Identity of Women in Shelley's Frankenstein, Bronte's Jane Eyre, and Eliot's The Mill on the Floss
George Eliot is quoted as stating: "A woman's hopes are woven of sunbeams; a shadow annihilates them" (Miner 473). To extend this notion, Jean Giraudoux in Tiger at the Gates, states "I have been a woman for fifty years, and I've never been able to discover precisely what it is I am" (474). These two statements are related to each other because they express, in large part, the dilemma facing Mary Shelley, Charlotte Brontë, and George Eliot as they set out to write fictional manuscripts. Giraudoux may not be able to define "female" even though she herself is a woman, because a "shadow has annihilated" the hopes she might have had in achieving completeness as a human. Her femaleness has been stifled by culture and history and she is left wondering who and what she is. Shelley, Brontë, and Eliot each deal with the complexity of female identity in their respective texts: Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, and The Mill on the Floss.
All three novels parallel in respect to the image of mirrors, and the obvious implications of mirrors and their ability to reflect their observer. In Frankenstein, the monster looks into a pool and in relating the incident to Victor, says "when I became fully convinced that I was in reality the monster that I am, I was filled with the bitterest sensations of despondence and mortification" (76). Likewise, Jane Eyre views herself in a looking-glass and sees that her reflection is "colder and darker in that visionary hollow than in reality" (26). Eliot's Maggie Tulliver is so ashamed of herself that she refuses to look at who she is and inverts her mirror, thus proclaiming that her reflection, as she views it with...
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...f men and ignorant societal beliefs quickly take over and stifle, leaving shells that age and yet are never able to define themselves. It has been almost a century and eighty years since Frankenstein was first published, and literature with similar themes continues to be written. I only hope we as a society have progressed enough in our thinking so as to prevent women as defining themselves through men--or as monsters.
Works Cited
Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Boston: St. Martin's, 1996.
Eliot, George. The Mill on the Floss. New York: Signet, 1981.
Miner, Margaret, and Hugh Rawson. The New International Dictionary of Quotations. 2nd ed. New
York: Signet, 1993. 473-4.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. New York: Norton, 1996.
Young, Arlene. "The Monster Within: The Alien Self in Jane Eyre and Frankenstein." Studies in the
Novel 23 (1991): 325-337.
This is a subject and disorder near and dear to my heart. My personal experience with dyslexia, with myself and my daughter, has given me great insight into what dyslexia is, what the signs are, and how soon you can detect the potential for problems. It is not always the case that dyslexia is the sole source of reading and reading comprehension difficulties, there are other disorders that can exist at the same time, and this is important to know in order to help students improve their reading abilities. But, dyslexia will not only affect reading abilities and reading comprehension. It can affect writing, spelling, math, memory, listing comprehension, self-esteem, social skills, the ability to understand sarcasm, understanding spatial concepts,
Mary Shelley depicts the Romantic ideal of inferiority of women in Frankenstein. These ethics can be compared and contrasted with values of today’s society. Shelley had all male narrators to accentuate the belief of male superiority. The female orphans of the story portray the assumption that women are helpless and the lack of letters from Margaret emphasizes the essential worthlessness of a woman’s opinions. Finally, the female presence in the workforce contradicts Romantic ideals, however housewives and male proposals parallel the ideals Shelley uses in Frankenstein. The Romantic ideals that women are secondary to men are expressed throughout Frankenstein as well as in Romantic times and today.
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Shelley characterizes the female characters as passive, disposable and serving an utilitarian function. Women such as Safie, Elizabeth, Justine, Margaret and Agatha provide nothing more but a channel of action for the male characters throughout the novel. Meaning, the events and actions acted by them or happen to them are usually for the sake of the male character gaining new knowledge or sparking an emotion. Each of Shelley’s women serves an important role by way of plot progression are otherwise marginal characters. Yet, this almost absence of women is exactly the reason why they are important. This use of the female character introduces a concept of feminism; here, female politics exists due to the vacancy of a “role model.” Women such as Justine, Agatha, Elizabeth and Margaret in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein play a key role, whether it’s for mere plot progression or by their absence.
The idea for the novel of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein came to her one night when she was staying in the company of what has been called ‘her male coterie’, including Lord Byron and her husband, Percy Shelley. Mary Shelley’s whole life seems to have been heavily influenced by men. She idolised her father, William Godwyn, and appears to have spent a good part of her life trying very hard to impress both him and her husband. There seems to have been a distinct lack of female influence, her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, having died weeks after her birth, being replaced by a neglectful step-mother. These aspects of her life are perhaps evident in her novel. The characters and plot of Frankenstein were perhaps influenced by Shelley’s conflicting feelings about the predominately masculine circle which surrounded her, and perhaps the many masculine traits that we see in novel were based upon those of the male figures in Shelley’s own life. In this essay I will attempt to show some of these traits.
