Jack Dowling 11/29/12 Feminism Agency for Women

The best way to describe women in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is powerless. Ironically, for a novel written by a female author, female characters are rarely present and are non-actors in the story. Positive female roles are occupied by characters without depth. The females in Frankenstein are shallow and superficially created, spending their time in the novel mostly as objectified entities that serve as motivation and prizes for the male characters who posses all of the agency. Instead of making women into dynamic and fascinating characters like Frankenstein and his monster, Shelley relegates them universally to the domestic spaces and irrelevance that is common within patriarchal models of society. As a result, they may as well not even exist. What is curious, however, is the length Shelley goes through to ensure that her women are portrayed as good women. Frankenstein's introduction of his family and his childhood gives a picture of his mother as an angelic being possessed of a kind heart and a generous spirit. This is predominantly done by explaining their discovery and adoption of Elizabeth, a correlation that will be important in uncovering how women function in Frankenstein. Victor describes the visits his family paid to the poor houses saying this, to my mother, was more than a duty; it was a necessity, a passion (19). This passion for charity is a benevolent maternal characteristic and shows the quality of Caroline. This also is the only time in which she does anything at all. Her rescue of Elizabeth represents Caroline's sole moment of action or agency and her death quickly follows. This action though is almost entirely pointless. Caroline only gets to perpetuate the cycle of domesticated women in the Frankenstein family and her role, the role of mother, child-

bearer, and wife, is taken over by Elizabeth. Elizabeth is certainly the most interesting woman in Frankenstein and she is the one who comes closest to achieving agency and power. She, like Caroline, is a stereotypical good woman who is a creature to be loved and taken care of. Frankenstein reflects that the almost reverential attachment with which all who regarded her became... my pride and delight (21). She provides Frankenstein with occasional letters attempting to buoy his spirits, as a good woman should do for her betrothed. Indeed, although her letters directly give Elizabeth voice, she never says anything of importance to the story and her words elicit no change in Victor. Most notably though, Elizabeth almost never leaves the Frankenstein estate. She is cut off and relegated into a completely domestic environment. Her first role in the novel is only to send out communiques, constant reminders that she and Victor will eventually be wed and once that occurs, her secondary role is to be murdered as punishment to Frankenstein. The language used to describe Elizabeth marginalizes and objectifies her. Caroline even goes so far as to tell Frankenstein I have a pretty present for my Victor tomorrow he shall have it. And Frankenstein with childish seriousness, took her words literally and looked upon Elizabeth as mine (21). Making Elizabeth a gift utterly robs her of her humanity and Frankenstein, from his childhood on, views her as his property. This ownership relationship between a man and a woman is a representation of patriarchal attitudes towards females. It relegates women to pets instead of colleagues. And Frankenstein certainly acts as if Elizabeth is not his wife-to-be. He never confides in her, never allows her to share his burden and aid him in his battle with the monster. Instead, she simply is. Women as prizes or gifts also occurs within the monster's life. From his reclusive cabin near the De'Laceys, the monster witnesses and pieces together Safie's journey to the De'Laceys

and her betrothal to Felix. Safie is a virtual clone of Elizabeth, good and beautiful and loved, only alive for the purpose of being wed. This shows that there is a common element in the portrayals of women in Frankenstein. Each one completely falls into stereotypical patriarchal depictions of women. They are objects, they are prizes, they are beautiful, and they are doted upon. None of this makes for any particularly strong female characters. Independence, strength, and agency are all elements for men. This mitigates women as a gender in Frankenstein and helps create a world that is utterly patriarchal. Shelley reinforces this sentiment in the few moments of actions she deems fit to grant her women by either making their actions futile or by making the world outside of domesticity deadly. The only moment in which women have their day in the sun is the trial of Justine. During the trial, Elizabeth is a prominent actor. She rejects Justine's alleged guilt of theft and murder and gives a passionate appeal to save her friend from the gallows. Her testimony is powerful and heartfelt, truly one of the more moving passages of the book, and it is utterly ineffectual. Justine is condemned to death by the end of the same page. This is a striking moment. Unlike Frankenstein, who actually has the power to free Justine, Elizabeth makes a genuine effort to see that justice is properly carried out. She has the courage and the conviction to stand before the court and to make her appeal and nothing happens. Shelley's strongest female character accomplishes the same thing that she would have accomplished had she stayed home to get a head start on dinner. This says that, in the world of Frankenstein, female agency is non-existent. It says that women do not get things done, they do not change the environment around them through actions, they simply are there in order to be there. Justine's affair illuminates another aspect of Shelley's domestication of women. Simply put, it is a dangerous world outside. When the monster reveals to Frankenstein just how Justine

wound up with the missing amulet, it plays into a disturbing trend about public space versus domestic space. The monster discovering Justine asleep in a barn allows for him to plant the amulet on her person, condemning her to death. Justine had the misfortune to leave the domestic space and enter the public space. Because of this, she exposes herself to danger and death. Similarly, on Elizabeth and Victor's wedding night they are outside of their house, spending the night in an inn. It is there the monster falls upon Elizabeth and takes her life. Like Justine, leaving the house in which she should be confined is the precursor to fatal danger for Elizabeth. This is a recurring theme in the story, that women should be confined to domestic spaces not only because of gender roles, but because choosing to leave those spaces results in death. The way in which Mary Shelley portrays women in her novel is one that plays into old stereotypes and gender norms. It fits well with the Gothic setting of Frankenstein but leaves much to be desired for more progressive views of women. Unlike some of her contemporaries, Shelley is content to keep her women in the roles of house keeper and wife instead of granting them agency or independence. Frankenstein is a book in which only men act and, as their actions have tremendous consequences, the women in the story suffer the ramifications. Women are objectified in a heavily patriarchal manner. They are gifts, and trinkets, and pretty little things that receive adoration as their only positive reward. It is strange that Shelley, a woman who took up the pen and crafted a seminal work of literature, would choose to write such one-dimensional female characters. Her book only reinforces male-dominated views of women and breaks no ground into feminism.