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The Absence Of Women In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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The constant passiveness and submissiveness of women towards the decisions and actions of men lead to their portrayal as being absent due to their minor roles. The absence of women could have been the very reason why there are so many downfalls throughout the novel. According to Shelley, Victor wanted to be a creator so “a new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me” (32). This clearly shows his obsession of superiority and insanity by not needing God or a woman to conceive a living being. Victor clearly has a “fascination and horror” of women since they are the “origin of life,” but have monstrous features when conceiving a child (Braidotti 65). In addition, Victor has “womb envy,” which is a jealous notion that since men are superior to women, men should be given the privilege to …show more content…

The pregnancy of women is controlled by nature which can have a multitude of mistakes, but if men and science were to be combined, there would be no mistakes in conceiving a child (Braidotti 71). This is seen in Victor because he believed he “succeeded in discovering the cause of generation and life” and even more so of “bestowing animation upon lifeless matter” (Shelley 31). Shelley criticizes this outrageous belief that Victor and some men follow by Victor creating a deformed creature with detrimental consequences for not only Victor but to his loved ones. The absence of a woman led to a horrific creation.
The constant romanticizing of the beauty of women contrasts the ugliness and separateness of the creature. According to Shelley, Elizabeth was so beautiful that she had a “celestial stamp” (17). This shows that Elizabeth was more than human being due to her innocence and sensitivity that set her apart from everyone. The creature’s experience

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