In academia, 15 years can see a variety of interpretations of even the most famous scholarly novels. Here, witness the best academia has debating the gender and sexual orientation of Dr. Victor Frankenstein, along with his motives and feelings.
Table of Contents
- Critique One: Ellen Moers' "Female Gothic: The Monster's Mother"
- Critique Two: Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar's "Mary Shelley's Monstrous Eve"
- Critique Three: Gayatri Spivak's "Frankenstein and a Critique of Imperialism"
- Critique Four: Anne Mellor's "Possessing Nature: The Female in Frankenstein"
- Critique Five: Susan Winnett's "Coming Unstrung: Women, Men, Narrative, and Principles of Pleasure"
Objectives and Key Themes
This text presents a series of critical essays analyzing Mary Shelley's Frankenstein from various feminist and postcolonial perspectives. The main objective is to explore how different critical lenses illuminate the novel's complex themes and reveal its enduring relevance.
- The role of women in Gothic literature and the biographical context of Mary Shelley's life.
- Feminist interpretations of the novel, examining gender roles, power dynamics, and the representation of female characters.
- Postcolonial perspectives on imperialism and its manifestation within the narrative.
- The interplay between nature and nurture, and the consequences of unchecked ambition.
- Psychoanalytic readings of the text, focusing on the pleasure principle and its application to literary analysis.
Chapter Summaries
Critique One: Ellen Moers' "Female Gothic: The Monster's Mother": This critique analyzes Frankenstein through the lens of female Gothic literature, highlighting Mary Shelley's unique biographical context—her experiences with motherhood and loss—as crucial to understanding the novel. Moers argues that Frankenstein functions as a "birth myth," reflecting Shelley's personal struggles and challenging conventional narratives of creation and motherhood. The essay emphasizes the significant contributions of women to the Gothic genre and posits that Frankenstein, while not necessarily a great novel, is undeniably original in its exploration of the overreacher theme and its realistic, albeit unconventional, portrayal of the birth process.
Critique Two: Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar's "Mary Shelley's Monstrous Eve": This essay interprets Frankenstein as a female Romantic reimagining of Paradise Lost, drawing parallels between Victor, the monster, and Walton as figures who have "fallen" from grace and grapple with their place in a fallen world. Gilbert and Gubar argue that Victor embodies both Adam and Eve, transferring the role of Eve to the monster. They highlight the monster's self-education as mirroring Shelley's own experiences learning from male Romantic authors, emphasizing the challenges faced by female authors in a male-dominated society. The critique further connects the monster's hideousness to societal anxieties surrounding the female body and the societal pressures faced by unmarried pregnant women during that period.
Critique Three: Gayatri Spivak's "Frankenstein and a Critique of Imperialism": Spivak examines the "incidental imperialist sentiment" within Frankenstein, focusing on elements like Clerval's plans for colonial involvement in India and the imperial themes present in the books the monster reads. The essay also touches upon Shelley's portrayal of Safie, a Turkish woman, revealing the author's limited understanding of Middle Eastern cultures. While acknowledging the novel's misogynistic aspects, the critique finds Spivak's exploration of imperialism less compelling than the feminist critiques, suggesting that a Marxist approach might have yielded deeper insights. The essay notes the monster's lack of a defined childhood as a contributing factor to his unnatural state, but doesn't fully develop this idea.
Critique Four: Anne Mellor's "Possessing Nature: The Female in Frankenstein": Mellor's critique directly addresses some of the unanswered questions left by Spivak's analysis. Mellor argues that Victor views nature as female and seeks to usurp it through his creation of the monster. Victor's refusal to create a female counterpart reveals his desire to control and dominate the feminine principle. The essay connects Victor's lack of empathy with gendered societal expectations, contrasting him with the DeLacey family as an example of a just and affectionate society. Mellor suggests that Ernest's survival symbolizes the importance of respecting nature, although her speculation about Victor's fear of a female monster's potential to rape lacks strong textual support.
