Passive Women in Frankenstein

The Theme of Passive Women in Frankenstein

Frankenstein is usually thought of as one of the classic horror stories and nothing else. However, Mary Shelley's inaugural work is much more than that. Shelley explores a variety of themes in her novel, one of the most interesting being the role of women. In Frankenstein, Shelley consistently portrays her female characters as passive and being submissive to her more-powerfully portrayed men. This trend begins with Victor's cousin and future wife, Elizabeth, writing to him when he is away at school in Ingolstadt. Victor has been away for years, and his obsession with his studies and his desire to create life have caused him to forget about Elizabeth back in Geneva. Despite the fact that he has not written to her and that he has barely even thought of her, it is easy to see from her letter that Elizabeth is still extremely dedicated to Victor. "Get well - and return to us. You will find a happy, cheerful home, and friends who love you dearly... Write, dearest Victor - one line - one word will be a blessing to us."(p40) This letter strongly reinforces the stereotype of the dutiful woman, who patiently and unquestioningly waits at home for her man's return. Shelley further strengthens her theme of passive women with the trial of Justine Moritz. After being falsely accused of the murder of Victor's brother, William, Justine does nothing to defend herself. In fact, she is so passive that she confesses to a crime that she did not commit in hopes that God will have mercy on her. "I did confess; but I confessed a lie. I confessed, that I might obtain absolution; but now that falsehood lies heavier at my heart than all my other sins." (p58) Even further, she is such a weak character that she even feels bad about falsely confessing to the crime because it was telling a lie. While Elizabeth and Justine both demonstrate feminine passivity and weakness, Victor's actions when creating the female monster are the strongest anti-female sentiment in the novel. After being forced to construct a female monster, Victor realizes that he cannot go through with the act and destroys the body before it is brought to life. "...the creature who already lived loathed his own deformity, and might he not conceive a greater abhorrence for it when it came before his eyes in the female form? She also might turn with disgust from him to the superior beauty of man... one of the first results of those sympathies for which the daemon had thirsted would be children, and a race of devils would be propagated upon the earth..." (p121) In this passage Victor is anticipating that the female monster will be judgmental and unpredictable, wreaking even more havoc than her male counterpart due to a lustful desire for more attractive human males. It is also clear that Victor interprets the unborn female monster as even more of a danger than the male monster due to her distinctly feminine childbearing ability. Shelley's novel, while groundbreaking in many ways, is very traditional when it comes to the way it portrays gender roles. Written in 1818, it strongly reflects the previously popularly belief that females were inferior and should be submissive to males.