Traditional Gender Roles In Frankenstein

In Frankenstein, Shelley challenges the traditional gender roles taught in society. As a result of becoming egotistical, science-obsessed, the male characters destroy their own love lives through inadequate relationships and irresponsible parenting. By choosing three different narrators which are all male, represent the objectifying treatment towards women. By confining women this representing perfectly women's roles in society in the eighteenth-century. And by representing men as reckless and disruptive when without women, Shelley challenges the powerful male persona.

The first women introduced in Frankenstein is Margaret Saville, Robert Walton's sister serves as both a statement and a dedication. “To Mrs. Saville,” a married woman. This sentence

acts as a dedication to all married women to explain the importance they truly carry throughout this book. Though we know Margaret is there, she is never voiced. Margaret is represented only by the voice of her brother because she is unable to voice hers. However, we are still able to pick up an indirect voice. None of her letters back are shown in the book, though we see a conversation from the introductions of each letter, “You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings” (Shelley, 2). This is because only the male sex is authorized to speak. In this sentence, it is clear that Margaret is worried about this journey and Walton eager to prove her wrong. Even though she does not agree, she still expects to hear from her brother while she is confined at home. The gender roles between Walton and Margaret are very typical.
Caroline Beaufort, Elizabeth Lavenza, Justine Moritz, and Agatha De Lacey are perfect examples of the expected role women were to play during this time –wife, mother, daughter. Caroline Beaufort, Victor’s mother, acts as a wife, mother, and daughter. During this time, these were seen as characteristics of the ideal woman. Shelley portrays these sarcastically to express her hatred towards the patriarchal family model. The importance of these women to the story is that they have none. By killing off Caroline, Shelley is freeing her from her stereotyped role, thus, proving that this type of woman is no longer needed and should not continue in a modern society. Shelley’s representation of the domesticated women is not only to portray it but to criticize it and abolish it. Caroline is only described through the words and eyes of Victor. He shares the story of how she and his father came to be. This story shows the ideal daughter in the aspect that she put the needs of others before herself, “Her father grew worse; her time was more entirely occupied in attending him; her means of subsistence decreased” (Shelley, 25). When the father passes, Caroline becomes very sad and is thankfully rescued by Alphonse Frankenstein, ”He came like a protecting spirit to the poor girl, who committed herself to his care” (Shelley, 26). Doing so this reduces her status as an equal down to an object needing help– the damsel in distress. Caroline then becomes nothing more than a caretaker, which ultimately led to her death, “She attended her sickbed – her watchful attentions triumphed over the malignity of distemper – Elizabeth was saved, but the consequences of this imprudence were fatal to her preserver” (Shelley, 39). This showed the selfless love she had for others and her willingness to die for them. Meanwhile, Victor was not even willing to risk his reputation to save the one who he cared so deeply for– Justine.