Critique Five: Susan Winnett's "Coming Unstrung: Women, Men, Narrative, and Principles of Pleasure": Winnett's critique examines Frankenstein through the lens of Freudian pleasure principle theory, challenging Moers' interpretation of the novel as a "horror story of maternity." Winnett argues that Victor's actions align with the male pleasure principle, prioritizing intellectual self-stimulation over the consequences of his creation. This critique primarily focuses on the implicit sexism in Western literature that requires women to read as men, using Frankenstein to illustrate the constraints faced by female authors in their historical context. Winnett compellingly demonstrates that Victor's actions are undeniably male-driven, and their consequences highlight the patriarchal structures of his time.
Keywords
Frankenstein, Gothic literature, feminist criticism, postcolonial criticism, Mary Shelley, gender roles, power dynamics, imperialism, creation, motherhood, nature, nurture, pleasure principle, psychoanalytic theory, Romantic literature.
Frequently Asked Questions: A Critical Analysis of Frankenstein
What is this text about?
This text provides a comprehensive overview of five critical essays analyzing Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. These essays approach the novel from various feminist and postcolonial perspectives, exploring its enduring relevance through different critical lenses. The text includes a table of contents, objectives, key themes, chapter summaries, and keywords.
What are the key themes explored in the analysis of Frankenstein?
The analysis explores several key themes, including the role of women in Gothic literature and Mary Shelley's biographical context; feminist interpretations of gender roles and power dynamics; postcolonial perspectives on imperialism; the interplay between nature and nurture; and psychoanalytic readings focusing on the pleasure principle.
Which critical essays are summarized in this text?
The text summarizes the following critical essays: Ellen Moers' "Female Gothic: The Monster's Mother," Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar's "Mary Shelley's Monstrous Eve," Gayatri Spivak's "Frankenstein and a Critique of Imperialism," Anne Mellor's "Possessing Nature: The Female in Frankenstein," and Susan Winnett's "Coming Unstrung: Women, Men, Narrative, and Principles of Pleasure."
What is Ellen Moers' main argument in "Female Gothic: The Monster's Mother"?
Moers analyzes Frankenstein through the lens of female Gothic literature, connecting Shelley's personal experiences of motherhood and loss to the novel's themes. She argues that Frankenstein functions as a "birth myth," challenging conventional narratives of creation and motherhood, and highlighting women's contributions to the Gothic genre.
What is the central argument of Gilbert and Gubar's "Mary Shelley's Monstrous Eve"?
Gilbert and Gubar interpret Frankenstein as a female Romantic reimagining of Paradise Lost. They argue that Victor embodies both Adam and Eve, with the monster taking on the role of Eve. They highlight the monster's self-education and connect his hideousness to societal anxieties surrounding the female body and the pressures faced by unmarried pregnant women.
How does Gayatri Spivak's essay approach Frankenstein?
Spivak examines the "incidental imperialist sentiment" in Frankenstein, focusing on Clerval's colonial plans and imperial themes in the monster's reading. She also analyzes Shelley's portrayal of Safie, a Turkish woman, and discusses the novel's misogynistic aspects. The essay's exploration of imperialism is considered less compelling than the feminist critiques.
What is Anne Mellor's perspective in "Possessing Nature: The Female in Frankenstein"?
Mellor argues that Victor views nature as female and seeks to dominate it through the creation of the monster. His refusal to create a female counterpart reveals his desire for control over the feminine principle. She contrasts Victor's lack of empathy with the DeLacey family, representing a just and affectionate society.
How does Susan Winnett use Freudian theory in her analysis?
Winnett uses Freudian pleasure principle theory to analyze Frankenstein, challenging Moers' interpretation. She argues that Victor's actions align with the male pleasure principle, prioritizing intellectual self-stimulation over the consequences of his creation. She also highlights the implicit sexism in Western literature requiring women to read as men.
What are the key words associated with this analysis of Frankenstein?
Key words include Frankenstein, Gothic literature, feminist criticism, postcolonial criticism, Mary Shelley, gender roles, power dynamics, imperialism, creation, motherhood, nature, nurture, pleasure principle, psychoanalytic theory, and Romantic literature.
- Quote paper
- Mark Schauer (Author), 2012, Précis Critiques of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/230274
