Essay about Homosexuality and Misogyny in Frankenstein

Perhaps the most interesting event in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is the perverse dream that Victor Frankenstein experiences after he brings the creature to life. Examination of the dream through Freudian theories on sexual motivation and the Oedipal Complex provide insight to the actions and character of Mary Shelley's protagonist. Further examination also reveals the reason for Victor's actions and character and how each affects his relationship with those closest to him.

Victor thinks that the monster will try to kill him on his wedding night, but he doesn’t think of a scenario where the monster kills Elizabeth instead. 5. Tell how victor tries to protect himself from the

	Near the end of the novel, the Monster requests from Victor to create for him, a female counterpart. When the Monster says, "You must create a female for me, with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being. This you alone can do; and I do demand it of you as a right which you must not refuse to concede"(140). The Monsters longing for a person he can communicate with is very important. It

Victor tells the reader, “I was seized by remorse and the sense of guilt, which hurried me away to a hell of intense tortures.” (NEED CITATION) Because of this overpowering guilt and depression, Victor even contemplates suicide; saying, “I was tempted to plunge into the silent lake, that the waters might close over me and my calamities forever.” (81). But throughout all of his suffering, Victor found hope and love in Elizabeth. In one of the letters he wrote to her, he proclaims, “I fear, my beloved girl, little happiness remains for us on earth; yet all that I may one day enjoy is centered in you.” (168). In this statement of love, Victor summarizes what he has to live for. His happiness does not remain in science, friendships, or family; but resides in his future with Elizabeth. He later talks about the last moments of his life during which he enjoyed the genuine feeling of happiness, his wedding. While alive, Elizabeth had been his greatest lover, encouraging him through all of his darkest valleys. And even in her passing, the vengeance of her death consumes Victor’s mind, dedicating his life to kill the horrific Monster which he had created.

One of the threats of creating a mate for the monster lies in the female’s physical ability to procreate. Victor is afraid that the female and the monster will produce children, with or without his approval. Through her feminine body, the female could unleash "a race of devils … who might make the very existence of the species of man a condition precarious and full of terror" (Shelley 144). She is the crucial element in naturally bringing about such offspring, for without the female, the monster is rendered impotent, unable to cause any more harm than he alone can inflict. If the female chooses to accept the role as mother and mate, together she and the monster can produce a generation of offspring taught to despise mankind as deeply as their predecessors. Victor recognizes the power the female has over man solely through her ability to bear children, because through this ability the female can do just as Victor does -- create life, naturally

Was Victor Frankenstein a closeted homosexual? Does his more than friendly feelings towards Henry Clerval and his reluctance towards marriage suggest something about his sexuality not explicit in the text? In the novel, the main character, Victor is suggested to be a homosexual through many of his character’s developing plot points, his personal insecurities, and his reluctance towards marriage with Elizabeth. Frankenstein has long standing been a debate about “people playing god”, and “the effect of nature vs nurture”, but the questioning of Victor’s sexuality remains relatively untouched. However, there are many contextual clues that suggest Victor Frankenstein may in fact be gay. With the corroboration of many scholars and professors, along with given historical context of gothic-era text and Mary Shelley’s own life, there is evidence to suggest that there is a reason for his ambiguous sexuality.

Parallel to the time-period, Elizabeth seems to exist by and through Victor’s perception of her. She is his property, and he takes her in as gift. He looked at Elizabeth as, “mine- mine to protect, love, and cherish,” (Shelley, 18). It is also interesting to note that her presence in the house

Throughout the text, Victor’s experiments and the Creature he creates continue to take a toll on his relationship with Elizabeth, eventually ending up with her violently dying on their wedding night - twice. This utter devastation of the relationship between Victor and Elizabeth caused by conflict communicate to the viewer the immense danger of obsession, creating a clear warning and fulfilling the director’s purpose.

Secondly, in this novel, the female characters rely heavily on men for support and survival. Furthermore, society views the female characters as delicate beings that can not survive by themselves. As a result, they need a man to protect, cherish and provide for them. In fact, all of the female characters have a male character to which they depend on. First of all, Caroline is unable to survive after her father’s death and as a result, marries Alphonse. Alphonse “came like a protecting spirit to the poor girl.” (Pg. 18) This simile compares Alphonse to a hero and Caroline to the weak and desperate women that she is portrayed as. Furthermore, Alphonse takes care of Caroline “as a fair exotic is sheltered by her gardener, from every rougher wind.”(Pg. 19) This metaphor describes Caroline to be a “fair exotic” who is treated like a possession rather than a capable human being. By making this comparison, Shelly alludes to the idea that the female characters are as delicate as flowers and they can’t survive without the male characters. This is true in both Justine and Elizabeth’s case. Justine is dependant on Victor to free her from the accusations.

Victor’s first possessive experience with a relationship imprinted-how his next relationships throughout his life would go. After going away to school, Victor felt quite isolated and longed for a friend or an equal. He obsessed over the thought of possessing an equal to the point of him bringing a creature to life. He dedicated all of his energy and time into creating the ultimate equal who was beautiful and as intelligent as he, but immediately after the creature came to life, Victor was disgusted: “I felt the bitterness of disappointment; dreams that had been my food and pleasant rest for so long a space were now become a hell to me” (Shelley, 59,60). Drawing back to the fact Victor’s family is privileged, I believe the

Throughout the novel, Victor Frankenstein uses strong affectionate language toward other male characters. Thus, Victor can be viewed as having many mancrushes as time progresses, which can be viewed as the beginning of his feelings of being gay. When Victor creates the monster, the monster could be a result of him manifesting his feelings for other men. The monster could be what Victor put all of his gay feelings into, instead of sharing the strange feelings. By creating the monster, Victor is concealing his feelings in one place, giving him a sense of safety in which his feelings

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a story that tells of the supernatural ideas in the Romantic Era. The novel tells of a story of a scientist named, Victor Frankenstein, who creates life. He creates what is known throughout the novel as, the Creature. This creature is composed of body parts found in a grave yard as well as all of the insecurities Victor sees in himself. After creating this new life, Victor realizes it was a horrible idea, and the creature begins to wreak havoc on Victor’s life after his creator’s abandonment. Throughout the novel we notice a lot of displays of both masculine vs feminine characteristics. After reading the novel the reader is able to understand that the different displays of gender characteristics influenced the protagonists

Supplement 2: The monster kills Elizabeth as an act of revenge on Victor. Elizabeth had absolutely nothing to do with how society shuns the ugly monster nor how Victor treated the monster horrifically. The monster should have directly hurt Victor physically instead of associating others in such act.