This novel demonstrates the difference between Shelley's unconventional life and the way in which Elizabeth and Justine are portrayed. The two women of the text are shown as pathetic and reliant in the men around them. Elizabeth's appearance is also stereotypical, the hair of `brightest living gold' and `blue eyes cloudless... her lips... so expressive of sensibility and sweetness...' demonstrating once more the angelic nature and predictable role in the text. However, there are some references in the text, which are attributed to the stereotypical one-dimensional nature of women. The `pillar of strength' Elizabeth becomes is a reversal of the dependant female function in society, Rather than the male offering solace to the female, Elizabeth is there to assist Frankenstein through his `darkest hours.' In this manner, she becomes a heroine, however unrealistic and distant she seems.

The demonstration of Elizabeth as a `promised gift' is...