Matthew Vaughn

ENG 271
Dr. Theile
Literary Analysis
5/8/2013
The Untold Story:
A Literary Analysis of Female Characters in Frankenstein

In Mary Shelleys Frankenstein, the oppression of Elizabeth, Caroline, and Justine is
evident by using the theoretical lens of Feminism and Marxism. The three women chosen
represent three different women of the time and carry with them three different sets of issues
facing them. Feminism and Marxism are used to better exemplify the oppression each character
is exposed to. All three women have, in their own way, been Othered by the men of the story;
sometimes they are even used as pawns in the lethal game taking place between Victor and his
creature. By drawing on the theories developed by feminist critics like Simone de Beavoir,
Elaine Showalter, and Ulla Wischermann, one will begin to see the definite patriarchal
oppression that all three women of Frankenstein are confronted with. Furthermore, all three
women do not share the same social standing, despite being all women. There are bold and
noticeable lines drawn between the upper class and lower class of the novel, and the lives of
Elizabeth and Caroline do not reflect the life Justine. By examining terms and theories stemming
from Marxism, such as the Superstructure, ideologies, and false consciousness, another level of
oppression is revealed to the reader. Using these two literary theories next to each other will
create a contrast, making it easier to understand the causes, occurrences, and resolutions of the
struggles for Elizabeth, Caroline, and Justine.
First, one must look at Elizabeth, Caroline and Justine under a feminist perspective. In
1949, Simone de Beauvoir introduced the term Patriarchy, which means to be controlled by men.
The control of men within the world of Frankenstein (written 130 years before Beauvoir) is
evident by examining the three womens description by the male narrators. Elizabeth is described
as the perfect woman by Victor Elizabeth alone had the power to draw me from theses fits; her
gentle voice would soothe me when transported by passion, and inspire me with the human
feelings when sunk in torpor (190). Here it is important to note who is doing the describing.
Victor praises Elizabeth for her wonderful traits and countless other times hails her as the perfect
woman but what he means is that she is the perfect woman under the patriarchal society.
Caroline is described by Victor as well Everything was made to yield to her wishes and her
convenience. He [Victors father] strove to shelter her, as a fair exotic is sheltered by the
gardener, from every rougher wind, and to surround her with all that could tend to excite
pleasurable emotion in her soft and benevolent mind (30). In this passage, Caroline is described
more as a rare object that needs to be sheltered and protected. Instantly, Caroline is viewed as
inferior and needing protection, rather than allowed to be credible on her own merits. Justine is
described by Elizabeth, Justine, you may remember, was a great favorite of yours; and I
recollect you once remarked, that if you were in an ill-humor, one glace from Justine could
dissipate it (65).
It is important to make notes of these descriptions and, as previously stated, to understand
who is writing them. Simone de Beauvoir writes about how a patriarchal society makes women
an irrelevant Other compared to the relevant man. All three women have been made the
Other by different causes. Elizabeth has been swooped up and labeled as the Other since
birth and raised under the patriarchal construct by the Frankenstein family. In all likelihood she
was picked up as an orphan to eventually marry Victor. We know from the text that if it wasnt
for her beauty and lineage she would not have lived with the Frankensteins (35, 36). She was
then trained and applauded by Victor when she became a meek and obedient woman, in his eyes
she became the perfect woman by possessing beauty and obedience. Caroline, in a similar
fashion as Elizabeth, was also swooped up and assimilated into the Frankenstein family. The
difference here is that it was only Alphonse that Caroline was joining, but her beauty and
obedience gave her the same fate as Elizabeth. Caroline seems unconventional at first, which is
what attracted Alphonse in the first place (33), but by time Victor grows up she is once again
labeled as the perfect patriarchal woman. Justine was not a suitable wife to any of the
Frankensteins making her imperfect in the eyes of the patriarchal construct. However, like
Elizabeth and Caroline, her beauty and obedience landed her the praise of the men who were in
power. Victor praises her for how she does her job so lovingly and how beautiful she is. The
overlying theme is that all three of these women fir perfectly into the patriarchal scheme so it is
not wonder that they were heralded as perfect women by the dominant men. It was through this
heralding that they women slowly became the Other.
In an academic article entitled Feminist Theories on the Separation of the Private and
the Public: Looking Back, Looking Forward Ulla Wischermann discusses the effects of the
private and public spheres that patriarchy has created. They pursued a double perspective: on the
one hand, they forcefully tackled the problem of naturalizing and polarizing gender roles in
bourgeois society, critiqued the resulting marking of the private sphere as "woman's realm," in
which work is performed out of love, and reflected on the way boundaries between the private
and public are drawn in the context of patriarchal power structures (Wishermann 185). She talks
about the concept that in the patriarchal realm, women were intended to stay in the private sphere
and that their hard work would reflect in their husband while he is out in the public sphere
working. This concept was a genuinely accepted cultural norm around the time that Frankenstein
takes place and Elizabeth, Caroline and Justine were not exceptions. Elizabeth, as is Caroline, is
deeply obedient to Victor. Her countless letters and endless praise of him is solid evidence that
she has accepted her role as comforter and not leader. Caroline also was a comforter to Alphonse
and even Elizabeth when she fell ill. There is a bit of a contrast when comparing Justine to
Elizabeth and Caroline in this respect because Justine was not married, however she did look
after the Frankensteins private home to create a tranquil and acceptable home for Victor and
