Frankenstein by Mary Shelly

Essay by jeanpabloB, March 2009

download word file, 5 pages 5.0

The reality of pain, anguish, a tormented soul and suffering are all part of our day to day lives. The cause of these negative experiences may come from a variety of reasons like hardships, emotional and physical loss and a great sense of deprivation. These philosophies are very much true especially in the novel of Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. The story captures extreme unbearable suffering which is caused by living within the bounds of any given societal norms. It is very often that these realities of suffering are inflicted upon people by other people as well. Mary Shelly points this out from the prejudice of her contemporary society. The mad scientist Victor Frankenstein is treated with respect and dignity, while his creation is mistreated as a social outcast. As such, the reason of prejudice is from an impulse dictated into the minds by society. It is the intention of this paper to discuss how this novel handles the philosophy of the suffering of an individual.

I will discuss this philosophy by explaining the interconnecting cultural beliefs of gender, class, and ethnicity or appearance during that time.

The way different groups are organized to belong to a social construct can be affected by gender expectations. This creates inequalities between both male and females with their own roles and expectations. The novel Frankenstein was written in 1816 where it was set against the norms of a patriarchal system. As such, Victor Frankenstein is seen to assert his expectations of a man transgressing into those of a female who is a nurturer of life through motherhood. This is seen when he fails to do so properly rejecting his creation; "After days and nights of incredible labour and fatigue, I succeeded but I escaped, and rushed down stairs" (p. 61). Here, one can see...