Frankenstein Queer Theory Essay

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Recommended: Response to the feminist approach to frankenstein

In Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein the theme of a woman being passive repeats itself throughout the novel. The author characterizes each woman as being passive, disposable and serving as a utilitarian function. The female characters within the novel provide nothing more but a channel of action for the male characters allowing for a queer standpoint of unequal gender authority within the story.
First and foremost what is considered to be the definition of what the queer theory is? Queer theory as defined by Miriam-Webster is an approach to literary and cultural study that rejects traditional categories of gender and sexuality. In other words to have unequal gender authority between a male and female, would give that situation a queer standpoint, and within the novel Frankenstein that is exactly what is happening.
Most people, when they think about the story of Frankenstein visualize a giant, stupid, green, monster with bolts holding his head on. However, the novel written by Mary Shelley, that the monster in popular culture is derived from, is a well-developed multi-layered piece of literature with many overarching themes. One of the least thought of themes in the current formation of Frankenstein is feminism. What comes into question was if Shelly ever wrote the novel to have such ideas. When venturing on the idea of her novel what was Mary Shelly really thinking about?
I busied myself to think of a story, a story to rival those which had excited us to this task. One which would speak to the mysterious fears of our nature, and awaken thrilling horror one to make the reader dread to look round, to curdle the blood, and quicken the beatings of the heart. If I did not accomplish these things, my ghost story would be ...

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... he shows how both characters Victor and Elizabeth are not in a feuded confrontation of who could be more authoritative. He builds both their characters to be able to coexist with each other. Yet in Shelly’s version there is a characteristic that superiority should be established. The problem is that this characteristic is only established within the male charcaters leaving the females out of play. For example Victor’s relationship with the monster, though they are the same gender, is a constant struggle between who is superior between them. This battle happens and the females seem to take the result of it all. They are just considered as a utilitarian function, and the best example that shows this is through Victor’s marriage. Right when victor is ready to coexist and live equally with his wife Elizabeth, another male, the monster takes that right away from her.

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