Submission & Subversion: A Gendered Narrative Study Of Frankenstein

Frankenstein, a classic gothic novel by Mary Shelly, is indisputably a mine with the most productive resources for literary interpretation. Numerous books of criticism from different perspectives have endowed this little book with perpetual charm and liveliness. Purporting to interpret Frankenstein from a gendered narratological angle, this thesis will probe into such narrative aspects as narrative form, narrative communication, character voices and narration of male narrator.This thesis is composed of six chapters. A brief introduction to the author, the novel and literary reviews makes up Chapter One. In Chapter Two, the epistolary narrative form of the novel is discussed, along with the British tradition of epistolary writing, and in Chapter Three, the narrative communication structure and its components are investigated. Chapter Four is an exploration of the characters' voices, particularly the female characters', in direct speech form. The three chapters above are contributed to the discussion of submission of femininity in the narrative. And then Chapter Five is devoted to the study of the subversion of masculine narrative reflected in the unreliable narration of the major male narrator. Combining these two aspects of the narrative, the superficial submission of femininity to masculinity and the subversion of masculinity, Mary Shelley's narrative strategy in Frankenstein —the superficial submission of femininity and the subversion of masculinity— is reevaluated in the Conclusion part.