Powerless Women In Frankenstein

In the popular gothic fiction novel, Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley, the men and women live in a continuous cycle. The cycle consists of the women living in danger and the men possess the necessary power to save the vulnerable women, who are so passive they could be considered invisible. The women in the novel are significantly powerless and identify their only purpose in life through the dominant men. Vanessa D. Dickerson, the writer of The Ghost of a Self: Female Identity in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein expresses her strong opinions stating, “the females in the novel are quintessentially ambiguous figures: present but absent, morally animate angels, but physically and politically inanimate mortals (Dickerson 80).” Her opinion is constructed
Caroline Beaufort, Elizabeth Lavenza, and Justine Moritz are all prime examples of powerless female characters. These women undergo the same storyline of torment that ends in death every time. Alphonse Frankenstein rescued both Caroline Beaufort and Elizabeth Lavenza from poverty and a life of abandon. Victor Frankenstein had the power to save Elizabeth and Justine from their deaths, but his selfish acts got in the way. Mary Shelley writes, “He came like a protecting spirit to the poor girl (Shelley 28),” this quote refers to Victor Frankenstein’s reaction to his parents’ story. He views his father as a hero for putting his mother out of her misery. This reaction leads to his ability to view himself as a hero also. He believes that it is also his duty to also be the protector of women. In every crucial situation the women faced, the only people who could help them were men. Men in the novel resemble a god, having control over all relevant
In the article, Women as the Submissive Sex in Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein', written by Stephanie S. Haddad, she claims, “Shelley’s women are objectified, used, abused, and easily discarded (Haddad).” Her reasoning behind this claim being that none of the female characters have meaningful roles and remain voiceless throughout the novel. The entire existence of the female characters is guided by a man’s actions and not their own. If the women of the novel were individually replaced with men characters the plot would remain mostly intact: Victor Frankenstein would have still created a creature that cause him a great deal of pain, which is main plot. Some subplots would have suffered some loss but the overall effect of the novel would still be