The Role of Women in Mary Shelleys Frankenstein Essay -- Frankenstein

The Role of Women in bloody shame Shelleys Frankenstein Whether an author is certified of the fact or not, a fictional work cannot avoid reflecting the political, social, economic, and phantasmal background of the author. Therefore, regardless of Frankensteins categorization being that of science fiction, Mary Shelley reveals her confess fears and thoughts, and, as a result, reveals a great deal about the eon and place in which she wrote. She mentions specific geographical locations throughout Europe, she raises ethical questions concerning the tax write-off of life, and she writes in the context of popular contemporary philosophy and the importance of purlieu vs. experiences. Most importantly to this essay, however, is the manner in which Shelley reflects the characteristics of the Romantic period in which it was written and its attitudes toward women. In an article that discusses female authors during this time period, we find that romance was a male-domina ted movement. The same article states that this dominance prevented female authors from being prone the same consideration as males (Behrendt 147). Moreover, women who crossed this culturally-imposed boundary were routinely charged with unnaturalness or monstrosity (Ibid.). This is clearly portrayed through the author herself, especially in the introduction of the novel where her introduction is full of apologies for her work. Despite the self-proclaimed air pressure to become a writer in the expectation of continuation of her parents writing, the chronicle is wrought with marks of difficulties of having been taken less than seriously. One place where it is especially evident is in the preface of the book, although parts were writte... ...ely, in the representation of Shelley herself in the monster. Works Cited and Consulted Behrendt, Stephen C. New Romanticisms for Old Displacing Our Expectations and Our Models. Midwest Quarterly. Winter 2000 145-159. Kell y, G. Unbecoming a Heroine. Nineteenth Century Literature. September 1990 220-242. Lowe-Evans, Mary. Frankenstein Mary Shellys Wedding Guest. New York Twayne Publishers, 1993. Oates, Joyce Carol. Frankenstein induction as Catastrophe. Mary Shellys Frankenstein. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. Seymour, Miranda. Mary Shelley. Savannah, Georgia orchard/Atlantic Publishers, August 2001. Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein. Edited by Johann Smith. Boston St. Martins Press, 1992. Tropp, Martin. Mary Shellys Monster. Boston Houghton Mifflin, 1976.