Although the women’s characters in Frankenstein are more underlying they are vital to the structure of the story

Although the womens pillowcases in Frankenstein atomic number 18 more underlying they ar full of life to the complex body firearm of the chronicle. Because non only do they add depth and give righteous guidance to the male person addresss such as Walton and passe-partout Frankenstein, they argon similarly full of kindness, compassion and social consciousness. This has the effect of stressing the vastness of taking look at of family and intimacy and especially feminine influences in your life in rear to retain both your humanity and sanity.They represent the good women of the world and rush it easier for the target audience of the time to identify with the story. Shelley excessively uses them to explore some(prenominal) themes such as the role of women in the guild of the time. For theoretical account the centering women were judged and valued only for their saucer and/or their usefulness to men. That the women in Frankenstein are not given a voice and that they seem not to shake up any opinions or power over their prospective, may be a comment from Shelley about the injustice of womens treatment in her society.Waltons letters to his sister Mrs Margaret Saville, name several effects. They make his account feel more personalized and believable for the get worder. Especially as the locations described in the novel are likely to be alien to them. The introduction of Mrs Saville, an English, middle shape, married woman, would buzz off make it easier for similar people to identify with the story and therefore experience the sluicets enveloping(prenominal) to home for them. The letters similarly stress the importance of family. For example in Letter One, Walton is feeling low and l wizardly and says I bitter feel the want of a sensation. I gestate no one near me gentle to approve or amend my plans. which stresses the importance of friendship and sharing for a persons mental well being and happiness. Then in Letter Two, after Walt on has happened upon victor, his spirits are significantly raised because he sees Victor as an equal and a potential friend. The letters also provide an early contrast between Walton and Victor and their attitudes.As Walton speaks of his judgment of conviction that a man could boast little happiness, who did not enjoy this blessing. and Victor replies I once had a friend, the most noble of human creatures only when I I drive home lost everything, . Therefore Shelley illustrates that by desire his sisters righteous guidance, reassurance and love and by valuing friendship, Walton is more humane than Victor who has sacrificed everything and everyone to pass on his goal. This may be a warning from Shelley of the possible disastrous consequences of isolation and the healing powers of friends and family. However, it is notable that Mrs Saville wishs a voice or opinion as her letters are not accommodated.Her insufficiency of voice may be a comment from Shelley that despite he r obvious importance to her brother and so to his well being, her voice, views and opinions are of little importance to the world at large. The story of Victors mother Caroline, stresses the fact that at the time of writing a womans future was dependent upon the men in her life. Beaufort, a good friend of Victors father, flees from society in shame when he loses his wealth and as a closure his health fails. As a consequence Caroline is forced to hold up him and take on menial work below her noble property in order for them to survive.That Victor says of his mother But Caroline Beaufort possess a mind of uncommon mould and here braveness travel to support her in her adversity. it may be a comment from Shelley, in that despite her situation as a lowly women she had the wit, intelligence and courage to find a right smart to survive with the need for a male supporter. Also it may be evidence of Shelleys disgust at how foul it was that a woman could only seek such low status an d low paid employment, despite possessing equal intelligence and strength of character as that of a man.Victors father clearly values friendship highly and goes to great effort to seek out his friend. When he eventually finds him, it is besides late to keep Beaufort but he rescues, and eventually marries, Caroline. Thus preservation her from what would almost certainly have been an initiation of poverty and hardship only when with no family and friends to support her. The character or Caroline also portrays the way women bring compassion and social consciousness into society, when Victor says of he parents Their pitying disposition often make them enter the cottages of the poor. and that to his mother it was more than a duty it was a necessity, a passion remembering what she had suffered and that she was so sympathize with and compassionate that she saw it has her duty -for her to in her turn be guardian angel to the afflicted. Indeed throughout the novel women are portr ayed as virtual angels lacking any malice or negative influences.They are innocent victims, who meet undesirable ends at the hands of and due to the passing(prenominal) and violent actions of men. It is Caroline who adopts Elizabeth on finding her in one of the cottages of the poor. It is notable, however, that it is not simply here angelic nature that leads her to this action but also Elizabeths groovy beauty and the rumours of her nobility. This is seen when it is said that by contrast to the four other dark-eyed, courageous little vagrants She appeared of different stock. as her hair was of the brightest living gold, her blue eye cloudless, and she was fairer than a garden rose among the dark-leaved brambles. So it is her beauty and the aforementioned rumours of a noble birth that save Elizabeth from a life of poverty.That she is given to Victor as a pretty present and Carolines wish that they should someday marry, is a further example of womens lack of power over th eir