Although Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre are comparatively different, the characters are delicately crafted to unfold a captivating theme throughout each novel which embodies the idea of the social outcast. The Monster and Jane Eyre struggle through exile due to an inability to fit into the social norms presented by the era. The characters embark on a journey while coping with alienation and a longing for domesticity which proves to be intertwined with challenges. Character, developed as social outcasts are appealing and sympathized with by readers because of their determination to reach a level of happiness. The voyage toward domesticity, away from the exile of society which Jane Eyre and The Monster embark on
In “Frankenstein” penned by Mary Shelley, one cannot help but notice the role of women in the novel compared to men. Even though Mary Shelley is the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft, a mother advocating for women’s rights in society, she displays the roles of Caroline, Elizabeth, and Justine as passive women. This may be the time period when women were considered inferior to men. Caroline, Elizabeth, and Justine are depicted as possessions by men, admired for their superficial beauty, and do not take action without the permission of men. On the other hand, Shelley illustrates Safie as a woman who speaks up for her own rights when her father forbids her to find Felix.
When reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, one cannot help but notice that the women characters seem to have little substance compared to the male characters. This may have been caused by the time period in which she wrote: one in which females were considered inferior to males. This difference between the sexes can be looked at using a variety of different perspectives. Johanna M. Smith, a professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, discusses this issue using feminist eyes in her essay entitled "'Cooped up': Feminine Domesticity in Frankenstein." The main points in Professor Smith's essay are that the female characters are there only to reflect the male characters, and that the Frankenstein family has a weird style of living, which she describes as a "bookkeeping mentality" (Smith 279).
Dyslexia is one of the most common neurobehavioral disorders that haunt adolescents throughout their childhood. Commonly known as a reading disability (RD), dyslexia is a hereditary complex trait that occurs in five to seventeen percent of people. Neuroimaging studies show that dyslexic individuals display abnormal brain function compared to fluent readers when challenged with reading assignments (7). The exact genes that code for dyslexia are not certain, however substantial studies have potentially linked dyslexia to the KIAA0319 gene, the DCDC2 gene, and the DYX1 gene. The severity of each case is largely determined by environmental factors such exposure to reading and professional intervention. Significantly, the interplay between these external influences and innate genetic characteristics ultimately determine the performance of the dyslexic individual.
Goldish, Meish. Everything You Need to Know About Dyslexia. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 1998.
There are various symptoms that help identify dyslexia; such as poor reading and spelling abilities, switching the directions of letters in words, and problems building short-term memory (Thomson, 2009). There are many other sym...
In conclusion, in Mary Shelly’s novel Frankenstein, the female characters always fulfill the limited and archetypical roles that are set for them by society. In this novel, many female characters are considered to be possessions. In fact, they are considered to be the servants of men. “I have a pretty present for my Victor—tomorrow he shall have it.” (Mary Shelly, Pg. 70)
Within Frankenstein, the level at which a female is portrayed is quite low. Like we have heard in class, women were not necessarily respected as much as men were when the novel was written. Published in 1818 by Mary Shelley, her story tells of the adventure of young Victor Frankenstein and the creation of his creature. Though deep within this narration of Frankenstein’s life, there seems to be an underlying theme seeping through Shelley’s writing. Shelley seems to venture into the idea of feminism and grotesquely show how men are treated much better than women. Her novel includes various concrete examples to support this hypothesis.
Throughout Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein there are many female minor characters. Some view these minor characters as passive and subordinate, the epitome of a delicate woman, that reflect the gender roles during the author’s era. This simplifying view of the intricately complex female characters does not accurately represent the powerful and firm importance of their underlying, yet commanding, voice. One of these characters is Justine Moritz who, although charmingly modest and gentle, is a testament to the dignified power of women. During her short appearance in the novel, it is clear Victor Frankenstein fears her for the bravery and strength she exquisitely exhibits through her unjust trial. In addition, the contrast between the characters is distinct. Evidently Victor fails to posses such courage and admirable traits reflecting the insufficiency of supposed male dominance as compared to feminine vigor. Mary Shelley’s minor character Justine is a subtle yet potent force who depicts the perseverance and strength of women by illustrating the considerable lack of such traits Victor Frankenstein.
In the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries, the idea of patriarchy ruled the many societies all over the world. Particularly in Britain, its “overarching patriarchal model” (Marsh) had “reserved power and privilege for men” (Marsh). Also during this time period feminist literature began to arise and was invaded by, “the complex social, ethical, and economic roots of sexual politics… as testimony to gender bias and the double standard” (“Sexual Politics and Feminist Literature”). In Jane Austen’s writing, readers have been aware of her constant themes of female independence and gender equality. However, many have criticized the author for the fact that many of her “individualistic” female characters have ended up
Dyslexia is known as a learning disability which severely affects language development and impacts reading and other language-based development and functioning. According to my research, dyslexia is known to be "the impairment of the ability to read” (Webster's New World Dictionary, 1996). Also, “it is estimated that between one and one-half to five percent of the population have some of the symptoms of dyslexia”(Spofford & Grosser, 1996). Although, dyslexia mostly occurs in kids but once in awhile dyslexia goes undiscovered for quite a long time and isn't perceived until adulthood. It's a lifelong condition which occurs by genetics that affects the brain process. In spite of that, individuals that have dyslexia can do well in school with the