Interpretation Of Frankenstein From A Feminist Perspective

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley(1797-1851)was an important figure in English romantic literature in the late 18th and early 19th century.She had a promising family background.Her father William Godwin was a politician and philosopher,and her mother Mary Wollstonecraft was a pioneer of the feminist movement and the author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.Mary Shelley's most influential work Frankenstein,published in 1818,attracted attention of the public.Until very recently,Frankenstein,written by Mrs Shelly was primarily regarded as a scientific and Gothic novel and its relevant commentary was mainly focused on the content and ethical questions.However,in the 1980s,a feminist interpretation of the novel began to emerge.The unique views by Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar in The Madwoman in the Attic on Mary Shelley and Frankenstein set off a wave of research on Mary Shelley and her novel Frankenstein.This thesis will attempt to interpret Frankenstein from the perspective of feminism as well as try to analyze her feminist thought and how she covertly criticized the patriarchal society in which she lived in an underlying way.This thesis consists of three sections:the introduction,the main body(which consists of three chapters)and the conclusion.The introduction mainly illustrates the social background in which Mary Shelly wrote Frankenstein.Therefore,it is significant to study the environment in which Mary Shelley wrote her novel as well as previous literary reviews on the author and the novel itself.The first chapter analyzes the existential condition of the female persona in Frankenstein.In the creation of characters,the author created a world of "no women"where only belongs to men.The leading roles in the novel are all men and there are only a few female characters.Under the control of male narration,women are neither witnesses nor narrators of events,and for most parts they were victims of tragic events.The description of female characters in the novel are created intentionally as the author wanted to satirize the phenomena of low social standing that women had in a patriarchal society.It has been concluded from various analyses and critics of the novel that the role of the monster is a metaphor for the fate of women that are abandoned and rejected by society.The second chapter focuses on the analysis on the causes of women's difficult situation in Frankenstein.It is important to cogitate the oppression on the women in a patriarchal society.In novel,women are confined by men in their families and are kept in a state of submission and silence,while Mary lived in a society,in which women were either rejected and confined to the family.In addition,men ignored certain technological advances and thus in turn deprived women of their reproductive rights.In the novel,it is clear that men neglect their responsibilities towards families and society in general.The main cause of the monster's tragic vendetta is due to the fact that it was abandoned by its creator,Frankenstein.It seems that the author abominates a patriarchal society in a very indirect manner.It is also important to ponder over the author's own inner anxiety and concerns.Mary Shelley,as a British female writer in the early 19th century,lived in a deeply patriarchal society.The longing for her father's love,disappointment to her husband and guilt of not raising a healthy child-----all these made her question the conventional expectations to a woman.She was unhappy with the position that women had in society and she was fearful to have a childbirth.All these concerns can be found in the female characters of her novel.The third chapter focuses on the author's assertion of the value of women in the novel and this also reflects the author's feminist consciousness.Although the male considered the status of the female in the family was low,women still had a great influence on men and their families.In many cases they determined the fate of both men and their families.In the novel,the absence of women is the main cause of tragedy and this is the basis of the novel's narrative.The author's feminist consciousness can be revealed by the different fates of Elizabeth and Safie.It is a challenge for women to determine their own destiny and find happiness in a patriarchal society.The conclusion part summarizes the whole thesis.By analyzing the status and fate of women under the patriarchal system,this paper reveals the author's feminist consciousness:The oppressions women suffered from gave them the urge to fight for equality and freedom.However,Mary Shelley's feminist consciousness also had its limitations.The potential power of all female roles was limited to the family and the identity of women was fixed because of marriage.This reflected Mary Shelley's concern about her identity.She expressed her dissatisfaction against the patriarchal society she lived in in an underlying manner,otherwise she would be censured if she wrote straightforwardly.It is clear that the novel expresses the author's own dissatisfaction from living in an oppressive patriarchal system.Frankenstein plays a great role in promoting the women's liberation movement in that it helps awaken the feminist consciousness.