Mary Shelley's Influence On Frankenstein

Feminism is a movement with dating back all the way to 1837. It’s been shaped by many great thinkers and their works. Perhaps no lady has posed more of an influence on the movement then Bell Hooks, who changed much of the world’s views on feminism, in her book Feminism: A Movement to End Sexist Oppression. Harriet Taylor Mill also would have a large impact in what would later become Liberal Feminism. The ideology has developed thoroughly through the years with the help of more contemporary feminist philosophers such as, Gloria Feldt who wrote the influential feminist novel, No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think about Power, and many other influential feminist text.

People such as John Stuart Mill were passionate advocates for women’s rights. In document 1, Mill begins by saying that traditionally, the vocation of a woman is the place of a wife and mother. He believes that one is supposed to consider of women in that way, but in truth, he recognizes that by denying women the same opportunities as men, the world is denied of the talents of women. He wrote The Subjection of Women with the help of his wife. Though he was already an advocate for fairness, his wife educated him on the real-world consequences of women’s legal submission.

In the 1900’s, life started to change for women; they started to gain a higher position in society, they were able to demand more rights and they started thinking and acting freely and independently. Although the process towards women’s rights was challenging, it’s value to the future generations is clearly seen through the great amount of legislation passed throughout the years. Since the attempt at furthering equality among the genders, the biggest achievement was the ratification of the 19th Amendment. The fight for gender equality however was not achieved easily. There were a series of campaigns, propaganda, and conventions that took place in this struggle; starting off by the famous Seneca Falls Convention, the fight for women’s rights began.

Mary Shelley was a novelist, story writer, dramatist, biographer who wrote the science fiction novel Frankenstein a story based on a young scientist named victor Frankenstein who was experimenting on an unknown creature. (Mellor 82) By grounding her literary vision of a scientist bring life back into a lifeless person upon the cutting edge of science of her day. Mary Shelley impacted the new literary genic of science fiction Frankstein the three characteristics to the genre of science fiction it is based on valid scientific research it gives a persuasive prediction of what science might achieve in the future and it offers a humanistic critique of the benefits and dangers of either a specific scientific milestone or of the nature of scientific

As the daughter of one of the most renowned Feminist of the nineteenth century, Shelley illustrates the various women in the novel with idealized characteristics. The characterization of Elizabeth depicts the ideal woman that most feminists encouraged all women to become. One of the most important traits that Shelley integrates into Elizabeth’s character is the ability to demonstrate intelligence over a man. During Justine’s trial, Frankenstein contemplated many times, confessing of his crime, however, he was concerned about his image and convinced himself that it would not significantly help Justine’s case. “A thousand times rather would I have confessed myself guilty...

Being the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft, Shelley was exposed to feminist beliefs as her mother was among the first prominent feminist writers of the time. The author touched upon this moral attribute in her novel in addition to responding to the scientific issues that had arisen. While some may be puzzled as to how this could be, as the novel has an overall absence of female characters. This is exactly how Shelley was responding to the gender norms of her time. Specifically with the monster’s lack of a companion.

When reading Frankenstein people would not typically finish it and say this text has a good sense of feminism that comes along with it. Feminism in Frankenstein is very hard to distinguish, the reader just has to look in the right places. The audience has to really pay attention to the underlying concept that the female gender is important to the overall text of the story. Most people would argue that there really is not an underlying concept of feminism, but the book in itself is a statement of feminism. Even though the book says for Mary from Percy the fact that A women wrote a book back then and it was enjoyed widely and still is today is a shout out to feminism.

Mary Shelley was a renowned author of English ethnicity. She wrote the infamous classical novel of Frankenstein. Shelley included a quote that arose some controversy. The quote is, “The labours of men [and women] of genius, however erroneously directed, scarcely ever fail in turning to the solid advantage of mankind,” (Mary Shelley). This quote may be true in some situations.

Just as mentioned before in Mary Shelley’s days, scientists believed that someday they would be able to reanimate corpses, so although Frankenstein’s ‘mad scientist’ studies, examinations and experiments seem to be intense, Shelley, even if just loosely, based them on some of the scientific debates and discoveries. Her main influencer being Charles Darwin’s grandfather Erasmus Darwin and Luigi Galvani. Back then, it was not uncommon to share scientific ideas in poem form, which is why Darwin published a poem called “The Temple of Nature”.

Foreseeing the Future Foreshadowing was used by Mary Shelley in Frankenstein to achieve her goal of making the reader predict what will happen. The first form of foreshadowing the reader notices is when Walton says to Victor, “One man’s life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of the knowledge” (11). This foreshadows the disasters that will face Victor as he experiments and tries to find the unknown. Then, Victor says, “Let me reveal my tale, and you will dash the cup from your lips?” (12).

“Her pioneering voyage and remarkable life helped, as President Barack Obama said soon after her death… ‘She inspired generations of young girls to reach for the stars for she showed us that there are no limits to what we can achieve’” (Knipfer). Ride’s influence is so strong that it has been helping young people to reach for dreams even after her death. Without Sally Ride’s intuition to help others, women and minorities might not have had people pushing them to achieve their dreams. Coupled with Ride’s great achievements, her instinct to help others made her a

In James Davis’ literary essay “Frankenstein and the Subversion of the Masculine Voice,” he discusses the oppression of women and the minor roles of females in Mary Shelly’s novel Frankenstein. With a feminist perspective, Davis claims, “He [Victor Frankenstein] oppresses female generation of life and of text; he rends apart both the physical and the rhetorical ‘form’ of female creativity. In fact, all three male narrators attempt to subvert the feminine voice, even in those brief moments when they tell the women’s stories” (307). Throughout his essay, Davis demonstrates the underlying message of Shelly’s subversion towards men and the social consequences of misogyny. Davis draws parallels between the three men, Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein, and Victor’s creation, Frankenstein, in which they

Gender in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and its 2004 Television Adaptation (2004) Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: A Modern Prometheus (1795)—a paradox for both gender theorists and filmmakers. A paradox for filmmakers, because most of the book consists of needlessly verbose reflections on natural scenery, emotions, and relationships, with little dramatic tension or any of the other elements that makes for a page-turning thriller; there is conflict, much melodrama, and occasional moments of horror but not enough to maintain much suspense. Nevertheless, Frankenstein appears to be one of the stories most frequently adapted in film, and even more so if one counts films that owe it a debt without giving credit, such as Blade Runner and the recent television