Summary:
The female characters in Mary Shelley's classic novel "Frankenstein" are linked closely to the male characters. Also, character sketches of Mrs. Margaret Saville, Elizabeth Lavenza, and Justine Moritz in the novel and their importance to the novel's central themes.
Can you imagine Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's Frankenstein, the great work of literature, without, for example, such female characters as Mrs. Margaret Saville, Elizabeth Lavenza, and Justine Moritz? In this case the novel will have no meaning. All the women help to develop the plot, and without them Frankenstein will lose its spirit. Although these heroines have a lot in common in their characters: they are all strong-willed, kind, careful, and selfless, at the same time, each of them is unique, and each plays her own role in the novel. Mrs. Margaret Saville is the woman to whom the narrator tells the story. Elizabeth Lavenza is the beloved of Victor Frankenstein. Justine Moritz is the heroine who is accused by mistake of murdering William and executed instead of the fiend. There is close connection between the female and male characters, and if we break it, Frankenstein will have no sense. The author of the novel, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly, characterizes the women in the same way as the men, and shows that they are independent players. So, the female characters in Frankenstein are as important as the male ones.
Mrs. Margaret Saville is the person to whom Robert Walton, the narrator, writes his letters. We know nothing directly about her life, world outlook, or habits, but we can imagine her feelings about the enterprise of her brother, her alarm, and fear. What can she feel when she reads the following words from her brother: "You will not hear of my destruction, and you will anxiously await my return. Years will pass, and you will have visitings of despair, and yet be tortured by hope" (1027)? These words can stir up only bitterness, and inflict spiritual wounds. We cannot read what she writes in reply to Robert Walton's letters. The author does not give us even the portrait of this young lady. Nevertheless, we feel her presence in the novel, and can foresee the possible answers, where her brother seems to find moral support. She is a thread which connects him with civilization, and life. "The sickening failings of her heart-felt expectations [in the case if he will die] are, in prospect, more terrible to [her brother] than [his] own death" (1027). She is an invisible, but necessary heroine for the plot's development. The correspondence between Robert Walton and his sister, which is one of the artistic means of expressiveness, awakens the reader's interest in the narration. So, the image of Mrs. Margaret Saville is as important as the image of the narrator.
Elizabeth Lavenza is another important character of the novel. We know the story of her life from the beginning to the end, and can notice that she changes during the narration. In the beginning, the only daughter of the deceased sister of Victor Frankenstein's father, "she [is] docile and good tempered, yet gay and playful as a summer insect" (923). She is yet a child, she does not realize the complexity of life, and does not know what suffering is. The character of Elizabeth becomes apparent when the mother of Frankenstein has died. Then "she [is] continually endeavoring to contribute to the happiness of others, entirely forgetful of herself" (927). When Frankenstein returns to Geneva after the death of Henry Clerval, he sees a new change in Elizabeth. "She [is] thinner, and [has lost] much of that heavenly vivacity that [has] before [charmed him]; but her gentleness, and soft looks of compassion, [makes] her a more fit companion for one blasted and miserable as [he is]" (1014). The changes in Elizabeth show the general feeling of the work. Making the heroine "a more fit companion" (1014) for Frankenstein the author gives us an idea that she is a reflection of the main hero, and every change in her is a change in the state of Frankenstein's soul. At the same time, we cannot consider Elizabeth Lavenza to be a mere appendage to the male character, because she turns out more courageous, more responsible than he is. She in contrast to Victor Frankenstein dedicates herself to people that she loves. Her death which is a turning point in the novel shows that she is an independent player. It makes Frankenstein to begin the fight against the fiend. Thus, the image of Elizabeth Lavenza is as important as the image of Victor Frankenstein.
Justine Moritz is a symbol of unjust and cruel relation of a man to a man. Firstly, she suffers from her mother who accuses her of "having caused the deaths of her brothers and sister" (940), and then she is accused of murdering little William. We can compare her to the fiend whom his creator also accuses of killing his father, brother, friend, and wife, although we cannot consider the monster innocent. Justine and the fiend are both unhappy. The people closest to them reject them, and give them to understand that they are neglected. The difference between them is that Justine, unlike the monster, is "extremely pretty" (940), yet this cannot save her from injustice. When the young girl begins to realize that her mother does not love her, "grief [gives] softness and a winning mildness to her manners, which [have] before [been] remarkable for vivacity" (940). As far as the fiend is concerned, the understanding of the fact that nobody loves him has the opposite effect making him aggressive and uncontrollable. Although both these heroes suffer from other's cruelty, they are antipodes. The heroine resigns herself to her fate while the monster tries to struggle with injustice using the same unjust and cruel methods. So, with the image of Justine Moritz the author shows that beauty does not save an individual from misfortunes, and sometimes appearance is only a pretence to justify the ugliness of the soul. That is why the image of Justin Moritz is as important as the image of the fiend.
