacal corpse to which I had so miserably given life. (Frankenstein 41)
This section of the book obviously portrays that despite the fact that Victor proclaimed to have a connection with his creation, he abandoned him anyway. This conveys feminism because, without a female Victor 's monster wasn 't able to flourish, also women often feel as if men run away when a child is born to relinquish their responsibilities as a father. If the book was written from a male 's perspective Victor would have never neglected his creation 's needs, and his creation definatley would have been a success. Only women would perceive a man to be so weak and

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