Critiquing Societal Dichotomy
Social construct in the nineteenth-century comprised heavily of gender expectations and class. For instance, the structure of the Frankenstein family embeds a hierarchy headed by a father who provides for and has complete authority over his wife and children. The female character, despite social status, is forced into inferiority of public affairs, expected to live with accepted societal norms. Typical of the misogynistic views of a patriarchal society, Mary Shelley shadows them in the domestic roles, submissive and passive natures, and tragic fates of the female characters in her novel, Frankenstein.
Shelley presents a completely gendered representation of domestic women, set forth directly in the Frankenstein family. Caroline Beaufort, subjected by societal expectations, complies with her role as a domestic female. She takes it upon herself to act as a “guardian angel” (27), feeding attention and support, nurturing and tending to the needs of her husband and children. As an act of this domesticity, she gives Elizabeth to Victor as a “pretty present,” who, in turn, “looked upon Elizabeth as [his] – [his] to protect, love, and cherish” (28). Yielding to Shelley’s idea of gendered inequality, Elizabeth is seen merely as a possession, an object given as a present to the firstborn male, despite originally being the daughter of a nobleman. Similarly, Justine’s role as a servant for the Frankenstein family degrades her existence to solely, property. With a low-born status intersected with the notions of gender and race, her form of life deems inevitable. These women, confined in their domestic roles, consequently have no access to the outside, unable to coexist with the world of public affairs.
The submissive natures of the main female characters result from society’s oppression of sectors. Although Caroline and Elizabeth both display qualities worthy of praise, they nevertheless succumb to the need for male protection. After witnessing Caroline’s mourning
Shelley presents a completely gendered representation of domestic women, set forth directly in the Frankenstein family. Caroline Beaufort, subjected by societal expectations, complies with her role as a domestic female. She takes it upon herself to act as a “guardian angel” (27), feeding attention and support, nurturing and tending to the needs of her husband and children. As an act of this domesticity, she gives Elizabeth to Victor as a “pretty present,” who, in turn, “looked upon Elizabeth as [his] – [his] to protect, love, and cherish” (28). Yielding to Shelley’s idea of gendered inequality, Elizabeth is seen merely as a possession, an object given as a present to the firstborn male, despite originally being the daughter of a nobleman. Similarly, Justine’s role as a servant for the Frankenstein family degrades her existence to solely, property. With a low-born status intersected with the notions of gender and race, her form of life deems inevitable. These women, confined in their domestic roles, consequently have no access to the outside, unable to coexist with the world of public affairs.
The submissive natures of the main female characters result from society’s oppression of sectors. Although Caroline and Elizabeth both display qualities worthy of praise, they nevertheless succumb to the need for male protection. After witnessing Caroline’s mourning