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Kendall O¶Connor
ENGL 251: The 19th Century British Gothic
Professor Jeff Edwards
February 15, 2011

Feminism in r
: Loss of Life and the Landscape


The ubiquitous lack of autonomous female figures in r
may initially lead us

to read Mary Shelley¶s most popular novel as a chauvinist text. Shelley¶s plot hinges on a man¶s

usurpation of parturition, while there is a striking lack of female agency, autonomy, and action

throughout the course of the story²especially when we consider the fact that Shelley is the

daughter of feminist pioneer Mary Wollstonecraft. However, the outcomes of each of

r
  female characters reveal the consequences of feminine passivity. Additionally,

the feminization of powerful, awe-inspiring landscapes assertsShelley¶sveneration of strong,

independent women.

Little differentiation is made among Shelley¶s submissive female figures, yet this

consistent subservience is always aligned with negative conclusions.Elizabeth Lavenza, the

primary female in the novel,is immediately marked as docile: ³no one could submit with more

grace than she did to constraint and caprice« she appeared the most fragile creature in the

world´ (Shelley, 65). Though this ³constraint´ and ³fragility´ is universally admired in

r
(³Every one adored Elizabeth´), Elizabeth¶s stereotypically feminine ³virtues´ do

not keep her from misfortune (66). Rather, Elizabeth resigns herself to the care of the

Frankenstein family, and this compliance is subsequently plagued by hardship. Elizabeth spends

the majority of the narrative waiting for the novel¶s protagonist, Victor Frankenstein, to marry

her. She even admits to Victor, ³µWe all« depend on you. And if you are miserable, what must

be our feelings?¶´ (179). Elizabeth is devoted to Victor to the point that his emotions dictate her

own. This degree of commitment may have been appreciated by pre-Victorian societal standards,
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yet Shelley chooses to have Victor¶s vengeful monster murder Elizabeth on her marriage

bed.The choice of setting for Elizabeth¶s death is telling, as Shelley implies that a life dedicated

to another will only result in tragedy.

Like Elizabeth, each conventionally passive female character is extinguished as

r
progresses. At the start of the novel, we are briefly introduced to Victor¶s mother,

Caroline Beaufort. Though Caroline is first characterized asan independent woman that

³possessed a mind of an uncommon mould« She procured plain work« and by various means

contrived to earn a pittance,´ her sovereignty vanishes once she becomes a wife (65). We do not

hear of Caroline after her marriage until she falls sick with scarlet fever, and inertly surrenders to

her illness: ³µI will endeavor to resign myself cheerfully to death,¶´ she says, and instantaneously

passes away (72). Later, Justine Moritz is wrongfully condemned to the gallows for William

Frankenstein¶s murder, yet Victor notes, ³She indeed gained the resignation she desired´ before

her death (115). Like Elizabeth and Caroline, Justine accepts her circumstances tamely, and this

acquiescence consequently eliminates her from the storyline.

Shelley chooses to use the natural world as her model for an ideal female, as opposed to

an actual woman. Women in r
 fail to obtain agency and longevity within the novel,

yet Shelley imbues her description of nature with both powerful and feminine qualities. On a

linguistic level, feminine adjectives are ascribed to the landscape, as initially demonstrated by

Victor¶s recount, ³µI pursued nature to

 hiding places¶´ (82). Victor later observes, ³at a

distance, surmounting all, the beautiful Mont Blanc, and the assemblage of snowy mountains that

in vain endeavor to emulate

 ´ (215). However, these grammatical decisions only initiate the

vigorous femininity about Shelley¶s landscape. What is equally feminine about the environment

in r
is its maternal attribute. Biologically, the role of a female is to engender life;
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with this in mind, it is interesting to note that r
 women are all aligned with death.

However, though the novel¶s central female figures culminate in fatality, the natural world both

inspires and enlivens its inhabitants.The fact that nature is both motherly and commanding at

once sheds light on the positive aspects of an assertive femininity.

When Shelley expresses the beautiful, tender, restorative qualities of the landscape, she

often relays the grandeur and strength it declares as well. For example, when Victor arrives at

Chamounix to rejoin his family, he is struck by nature¶s affectionate and awesome

characteristics. As the Frankensteins visit the valley of the Arve, Victor recalls, ³These sublime

and magnificent scenes afforded me the greatest consolation that I was capable of receiving«

although they did not remove my grief, they subdued and tranquilized it« The sight of the awful

and majestic in nature had indeed always the effect of solemnizing my mind´ (122-123).

Language such as ³consolation,´ ³subdued,´ ³tranquilized,´ and ³solemnizing´ suggest a

soothing quality that is typically ascribed to females. On the other hand, ³sublime,´

³magnificent,´ ³awful´ and ³majestic´ have a far more aggressive and potent connotation. When

these seemingly opposed features come together, however, Victor is elevated from feeling

³miserable´ to being ³filled with a sublime ecstasy that gave wings to the soul´ (123).Though the

women in r
are consistently correlated with death, the forceful, feminine landscape

breathes life into Victor. In this way, Shelley displays the advantages of a strong and sovereign

female.

The maternal qualities in the natural world not only resuscitate Victor, but also rejuvenate

Victor¶s monster and Victor¶s companion, Henry Clerval. Though the creature describes how

³all within me was turned to gall and bitterness,´ he affirms the power of nature when he

describes the effect of the ³loveliness of the sunshine and the balminess of the air. I felt emotions
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of gentleness and pleasure, that had long appeared dead, revive in me´ (165). Later, when Victor

and Henry reunite, Victor notes, Henry ³was alive to every scene« He pointed out to me the

shifting colours of the landscape, and the appearances of the sky. µThis is what it is to live;¶ he

cried, µnow I enjoy existence!¶´ (179). If we are to accept r
  gendered

representation of nature, it is clear to see that Mary Shelley constructs a binary between passive

female/death and forceful female/life. Shelley¶s viewpoint toward submissive females is clearly a

pessimistic one, as each expires with pain and suffering. However, a sublime, feminine

landscape reinstates and perpetuates life.

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Works Cited

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Ed. D.L. MacDonald and Kathleen Scherf. Ontario: Broadview
Press, 1999.