Mary Shelley, the daughter of legendary feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, has long been critiqued for the supposed misogyny in her most famous novel, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. Most of these complaints come from the “passiveness” and “weakness” of the female characters. While there are stories today that may score higher in their ‘feminism’, even by modern standards, this 208-year-old novel is far from misogynistic. By understanding Shelley’s personal experiences, the social and political climate of the time, and the actual roles the women play in the story, it becomes clear that this book from over two centuries ago can still compare to feminist literature today.
This review contains many spoilers. Please read after enjoying the novel.
Caroline Beaufort:
The first tragedy of the novel is when Victor’s mother, Caroline Beaufort, dies of scarlet fever while nursing Elizabeth Lavenza back to health. Thirty-one pages into the book, and a woman is already dead, seemingly just to progress the male main character’s backstory. That would be the case if not for the fact that Shelley’s own mother died only ten days after giving birth to her, something that deeply affected her entire life. Despite living in her mother’s shadow and the expectations set for her due to her mother’s legacy, Shelley revered her mother and was emotionally traumatized by her death. With this context, it is clear that Caroline’s death wasn’t a woman being sacrificed for a man’s character development, but rather a nineteen-year-old processing the grief and loss of her mother through her story.
Side note on Alphonse Frankenstein:
While on the topic of Victor’s parents, it is notable — even today — how Shelley wrote a father who was emotionally supportive and devoted to his children. Feminism is about equality, and it isn’t equitable for the media to constantly portray loving mothers but distant fathers. While Shelley may have written Alphonse Frankenstein this way from a feminist perspective, it was likely also influenced by her own complicated relationship with her father. He published Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, apparently out of the love he held for Wollstonecraft, but that book wrecked her memory and reputation so much so that it has not fully recovered today. He remarried shortly after his mother’s death, and his new wife was abusive toward Shelley and her sibling, and he himself became emotionally neglectful toward Shelley. When she embraced the same radical ideas he once believed in but no longer held, he abandoned her at fifteen. So while Shelley wrote Alphonse in a feminist light, just like Caroline, it was probably more about coping with her own parental issues rather than being feminist or sexist.
Justine Moritz:
Justine is another woman in the novel who dies to emotionally develop a male character. While Justine’s death did have a profound impact on Victor, that was not the primary reason for her demise. Shelly was famously against the classism that was deeply entrenched in the society she lived in. Moreover, in the society that she lived in, innocent women were often punished because of the intentional or unintentional actions of men. Put those two beliefs together, and the death of an innocent female servant because of the carelessness of a man is not random or sexist. Justine was described as all but saintly in the book, but she was forced into confession of a murder she did not commit and was then murdered herself, all because of the coincidence of the creature finding her. Justine’s heartbreaking death was a tribute to all of the poorer women who lost their lives in the same unjust manner in real life, not a simple sacrifice for Victor.
Safie:
Safie is arguably one of the most important characters in the novel, yet she is often written off as little more than Felix DeLacy’s exotic fiancée from the Middle East. While her marriage to Felix is important to her narrative, Safie is most noted for her intelligence, loyalty, and independence. She honors the legacy of her mother by protecting her freedom in the face of economic ruin, injustice from the French empire, and almost being forced into marriage by her controlling and sleazy father. Despite being born into an oppressive society for women, Safie represents the modern liberated woman. She takes authority over her life by running away from her father and making it on her own with her lover, she receives an education from the DeLacys, and never lets anyone control her life. To call the character who arguably takes the most control over her fate a misogynistic caricature is a lazy reader’s analysis of a powerhouse of a woman.
Elizabeth Lavenza:
Elizabeth often receives the most criticism for misogyny, yet she is objectively one of the most influential characters in the book. Yes, she does take on a motherly role for the family at a young age and didn’t get to see the world as Victor was able to, but not without reason. During Shelly’s time and today, girls and young women are expected to take care of and provide for others when they likely don’t even know how to care for themselves. While Victor got to have his fun and explore the world, Elizabeth mourned her inability to do so because she was chained down by familial expectations. Victor gets to have a self-centered mental breakdown during times of crisis, while Elizabeth is expected to hold the family together. During Justin’s death, Victor was a mess while Elizabeth was testifying for and comforting her friend in front of the entire court. In all of this Vctor notes how she looks drained from this labor, yet never notes anyone supporting her as she has for others.
Furthermore, despite emotionally carrying the plot for most of the book, even in her death, she remains crucial to the plot. By the end, she is nearly the only thing on Victor’s mind. All of his hopes and aspirations for the future are tied to her; by her dying, he inevitably drives himself to his death. This is not the sign of a minor or meek character; this is the sign of a character who the plot and none of the other characters could function without. By sanding her down to Victor’s lover, you would not only be missing the entire point of her character, but most of the plot of the book.
Overall:
Mary Shelly wrote a novel 208-years-ago that gave its female characters more agency, strength, and plot corner stones than many stories today have. Mary Shelly was the daughter of one of the mothers of feminism, and at the age of nineteen, she wrote one of the most famous stories in history that depended on its female character. Each of these women are a love letter to women as a whole, no amount of skimming of their characters could deny that.
