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Kendall O¶Connor th ENGL 251: The 19 Century British Gothic Professor Jeff Edwards February 15, 2011 Feminism in Frankenstein : Loss of Life and the Landscape La ndscape The ubiquitous lack of auto nomous female figures in Frankenstein may initially lead us to read Mary Shelley¶s most popular pop ular novel as a chauvinist text. Shelley¶s plot hinges on a man¶s usurpation of parturition, while there is a striking lack o f female agency, autonomy, and act ion throughout the course of the story²especially when we consider the fact that Shelley is the daughter of feminist pioneer Mary Wollstonecraft. However, the o utcomes of each of Frankenstein¶s
female characters reveal the consequences of feminine passivity. Additionally,
the feminization of powerful, po werful, awe-inspiring landscapes assertsShelley¶sveneration of strong, independent women. Little differentiation is made among Shelley¶s submissive female figures, yet this consistent subservience is always aligned with negative conclusions.E lizabeth Lavenza, the primary female in the novel,is immediately marked as docile: ³no one co uld submit submit with more grace than she did to constraint and caprice« she appeared the most fragile creature in the world´ (Shelley, 65). Though this th is ³constraint´ and ³fragility´ is universally admired in Frankenstein (³Every
one adored ado red Elizabeth´), Elizabeth¶s stereotypically feminine ³virtues´ do
not keep her from misfortune misfortune (66). Rather, Elizabeth resigns herself to the care of the Frankenstein family, and this compliance is subsequently plagued by hardship. Elizabeth spends the majority of the narrative waiting for the novel¶s p rotagonist, Victor Frankenstein, to marry her. She even ad mits mits to Victor, ³µWe all« depend on you. And if you are miserable, what must be our feelings?¶´ (179). Elizabeth is devoted to Victor to the point that his emotions dictate her own. This degree of commi co mmitment tment may have been appreciated apprec iated by pre-Victorian societal standards,
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yet Shelley chooses to have Victor¶s vengeful monster murder Elizabeth on her marriage bed.The choice of setting for Elizabeth¶s death is telling, as Shelley implies that a life dedicated to another will only result in tragedy. Like Elizabeth, each conventionally passive female character is extinguished as Frankenstein
progresses. At the start of the novel, we are briefly introduced to Victor¶s mother,
Caroline Beaufort. Though Caroline is first characterized asan independent woman that ³possessed a mind of an uncommon mould« She procured plain work« and by various means contrived to earn a pittance,´ her sovereignty vanishes once she becomes a wife (65). We do not hear of Caroline after her marriage until she falls sick with scarlet fever, and inertly surrenders to her illness: ³µI will endeavor to resign myself cheerfully to death,¶´ she says, and instantaneously passes away (72). Later, Justine Moritz is wrongfully condemned to the gallows for William Frankenstein¶s murder, yet Victor notes, ³She indeed gained the resignation she desired´ before her death (115). Like Elizabeth and Caroline, Justine accepts her circumstances tamely, and t his acquiescence consequently eliminates her from the storyline. Shelley chooses to use the natural world as her model for an ideal female, as opposed to an actual woman. Women in Frankenstein fail to obtain agency and longevity within the novel, yet Shelley imbues her description of nature with both powerful and feminine qualities. On a linguistic level, feminine adjectives are ascribed to the landscape, as initially demonstrated by Victor¶s recount, ³µI pursued nature to her hiding places¶´ (82). Victor later observes, ³at a distance, surmounting all, the beautiful Mont Blanc, and the assemblage of snowy mountains that in vain endeavor to emulate her ´ (215). However, these grammatical decisions only initiate the vigorous femininity about Shelley¶s landscape. What is equally feminine about the environment in Frankenstein is its maternal attribute. Biologically, the role of a female is to engender life;
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with this in mind, it is interesting to note t hat Frankenstein¶s women are all aligned with death. However, though the novel¶s centra l female figures culminate in fatality, the natural world both inspires and enlivens its inhabitants.The fact that nature is both motherly and commanding at once sheds light on the positive aspects of an assertive femininity. When Shelley expresses the beautiful, tender, restorative qualities of the landscape, she often relays the grandeur and strength it declares as well. For example, when Victor arrives at Chamounix to rejoin his family, he is struck by nature¶s affectionate and awesome characteristics. As the Frankensteins visit the valley of the Arve, V ictor recalls, ³These sublime and magnificent scenes afforded me the greatest consolation that I was capable of receiving« although they did not remove my grief, they subdued and tranquilized it« The sight of the awful and majestic in nature had indeed always the effect of solemnizing my mind´ (122-123). Language such as ³consolation,´ ³subdued,´ ³tranquilized,´ and ³solemnizing´ suggest a soothing quality that is typically ascribed to females. On the other hand, ³sublime,´ ³magnificent,´ ³awful´ and ³majestic´ have a far more aggressive and potent connotation. When these seemingly opposed features come to gether, however, Victor is elevated from feeling ³miserable´ to being ³filled with a sublime ecstasy t hat gave wings to the soul´ (123).Though the women in Frankenstein are consistently correlated with death, the forceful, feminine landscape breathes life into Victor. In this way, Shelley d isplays the advantages of a strong and sovereign female. The maternal qualities in the natural world not only resuscitate Victor, but also rejuvenate Victor¶s monster and Victor¶s companion, Henry Clerval. Though t he creature describes how ³all within me was turned to gall and bitterness,´ he affirms the power of nature when he describes the effect of the ³loveliness of the sunshine a nd the balminess of the air. I felt emotions
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of gentleness and pleasure, that had long appeared dead, revive in me´ (165). Later, when Victor and Henry reunite, Victor notes, Henry ³was alive to every scene« He pointed out to me the shifting colours of the landscape, and the appearances of the sky. µThis is what it is to live;¶ he cried, µnow I enjoy existence!¶´ (179). If we are to accept Frankenstein¶s gendered representation of nature, it is clear to see that Mary Shelley constructs a binary between p assive female/death and forceful female/life. Shelley¶s viewpoint toward submissive females is clearly a pessimistic one, as each expires with pain and suffering. However, a sublime, feminine landscape reinstates and perpetuates life.
O¶Connor Works Cited Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Ed. D.L. MacDonald and Kathleen Scherf. Ontario: Broadview Press, 1999.
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