Katie Doyle

Dr. Ashley Cross

ENGL 367

Woman as the Creature: A Feminist Interpretation of Frankenstein

Feminism, though originally a political movement based in social action regarding

equality for women in government and society, is a very prevalent topic in literature. By looking

at characters’ actions, descriptions, and even interactions with other characters, you can deem a

text either feminist or anti-feminist. Anti-feminist texts often follow the basic “Hero’s Journey”

plot line, where a man sets off on an adventure of discovery and bravery. These stories, since

they are primarily based around men, do not support many feminist ideas. Women are often

characters who are just defined as a wife, sister, cousin, mother, etc., and don’t exist or are not

described outside of their ‘homely’ identity. Feminist texts, on the other hand, often follow a

strong woman on her journey, whether it be an epic journey, or one of simple self discovery.

These texts tend to preach that women are able to achieve any goals they set their minds to, and

are just as powerful and determined as men are. ​Frankenstein ​is a very interesting text to read

when looking for feminist or anti-feminist ideas. From my personal interpretation, ​Frankenstein

itself is an anti-feminist text, due to its limited view of women and the constant oppression of the

Creature.

Feminist theory does not aim to take men out of literature-- it aims to give women more

of a role in writing and reading. For example, Virginia Woolf wrote that "a woman must have
money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction,” in her essay ​A Room of One’s Own​, and

she is saying that a woman must have at least a bit of independence to be able to develop her

own identity as a writer. Simone de Beauvoir also tries to encourage women to take back their

place in literature in ​The Second Sex​, saying that “representation of the world, like the world

itself, is the work of men; they describe it from their own point of view, which they confuse with

absolute truth.” Neither of these women are trying to push men completely out of authorship,

rather they are trying to make it more possible for women to succeed in the field of English, and

to also make women’s truth more prevalent in society. These female authors both worked

tirelessly for equal representation in literature, and wanted to redefine how women were seen not

only as authors, but as people. It was important to them to fight for equality, not superiority.

Other authors, such as Kate Millett, worked to take down the patriarchy more aggressively. In

her book ​Sexual Politics,​ she is quoted saying “patriarchy, reformed or unreformed, is patriarchy

still: its worst abuses purged or foresworn, it might actually be more stable and secure than

before.” Her individual form of feminism is not just about fighting for equality, but it is also

about breaking down the system that causes the inequality in the first place.

The Creature in ​Frankenstein c​ an be used as a device to analyze how this text supports

(or fails to support) feminist ideals. The Creature is constantly struggling to assimilate into

society, and his smaller struggles in doing so directly relate to women’s struggles in our

assimilation both in the past and the present. He is looked down upon for being different and

even more because he is unattractive. When he first comes to life, he struggles to understand his

body. In his case, he is unable to comprehend how he is supposed to move, walk, talk, and

perform other motor functions. He is quoted saying “I was, besides, endued with a figure
hideously deformed and loathsome; I was not even of the same nature as man.” In today’s

society, this relates directly to how girls and women have many body image issues due to

misrepresentation in widespread popular media. Eating disorders are most common amongst

young women, and there are many other standards deeper than just physical that are placed on

women that drive them to perfect their bodies as a way of escaping other ridicule.

On top of bodily personal struggles, the Creature struggled greatly when trying to receive

a fair education. He learned how to speak by listening in on Safie’s lessons in secret. He was also

only able to read books that he found in the forest, thus limiting his ability to really improve his

literacy skills. “One night… I found on the ground a leathern portmanteau, containing several

articles of dress and some books. I eagerly seized the prize, and returned with it to my hovel.”

Clothes and books are two objects that were presumably handed to Victor throughout his

childhood and education, yet the only reason the Creature had these was because of chance. At

one point, the Creature is simply listening in to a conversation between Felix and Safie when he

really starts to learn and understand. “The book from which Felix instructed Safie was Volney’s

‘Ruins of Empires.’ I should not have understood the purport of this book, had not Felix, in

reading it, given very minute explanations.” This directly correlates to the issues women faced

when trying to be educated. Harvard University was established in Boston, Massachusetts in

1636 and have been giving out Bachelor’s Degrees since 1640, but only to men. For women, on

the other hand, Catherine Brewer was the first woman to receive a Bachelor’s degree in the

United States of America, from Wesleyan College in Georgia in 1740-- two hundred years after

men were able to get degrees from Harvard. While not directly relating to the timeline of women

being able to receive a fair education, it does relate to how women were educated before they
were allowed to attend college. They were taught by other men who were able to learn how to

read and write, but they were only taught basic literacy skills, because their role was still to stay

at home to tend to the house, her family, and her children.

