The Unfortunate Women in Frankenstein

883 Words4 Pages
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, she created interesting characters to review the ethical problems in the nineteenth century. A time when most women did not share the same rights as men in the general public. Many people were trying to fight for women’s rights including Mary’s parents, her husband and her friends. “Women’s rights, the plight of the laboring class, property distribution. Taxation and representation, home artisans versus factory industry, and the educational system were among the many targets of reform agitation in 1797, the year of Mary Shelly’s birth.” (Mary Lowe-Evans 3) Mary Shelley was lucky to be born into a family where both of her parents were well educated. As a result, she was fortunate to receive more education than any of the girls during her time. Her work should deserve high praise, but because of her status as a young, female writer this caused her work to not be generally accepted by the public. Mary Wollstonecraft, the writer of “The Rights of Women,” who was also her mother, strongly influenced Mary Shelly. She was also a feminist. Often, the genders of the character she created determine the fate of them. As to highlight the problem of women’s unequal status in the society and state the role of women during her time. Elizabeth, a childhood sweetheart of Victor, did not have the same equal rights and opportunities as Victor did. When Victor compares himself with Elizabeth, he says “I was capable of a more intense application, and was more deeply smitten with the thirst of knowledge.” Mary uses her character Elizabeth to review the lack of support and the demand for institutionalized education of girls in public, whereas Mary could only be home-educated by her father. This lack of education makes it so women have no access to the “outside world” - a world of exploration, investigation, and curiosity to the secret of nature, where
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