Carolina Seplveda G.

English Literature III

April 12, 2011
MARY SHELLEY CRITICISES FEMALE GENDER V/S MALE GENDER
Based on her novel Frankense!n"
Mary Godin Shelley as living in a !hanging orld during the nineteenth !entury. "er #ather, $illia%
Godin as an intelle!tual and philosopher, #ree thin&er and ith revolutionary attitudes pro #e%inis%.
"er %other as the #e%inist riter Mary $ollstone!ra#t' un#ortunately her %other died #e days a#ter
Mary as (orn, (ut she got her literary lega!y. Shelley as (rought up in a high !ultural environ%ent
hi!h %ade her have a ide !lear and intelle!tually spea&ing open %ind. $hen Shelley gre up she got
%arried ith a ell)&non poet *er!y Shelley, ho enhan!ed Mary stand, and helped her to develop her
riting.
So, involved on the environ%ent Mary Shelley ould have pro(a(ly as&ed hersel# so%e o# these
#olloing +uestions, Are %en (etter than o%en- .o o%en have (etter nature than %en- $ould so!iety
have the possi(ility to !hange and %a&e it (etter i# o%en !ould rule it- Are %en suita(le to have the
responsi(ility o# having the !o%%and o# the orld, the so!iety, the #a%ily- or o%en are (etter to ta&e
this position- /his essay ill prove in the !onte0t o# the (oo& hat Mary Shelley shoed a(out these
+uestions.
At that ti%e, Shelley rote in her novels everything a(out the roles o%en had in the so!iety as a %irror
o# it. /hen, o%en roles ere 1ust to 2have &ids and (eing in the &it!hen here they (elonged to3, as it is
said in Chilean Spanish.
Mary Shelley pu(lished in another o# her novels 2/he Last Man3, 24e%inist !riti!s have paid attention to
its #antasy o# the total !orrosion o# patriar!hal order3, that %a&es us thin& a(out the #e%inine so!ial
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!o%%on !on!ern at those ti%es and so the position she too& hi!h is shon !learly on her novels and
supported in 4ran&enstein.
/he position is as #ollos, 2#e%inine nature is (etter #or %a&ing the surviving o# the so!iety v5s %as!uline
one.3
In the novel' Shelley strongly !riti!i6es the so!iety ruled (y %en. She shos the opposite to that, through
riting that all o%en are unsel#ish, loving #a%ily, !ourageous and put their interests (ehind o# the others
and all #or love, and all #or their relatives and #riends hi!h should (e the (ase o# our so!iety, the #a%ily.
/o support this, there are so%e sa%ples that sho this thesis.
7ne good sa%ple is that o%en are %ore resilient than %en. 7ne o# the !hara!ters !alled Caroline or&ed
hard, supplied #or the #a%ily and too& !are o# her #ather until his death (ut his #ather !ould not #a!e to
have lost everything and due to his pride and depression he as not a(le to get (etter hi!h !aused hi%
not to re!over. "e as ea&er than her. 8*.29, 2:;
Moreover, o%en give everything even their on li#e #or the #a%ily. Caroline loo&ed a#ter Eli6a(eth
hen she got the s!arlet #ever and although she as not her on (iologi!al daughter she too& the ris& o#
that 8at that ti%e it as very dangerous;. /hat event got an a#ul (ad !onse+uen!e hi!h as her death.
8*.<=; Instead, in the !ase o# >i!tor ho !reated the %onster that !ould have (een !onsidered as his son
(ut it happened that he !ould not stand the responsi(ility on hi%, and even denied to loo& at the %onster?s
#a!e and ran aay #ro% hi%. 8*.9=;
Also, o%en are %ore honest than %en. /hat is proved hen @ustine died due to an in1usti!e. She as
de!lared guilty #or the %urder o# $illia% and even though she had said the truth, she assu%ed she as
against all proves. >i!tor &ne the truth (ut !ould not a##ord to lose his reputation on the #a!t that he
!ould (e !onsidered %ad or guilty o# that %urder, as a !onse+uen!e, he did not even try to !lear that in the
(eginning o# the trial. /here#ore, @ustine lost her li#e and despite #eeling the re%orse he (ut did not lose
his reputation. 8*.=0;
2
7n the other hand, Sa#ie as generous and honest (ut her #ather on the !ontrary as greedy and did not
&eep his ord a#ter the agree%ent %ade ith 4eli0 (y hi!h his daughter?s hand ould (e given to 4eli0,
and through that the /ur& es!aped to a sa#er pla!e hile Sa#ie resigned to everything to &eep her ord and
also ent to #ind 4eli0 8*.1<A; leaving everything, #ather, %oney and a (etter standard o# living, versus
the /ur& #ather?s (etrayal 8*.1BA;.
4urther%ore, >i!tor?s (eloved, Eli6a(eth had to ait to years &noing nothing a(out hi% until she
rote hi% a letter trying to #igure out i# he as in love ith her 8*.22=; (ut >i!tor as only #o!used and
o(sessed ith his e0peri%ents and he 1ust le#t apart everything even his on (eloved, #a%ily, #riends or
any other else #or to years.
As a part o# the end o# the story, inno!ent Eli6a(eth died due to a revenge !aused (y >i!tor. She assu%ed
the !ost o# his deed and >i!tor as the real guilty one. "e had provo&ed all those events. 8*.2B0, 2B1;.
/o su% up, !o%ing (a!& to the +uestions at the (eginning o# this essay, ith all this eviden!e shon, it
see%s to (e !learly a !riti!is% done (y Shelley a(out this %atter hat i%plies that she thought %ale
gender shos sel#ishness, insatia(le a%(ition, total destru!tion due to its ea&nesses, (etraying,
greediness, violen!e and the need o# &noledge. And the (oo& has lots o# sa%ples, that poli!y destroys the
%ale !hara!ters and on the !ontrary o%en appeared as the supporters o# the so!iety trying to (ring the
ne!essary tran+uility to their lives, though, #e%inine nature has values o# en!ourage%ent, #riendship,
do%esti!ity, love, !ooperation, !o%passion and !are ) and the %ost i%portant thing hi!h is the #lag and
the !oat o# ar%s #or that gender, save the #a%ily no %atter the !ost' there#ore, the position is !lear,
2#e%inine nature is (etter #or %a&ing the surviving o# the so!iety v5s %as!uline one.3

Ci(liography,
.!!gedi!iones.!o%5SalaDdeDEstar5Ciogra#Eas5MaryShelley.ht%
.&ir1asto.s!i.#i5%shelley.ht%
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.en.i&ipedia.org5i&i5MaryDShelley
.lo!alhistories.org5vi!o%en.ht%l
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