The Creature also used a literal blind person in hopes of assimilating into culture, which

directly correlates to women’s efforts to use a powerful man to help advance her status, thus

making her more powerful and influential. Now, this “use” of a man is not the way we use the

word use nowadays, but it was more advantageous to be married to or involved with a man who

had a higher social standing, and families often tried to aid in this process by pushing daughters

to marry upward, or to even go as far as to arrange a marriage. The Creature goes to the blind

Mr. Delacey because he believes that Delacey will be able to see him for what is inside, and will

be able to help assimilate him into society. But the rest of Mr. Delacey’s family soon comes

home, and react as such: "At that instant the cottage door was opened, and Felix, Safie, and

Agatha entered. Who can describe their horror and consternation on beholding me? Agatha

fainted, and Safie, unable to attend to her friend, rushed out of the cottage.” Mr. Delacey truly

was the Creature’s main pathway of acceptance into the family due to his blindness, but the

Creature was still terrifying and unacceptable to the seeing people. Not only does this example

relate to how women fighting for equality is widely unsuccessful, but it also speaks about how

men, specifically feminist men, can easily fall back into the patriarchy they have grown so

accustomed to. Bell Hooks, another feminist theorist, said “No wonder then that men who cared,

who were open to change, often just gave up, falling back on the patriarchal masculinity they

found so problematic.” This speaks to outer societies still being reluctant to give in to the

feminist agenda, even when their intentions are pure like the Creature’s.
 But not only does the Creature represent women’s struggles in society-- Victor represents

the privileges of man. Victor, upon being arrested for Clerval’s murder, became very sick, and

was nursed back to health. It is safe to say that if the Creature were arrested then became sick, he

would not have been nursed back to health-- he would have most likely been left to die. Victor

also was able to create a creature, then leave it without any consequences from society. Victor is

very privileged to have gotten away with those two actions, because if he were female, he would

have faced major disapproval from society. Not only is Victor given the opportunity to survive,

but he also does not face any consequences for the terror he brought into the world by creating

the Creature. He even says that he stayed quiet about his creation to avoid seeming crazy, and

also to avoid public ostracization. “I avoided explanation and maintained a continual silence

concerning the wretch I had created. I had a persuasion that I should be supposed mad, and this

in itself would forever have chained my tongue.” He is scared of being a social outcast--

basically of being what the public saw the Creature as: an abomination, a traitor, and less than

human.

Depending on how one goes about analyzing these points, the text can be deemed either

feminist or anti-feminist. Through the class discussion, questions were raised regarding whether

a text is just feminist or anti-feminist, or if it can carry qualities of both methodologies, and if

any text can, it would be Mary Shelley’s ​Frankenstein.​ This text does bring to light many vital

issues, and it speaks out by comparing society’s view of women to society’s view of a disgraced

creature. This text can be seen as Mary Shelley’s call to action, or it can be seen as a hopeless

criticism of society. Virgina Woolf wrote that “It is strange how a scrap of poetry works in the

mind and makes the legs move in time to it along the road,” saying that sometimes works of
literature (in this case we can assume her idea would apply to fiction also) can cause an uprising

or can can cause a social change.

The text does give some hope to feminists using Mr. Delacey’s character. He was

understanding of the Creature’s issues, and genuinely wanted to help him, until society got in the

way. The purpose of Mr. Delacey as a character, from a feminist viewpoint, was to offer the idea

that some members of society are supportive of women’s issues, and will overlook gender or sex

in the pursuit of societal equality. He even specifically states that helping the creature would give

him great pleasure when he says it would "afford [him] true pleasure to be in any way

serviceable to a human creature" But, Delacey was a minority in this story, as most, if not all,

other characters were vehemently unsupportive of the Creature and his endeavours.

The goal of a feminist text is to give hope to feminists, and give them a reason to rally.

But this text does not do so-- it makes it seem like feminists’ goals are unattainable , and that

there is no real way to win equality. Despite the fact that there are arguments for this text to be

both feminist and anti-feminist, ​Frankenstein i​ s overall anti-feminist. It addresses the issues that

women face in society and it shows a character trying to overcome these problems, but said

character is ultimately unsuccessful. He makes little to no influence on society’s view of

“creatures,” therefore, using the Creature as an allegory for women, the text is saying women

can’t actually attain equality in society. Feminist texts aren’t meant to always end on a happy

note or give the reader a sense of achieved power, but they are meant to incite hope that women

are able to achieve political, social, economic, and personal equality for both of the sexes. In

reading this text as a feminist text it does the opposite: it incites anger and fear for women.

Therefore, ​Frankenstein,​ though it addresses feminist topics and issues, is an anti-feminist text.
 Works Cited

Beauvoir, Simone de. ​The Second Sex.​ New York: Vintage Books 1989, c1952. Print.

Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Johanna M. Smith. ​Frankenstein: Complete, Authoritative

Text with Biographical, Historical, and Cultural Contexts, Critical History, and Essays

from Contemporary Critical Perspectives.​ 3rd ed., Bedford/St. Martin's, 2016.

Woolf, Virginia. ​A Room of One's Own.​ New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1929. Print.