Women In Frankenstein

Throughout Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, we are presented with various views of women, and their role in society and family. Here, I will explore the similarities of and differences between the female characters in the novel.

The first female encountered in the novel, Caroline Beaufort, becomes a model around which many of Shelley's other females are based. Frankenstein's father first encountered her while she was tending to her dying father "with the greatest tenderness," and thus it is apparent that on first encounters she is an exceptional woman. Even after her father's death, there is no sign of weakness in her character, as "her courage rose to support her in adversity"; her "soft and benevolent mind" ultimately allows her to marry Frankenstein's
That she must be 'owned' in such a way suggests her own weakness and vulnerability, physically if not in character. This is suggested again, when Frankenstein confides, "till death she was to be mine only". Of course, this phrase has a second level of meaning, for it foreshadows the death of Elizabeth later in the novel. The same foreshadowing is seen immediately after the death of Frankenstein's mother, when Frankenstein remarks "one remains whom the spoiler has not seized." Thus the careful reader has it constantly suggested to them that Elizabeth will not survive, and this serves to heighten the tension of the novel. Once it becomes apparent that everything Frankenstein holds dear will be taken from him, his comment that "harmony was the soul of our companionship" furthur 'raises the stakes' in the case of Elizabeth's death. This perhaps arouses a little pathos for Frankenstein even before the event, necessary since Shelley makes him dislikeable in many other ways - for example, his arguably monstrous treatment of his own creature. A character unreservedly disliked by the reader is unlikely to receive any sympathy when events eventually catch up with
For a start, it is almost exclusively his view of women that the reader is provided with. There can be no doubt that Frankenstein holds his mother and "more than sister" in the highest esteem, but since there is no second opinion with which to compare his own, it is difficult to make a completely fair judgement of them. One is foced, to a large extent, to accept his insight as gospel, despite the obvious bias in doing so.

Frankenstein is referring to science when he says he is "concerned with the outward substance of things", but it is not difficult to see how this affects his perception of people also. His monster is ugly and therefore Frankenstein rejects him. By contrast, his flattering and frequently exaggerated praise of the two women closest to him at least suggests that are outwardly