The explanatory models of science, like the plots of literary works, depend on linguistic structures which are shaped by metaphor and metonymy. The feminist reader is perhaps most sensitized to those symbolic structures which employ gender as a major variable or value. When Francis Bacon announced, "I am come in very truth leading to you Nature with all her children to bind her to your service and make her your slave,"1 he identified the pursuit of modern science with a form of sexual politics: the aggressive, virile male scientist legitimately captures and enslaves a passive, fertile female nature. Mary Shelley was one of the first to comprehend and illustrate the dangers inherent in the use of sexist metaphors in the seventeenth-century scientific revolution
Analyzing the gender roles of ‘Beauty’ and ‘Beast’ in Madame de Beaumont’s fairytale entitled “Beauty and the Beast” illustrates why I view women as the civilizing agent in their relationship with men. Madame de Beaumont, through her story “Beauty and the Beast,” showed her view of sexism and the typical gender role of both males and females at that time. She used ‘Beauty’ to describe ideal women while she used her sisters to show the cynicism in women. On the other hand, she used ‘Beast’ alone to show two personalities that men may have had. As seen in the plot, one may observe subservience in ‘Beauty’, dominance in ‘Beast’, and arrogance in Beauty’s sisters.
‘Frankenstein’ or the ‘Modern Prometheus’ written by Mary Shelley was the product of a range of historical, cultural and philosophical ideologies of the time. The book was written in England during the Enlightenment Era and thus, embraces ideas relevant to the period as well. Victor Frankenstein was a scientist who in an attempt of experimentation creates a monstrous and grotesque creature using his scientific abilities. The story is about the downfall of Victor Frankenstein after the creation of this creature whom he abandons. The creature is born 8ft tall and ugly to look at, but with the mind of a new born child.
Do Readers Find It Easy to Sympathise With The Monster? Book: Frankenstein Author: Mary Shelley When only 17, Mary Shelley wrote the novel “Frankenstein”. At the time of publication, it was a very unique and daring novel – it challenged long-held religious beliefs, it challenged people’s beliefs, and it challenged society. Because of this, I aim to answer the question as to whether the novel achieved what could be argued was it’s main aim – did it make the reader feel sorry for Victor’s creation? A pivotal Chapter for answering this question is Chapter 15.
When reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, one cannot help but notice that the women characters seem to have little substance compared to the male characters. This may have been caused by the time period in which she wrote: one in which females were considered inferior to males. This difference between the sexes can be looked at using a variety of different perspectives. Johanna M. Smith, a professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, discusses this issue using feminist eyes in her essay entitled "'Cooped up': Feminine Domesticity in Frankenstein." The main points in Professor Smith's essay are that the female characters are there only to reflect the male characters, and that the Frankenstein family has a weird style of living, which she describes as a "bookkeeping mentality" (Smith 279).
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein can easily be interpreted through the lens of Freud’s theories of Psychoanalysis, albeit the obvious psychological implications evident in Shelley’s novel. Shelley’s work can be viewed as a commentary on the internal struggle of the psyche (between the Id, Ego, and superego)—but also the greater struggle and tension between the psyche and the greater Society (Civilization). Both Frankenstein and his monster highlight Freud’s theories of the “Pleasure Principle”, Taboo/Incest, Society vs. the Ego (Self), Phallic symbolism, Childhood and the Oedipus Complex, and repression. In the beginning of Frankenstein’s narration, he tells the story of his father who becomes like a “Protecting spirit to the poor child, who committed herself to his care”. This can be viewed as a incestuous relationship, because Frankenstein first takes in young Caroline into his care as a father figure but soon “after the interment of his friend he conducted her to Geneva, and placed her under the protection of a relation.
Jill Tweedy 1932- 1993 was also an influential feminist writer. Wollstonecraft’s polemic, ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Women’ and Tweedy’s ‘In the Name of Love’. Both these extracts show how these female writers can write from both genders; female and male. They can bring across different views and thoughts throughout their extracts. A Vindication of the Rights of Women’ is an early example of a feminist outlook; Wollstonecraft aims to define, establish and defend equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women.
This poem is in its truest sense a feminist poem, one that laments the historical and mythological scorn of women, and provides a new light in which to view the fairer sex. There are countless juxtapositions throughout Clampitt’s lines, and aided by the reflexive nature of her poem, she presents a work matching the complexity of the mythological Medusa herself. To appreciate Clampitt’s message, one must delve deep into her almost purposeful convolutions, as one must do to understand the true nature of Medusa. Clampitt wrote “Medusa” to provide a commentary on the disparate and often negative light in which women have historically been viewed. To do this, she uses the famous story of Medusa, a figure that has consistently been vilified and relegated to the dark annals of mythology.
How could feminist ideas enhance your understanding of a chosen literary text? Within Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein there are many aspects that are open to feminist reading. This essay will focus upon the monster as an embodiment of female intellect and creativity, showing how the monsters treatment by his creator leads him to violent outbursts of frustration mirrored with the emergence of the female gothic. It will also analyze the female characters within the text and how the contrast between them highlights Shelley’s frustration in regards to the female position within society. The story shows that Dr Frankenstein created his monster in order to indulge in his want to be like a god, a bringer of life so “a new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me”[1] this creation of a being who’s natures were owed to man from a feminist perspective can be considered a representation of female intellect and intelligence.
The downfall of Dr. Frankenstein in Mary Shelley’s novel is directly correlated with the humanization of the creature he creates. Through the development of both these characters, Shelley communicates ideas of companionship and the abuse of knowledge as well as raising the question as to what makes people human. Shelley responds to her Gothic, post-Enlightenment and Romantic context, drawing on important Gothic techniques such as the use of sublimes, Gothic polarities and isolated setting. The Age of Reason is also reflected in the novel’s scientific content. Shelley uses a set of letters written by a man called Walton to his sister Margaret as a framing device for her novel.