Mrs. Margaret Saville, Elizabeth Lavenza, and Justine Moritz are in different class positions. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly does not give us the information about the education of Mrs. Margaret Saville, and her occupation, but we can suppose that she, like Robert Walton, is self educated. We can also suppose that her life as well as the life of her brother "has been passed in ease and luxury" (914)Elizabeth Lavenza receives the same education as Victor Frankenstein. Their "studies [are] never forced... Perhaps [they don't read] so many books, or [learn] languages so quickly...; but what [they learn is] impressed the more deeply on [their] memories" (923). Justine Moritz, in contrast to Mrs. Margaret Saville, and Elizabeth Lavenza, "[learns] the duties of a servant; a condition which, in our fortunate country {Switzerland}, does not include the idea of ignorance, and sacrifice of the dignity of a human being" (939). Like Justine Moritz the fiend is also born to be a servant but the servant of his creator: the monster describes himself as "[Frankenstein's] creature and ... will be even mild and docile to [his] natural lord and King, if [Frankenstein] wilt also perform [his] part, the which thou owest me" (960). Therefore, there is a new link between female and male characters, which shows that they are all equal heroes of the novel. They are closely connected to each other, and it helps the reader to follow the author's thought and understand the main idea of the work.
Another evidence of the fact that the female images in the novel are as important as the male ones is that the women are characterized in the same way as the men. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly uses the same methods to create the female images, and makes them even better than the male ones. It seems, for example, that the women are more positive, more selfless, purer characters than the men. While Victor Frankenstein thinks about his own misfortunes, Elizabeth Lavenza dedicates herself to her uncle and brothers. In contrast to Justine Moritz the fiend because of injustice to him begins to murder people. The only exception is Robert Walton, who harms nobody and tries to help Victor Frankenstein encouraging him and giving hope that everything will be okay. Nevertheless, what should his sister feel, when he writes to her that there is almost no chance to return alive at home? "We may survive; and if we do not, I will repeat the lessons of my Seneca, and die with a good heart" (1027). So, all the female images in the novel have strong character what we cannot say about all the male ones, and, moreover, the women in Frankenstein are not as selfish as the men because they think not only about themselves.
You can argue with me that the fact that the author of the novel is a woman plays an important role. I agree with you, but want to add that even if the author of this work of literature were a man, it would not have an influence on the importance of female images. Let's again imagine Frankenstein without Mrs. Margaret Saville, Elizabeth Lavenza, or Justine Moritz. First of all, the author cannot use the epistolary form, and even if she uses it making the addressee of Robert Walton a man, the novel will be less expressive and interesting. The presence of a woman adds romanticism to the novel. The narrator has to use more details, and he does not miss the opportunity to complain of his bad position. He needs kindness, and understanding, and who else if not a woman can give them to him? Then, who will take care of Frankenstein's family if there is not Elizabeth Lavenza? Or, what will be the last drop of Frankenstein's patience if there is not the murder of Elizabeth, "so dear, so worthy" (1017) for the main hero? And last, how can Shelley show that even if you are very beautiful you can be unhappy, if there is no Justine Moritz"
As far as the female images in Shelley's Frankenstein they have too much common with the male characters, and at the same time they completely differ from them. Do you know why Frankenstein "has become a central text in feminist studies" (906)? The most distinguishing feature of the novel is that there are no negative heroines. The monster is a man; his creator is also a man, and what about woman? Beautiful young girls surprise us displaying courage in the most difficult moments of their lives, while some male characters complain without end about their unhappiness. The females parry blows of fate with fortitude even in the face of the death as Justine Moritz does. Some of them are also miserable, but they try not to show their feelings, encouraging others and taking care of them. They act independently. Are they supporting players? I suppose only in the meaning of moral support.
To conclude let's summarize the main points which show that the female images in Frankenstein are as important as the male ones. There is a close link between men and women in the novel. If we break it, the novel will lose its meaning. The images of Mrs. Margaret Saville, Elizabeth Lavenza, Justine Moritz, and the images of Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein, and the fiend supplement each other. If we take one of them away, Frankenstein's plot will be different. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley uses the same methods to create the male and female characters, and makes women even more positive, selfless, and purer, than men. The presence of women adds romanticism to the novel, without which Frankenstein loses its spirit. Mrs. Margaret Saville, Elizabeth Lavenza, and Justin Moritz act independently, and in the most difficult moments of their lives they encourage the men, and take care of them forgetting about themselves. So, both the female and the male characters in Frankenstein are important, and we cannot manage without them. The only question about the position of women in the novel remains open: if the author of Frankenstein were a man, would the fiend become a woman?
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