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Essay on Role of Women in Frankenstein
Mary Shelley wrote the tale of "Frankenstein" when she was only 19 years old, her fertile imagination, fueled by the age in which she lived and by her upbringing. She was the offspring of illustrious parents, writer Mary Wollstonecraft and philosopher William Godwin, both of them social rebels. Shelley was the author of Frankenstein, a novel that has proved astonishingly influential and effective, having all the qualities of a genuine myth (Shelley, 1994). There are many varied interpretations of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in the study of literature. In fact, most critics have, if not opposing, somewhat contrasted views on the novel. However, a popular perception of the novel seems to be one in which Shelley is said to be representing her own views.
Role of Women
Although the female characters in Frankenstein are not given significant importance in a direct role, their influence upon Victor Frankenstein drives the entire plot. The role of women in Frankenstein is more underlying than that of men; however, that role is just as important. The women in Frankenstein are "virtual angels full of kindness, compassion, social consciousness, moral guidance and are not quick to criticize or harangue". They represent the good women of the world and bring much into the story.
The women in Frankenstein shower Victor with love and warmth after he returns home from creating the Creature. They portray that loving feeling that is attached to the female stereotype. Frankenstein can (also) be read as a tale of what can happen when a man tries to create a child without a woman. Victor assumes both roles of male and female when he creates the Creature and, as a result, he gives life to something that "only a mother could love. This is ironic because Shelley is trying to prove that if birth is not natural, the result will not be either....