Alphonse. Justine served the men in their public life just as much as their wives did. All of this
points towards all three women continuing to be oppressed and pushed into an inferior role.
How the Men keep their power leads this analysis into the Marxist literary theories.
Marxism is unique in that it is not a literary theory to begin with but more of a social criticism
and it suggests a new social construct within itself. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels began
Marxism with The Communist Manifesto. In it they discussed how the Bourgeoisie (or upper-
class) has successfully enslaved the proletariat (or lower-class) by controlling their ideas of
reality. They make the point that the Bourgeoisie controls the dominant ideology or dominant
idea of the time. In Marxs example he claims the rich control the poor by using Capitalism
(dominant ideology) by exploiting the labor workers. The Bourgeoisie can manipulate the lower
class because of interpellation, which means to mislead the lower class into buying into the
dominant ideology, thus creating a false consciousness.
All of these terms tie into the scene we already have painted of the women in the
Frankenstein world. Men are controlling the dominant ideology of the day, which is patriarchy.
Before delving any further, it is absolutely paramount to understand that while Marxism and
Feminism complement each other in many ways, they are not the same criticism. Just because
the men control the dominant ideology does not make them the Bourgeoisie. The Bourgeoisie is
a term used by Marxist critics when talking about class and does not apply to simply a dominant
culture. That being said, the men control the women who would be classified as the inferior or
Other through the false consciousness that they give them. The men create this false
consciousness by praising the women so much, as we noticed through feminism. The women
themselves dont feel any pressure to change because every man around them is praising them
for being so good. What they dont realize is that this praise is entrapping them into the plan that
the men had created to enslave them. It is a system that is 100% exploitation and it is noticed
thoroughly by using Marxism along with Feminism.
Throughout the book, the women act with more authority than they truly have because of
their false consciousness, but there is one instance where this false consciousness is temporarily
broke. This instance is at Justines trail after she has been framed for the death of William.
Justine reveals to Elizabeth and Victor that she has falsely confessed to the murder of William.
Elizabeth does not seem worried and assures Justine that she can get her out of it, But do not
mourn, dear girl. Do not fear. I will proclaim, I will prove your innocence. (Shelley 87). It is
when Elizabeth does not get the reaction she was expecting; she sees how much power she truly
has. Furthermore it is important to note what Justines final words before she dies, Farewell,
sweet lady, dearest Elizabeth, my beloved and only friend (Shelley 89). This line is extremely
important. Justine claims Elizabeth is her only friend despite just acknowledging that Victor
thinks she is innocent as well. There is a brief moment of clarity that Elizabeth and Justine share;
where they realize how helpless they truly are in the grand scheme of the world and that there
was no escaping their fates.
Marxism serves as another alternative purpose alongside illuminating the methods of
oppression; it also shows how Elizabeth, Caroline, and Justines fates were decided basically at
birth. As stated before, all three women were beautiful, all three women were adopted, but only
two of them were allowed to move up into a higher social class. Elizabeth was described as
beautiful and a stock above the rest but there was no indication that she was going to adopted
until they found out her lineage. Once it was confirmed that she was a child of Milanese
nobleman, than she not only became a prospect for adoption but Caroline was already thinking
about her as a wife to Victor. Likewise, Caroline was actually of a lower class than Alphonse but
because Alphonse adored her father so much, she had a ticket into the upper class. This is the
similarity that Elizabeth and Caroline share; they both have a claim to the upper class.
Elizabeth has her father and so does Caroline. This fact holds true when Justine comes into the
story. She is just as beautiful and loving as Elizabeth and Caroline but she does not have any
legitimate claim to be in the upper class. The best the Frankensteins can do for her is to make her
a beloved servant. This proves that there really is no upward mobility for women of the 19
th

century, either they have the birth-rite to be upper class or they do not.
In conclusion, while not much is talked about Elizabeth, Caroline and Justine, much is
revealed through Feminism and Marxism as literary frames. All three women are oppressed and
manipulated in multiple different ways. Feminism shows how they are oppressed by forced to
live in complete obedience to men; if they break this social norm than they are shunned and
outcast from society. It also shows how the separate sphere of private and public lives created the
construct that the women were limited to. Their only power was to be able to comfort the man in
the private sphere when he got home from socializing in the public sphere. Marxism examines
the way men keep the power over the women and create a false consciousness to keep the
women calm and complacent. This consciousness is shattered for a brief moment before Justines
death; however Elizabeth eventually remains the same. Both of these theories combine shed a
new light to a story that is not told or alluded to in this classic novel, but it is nevertheless
relevant and could very well be more relevant to our generation than any other message in the
story.















Works Cited
Bressler, Charles. Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. 2nd Ed. Upper
Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1999. Print.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. London: Oxford University Press,
1969. Print.
Wischermann, Ulla. "Feminist Theories On The Separation Of The Private And The Public:
Looking Back, Looking Forward." Women In German Yearbook 20 (2004): 184-
197.Academic Search Premier. Web. 8 May 2013.