futures. Elizabeth is a vital character in the novel as she provides a contrast inwardly the Frankenstein family by which to compare Victor. Indeed Victor admits that she was of a calmer more unvoiced disposition than himself while his temper was sometimes violent and his passions vehement, . Indeed, it is Elizabeth who takes motherly certificate of indebtedness for the household when Caroline dies.However, despite this great responsibility she has little or no power. We also see the depth of Victors selfishness and disregard for others when despite the Creatures scourge to kill Elizabeth should Victor marry her, he goes ahead with it thus far. This action begs the promontory if he loved her at all why marry her and clothe her in mortal peril? As had he not gone(a) ahead with the marriage she may have survived. Again, excepting her letters, Elizabeth like Mrs Saville and Caroline lacks a voice.Further evidence of Victors disregard for others and the more compassiona te nature of Elizabeth is seen when Justine is wrongly accused of the murder of their brother William. For although Victor knows that it was the Creature that killed him, he does zipper for fear of the discovery misdeeds in creating the Creature in the first frame and also for fear of how it would appear to others. On the other hand Elizabeth, even though she has less of the facts, feels it is her moral responsibility as a friend to see justice is done.Aware of the detrimental affect it may have on her social standing and the evidence against Justine, in the form of the broach, she still speaks up for her in court to say that Justine had neither the nature, motive nor doer to commit such an awful crime. This is, yet further evidence of the lack of value Victor places on friendship, family, loyalty and justice compared to Elizabeth. Justine too is choose into the family, but is not as beautiful as Elizabeth and as a result, although she is a blood relation, she is treated as a s pecial retainer rather than a proper member of the family.This could be seen as a comment from Shelley on the cheating(prenominal)ness of the value put on beauty and the unfairness of a class system that judges a persons moral worth by using their beauty and class position as a guide. Justines name may also be a process on words, in that is resembles Justice and ironically she receives non. Instead she is forced to cede to a crime she did not commit in order to save her soul. Justines character also illustrates the influence of the writings of Godwin on social and governmental justice and her mothers feminist works on Shelleys view of both semipolitical and female injustice within the society of the day.Both Safie and Agatha also act as and important role, as it is by observing them that the Creature haves about numerous aspects of life. For example the Creature discovers deeper emotions within himself when he sees Agatha cry and hears man make music for the first time. Howe ver, the arrival of Safie is vital to the story as she provides a way for him to learn much more. Because she speaks a different language and is from a different culture, it is necessary for Agatha and her father to teach her their language and customs.By auditory sense and observing her tuition, the Creature is able to gain a better fellow feeling of the language and with the addition the some books he happens upon in the forest he learns to determine. Also, due to Mr DeLaceys minute attention to detail and eagerness to teach Safie as much as possible, the Creature gains valuable knowledge of many subjects. These include some history, a broader view of the world and its empires , governments, religion, death, the difference between the sexes and the importance of family.He also learns more about the structure of society and the class system for example the value of possessions/wealth, lineage and family connections in relation to a persons place within society. Armed with this knowledge he begins to understand that as he has neither family, wealth nor possessions that he has little or no status within society and this compounded with his ugliness saddens him greatly. His ability to read also means that he is able to read Victors journal and learn of his creation, which is obviously vital as his memory of his creation was incomplete.His ability to read and the geographical knowledge he gains from Safies tuition also helps him in his depend for Victor. However, Safie is and important character for other reasons to. In that her escape from non-Christian Asia and an undesirable existence in a Harem, to a Christian culture where by compare women are free and allowed to take rank in society, may be a comment from Shelley that although the fate of women in the western world is unfair their fate is worse in some other cultures and religions.Safies story also gives the Creature hope as he sees that although her father was very unkind to the DeLacey family the y welcome her into their home all the same. It is also a classic romantic tale of how love can conquer all, which would have appealed to the readership. In conclusion, I do not agree that the women in Frankenstein play an insignificant part in the story. Indeed without them the male characters would lack depth and the novel would have been less appealing to its audience. They bring the far away and foreign locations closer to home and make what is often an unbelievable story more believable.Without Safies character the Creature would not have been able to learn so easy or convincingly. Also Shelleys views about womens contribution to the balance of society, their relative lack of power, freedom or control over their futures when compared to men could not have been expressed so strongly. Her point that society tends to judge people by appearances and wealth rather than their moral character and the misconceptions this causes could not have been made so convincingly. Overall I belie ve the story is strengthened and made more complete by their existence.