What does Frankenstein say about women’s roles in the 1800s?

Author: Martin Munyao Muinde
Email: ephantusmartin@gmail.com

Introduction

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) stands as one of the most significant novels of the nineteenth century, not only for its groundbreaking engagement with science, philosophy, and ethics, but also for the complex ways in which it addresses women’s roles in society. While at first glance the narrative seems dominated by male voices—Victor Frankenstein, Robert Walton, and the Creature—the underlying treatment of female characters reflects much about women’s positions in early nineteenth-century Europe. The 1800s were characterized by rigid gender norms where women were expected to embody ideals of domesticity, morality, and passivity. Shelley’s novel captures these expectations while also subtly critiquing them. By examining characters such as Elizabeth Lavenza, Justine Moritz, Caroline Beaufort, and Safie, the text reveals both the limitations imposed on women and the consequences of their marginalization. The novel, written during the Romantic and early feminist periods, thus becomes a reflection of how women’s roles were defined, silenced, and in some ways resisted. This essay explores how Frankenstein addresses the position of women in the 1800s, considering domesticity, education, powerlessness, victimhood, and the subversive critiques embedded within Shelley’s work.

Women as Embodiments of Domesticity

One of the most striking aspects of Frankenstein is the way in which women are consistently associated with the domestic sphere. Elizabeth Lavenza, Victor’s cousin and eventual fiancée, is portrayed as the epitome of feminine virtue: beautiful, gentle, and devoted. Her life revolves around serving others, particularly Victor and his family. The depiction of Elizabeth reflects the cultural ideology of the “angel in the house,” a term later used in the Victorian era to describe the ideal woman as nurturing, moral, and self-sacrificing (Gilbert and Gubar, 2000). Elizabeth’s role is confined almost exclusively to the private, familial sphere, reinforcing the belief that women’s identities were defined through their relationships with men rather than through individual pursuits.

However, this emphasis on domesticity is not without critique. By confining Elizabeth to the private sphere, Shelley highlights the vulnerability of women who are denied autonomy. Elizabeth’s ultimate fate—murder at the hands of the Creature—underscores the fragility of women’s lives when reduced to mere symbols of domestic harmony. Her death represents not only a personal tragedy but also the destruction of the patriarchal fantasy of women as pure, domestic saviors. Shelley suggests that the idealization of women as domestic angels ultimately renders them powerless to protect themselves against broader social and existential dangers.

The Powerlessness of Women in a Patriarchal World

Another prominent theme in the novel is the near-total lack of agency afforded to women. Characters such as Justine Moritz demonstrate the profound vulnerability of women within patriarchal legal and moral systems. Accused of murdering young William, Justine is coerced into a false confession and executed despite her innocence. Her helplessness is emblematic of women’s broader inability to defend themselves against accusations and societal judgment in the nineteenth century. As Anne Mellor (1988) argues, Frankenstein demonstrates how patriarchal power structures silence women and leave them defenseless in the face of injustice.

This powerlessness is mirrored in Caroline Beaufort, Victor’s mother, who is first depicted as a devoted daughter caring for her dying father and later as a self-sacrificing mother. Caroline’s life is consumed by service to others, and her eventual death from scarlet fever after tending to Elizabeth underscores the dangers inherent in the expectation that women must continually sacrifice themselves for family. Shelley’s portrayal of Caroline resonates with the social reality of women’s limited roles in the 1800s, where self-denial was celebrated as the highest form of femininity. Yet through these depictions, Shelley questions whether such powerlessness and sacrifice should be the measure of women’s worth.

Women as Victims of Male Ambition

The marginalization of women in Frankenstein is not accidental but directly tied to male ambition and its consequences. Victor Frankenstein’s obsessive pursuit of scientific knowledge leads him to reject the natural reproductive role of women, as he attempts to create life independently of the female body. In doing so, Victor symbolically erases the role of women in creation. As critics such as Barbara Johnson (1982) note, Victor’s usurpation of female reproductive power reflects both the devaluation of women’s roles and the hubris of a patriarchal system that seeks to dominate nature and femininity alike.

The result of this exclusion of women is catastrophe. The deaths of Elizabeth, Justine, and Caroline can all be read as consequences of Victor’s unchecked ambition and disregard for female voices. The silencing of women leads to destruction, suggesting that their absence from meaningful participation in social and intellectual life comes at a great cost. Shelley thereby critiques the patriarchal tendency to exclude women from positions of influence, implying that balance and harmony require recognition of women’s contributions.

The Representation of Safie and Cultural Otherness

While many female characters in the novel embody passivity, Safie, the Arabian woman who becomes associated with the De Lacey family, introduces a more complex perspective. Safie resists the oppressive control of her father, who attempts to confine her within restrictive cultural traditions, and instead seeks freedom and education in Europe. Her story contrasts sharply with Elizabeth and Justine, as Safie is portrayed as actively resisting patriarchal control. As Mellor (1988) points out, Safie represents a glimpse of female agency and independence, highlighting Shelley’s awareness of the possibility of alternative roles for women.

At the same time, Safie’s characterization is framed through cultural otherness. Her rejection of her father’s patriarchal restrictions aligns her with Enlightenment ideals of liberty, but her foreign identity also reinforces stereotypes of women’s exoticism and difference. Nonetheless, Safie’s presence introduces a counter-narrative within the novel, showing that women were not universally passive and that resistance to patriarchal control was possible even in the 1800s. Shelley’s inclusion of Safie can be read as a subtle act of feminist resistance, suggesting that the roles of women were not fixed but contested.

The Absence of Female Voices

An important aspect of Frankenstein is the structural absence of female voices within the narrative. The story is framed through male narrators—Walton, Victor, and the Creature—while women are excluded from storytelling roles. This absence reflects the silencing of women’s perspectives in the literary and cultural discourse of the time. As Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar (2000) argue in The Madwoman in the Attic, women writers in the nineteenth century often had to navigate a literary culture dominated by men, and Shelley’s choice to sideline female voices may reflect both the reality of women’s exclusion and a critique of it.

This narrative silencing has significant implications. By denying women a voice, the novel mirrors the broader social context in which women were expected to remain silent, obedient, and invisible in public discourse. Yet the tragic consequences of women’s absence from the narrative—death, injustice, and destruction—suggest that their exclusion is profoundly damaging. Shelley’s structural choices thus comment on the dangers of erasing women’s voices from cultural and intellectual life.

Subversive Feminist Undertones

Although Frankenstein reflects many of the gender norms of its time, it also contains subversive undertones that question these norms. Shelley, as the daughter of the early feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, was well aware of the limitations imposed on women. The novel subtly critiques the patriarchal order by highlighting the destructive consequences of excluding women from meaningful roles. For instance, Victor’s attempt to eliminate the female role in reproduction ends in disaster, reinforcing the importance of women’s participation in creation and continuity. Similarly, the repeated victimization of women reveals the cruelty of a system that demands their silence and submission.

By embedding these critiques within a gothic narrative, Shelley was able to explore controversial ideas without directly confronting societal norms. Her use of subtext allows her to question the gender ideologies of her time while still operating within the boundaries of acceptable literary convention. In this way, Frankenstein becomes both a reflection of women’s limited roles in the 1800s and a critique of the structures that enforced those limitations.

Conclusion

In examining the question of what Frankenstein says about women’s roles in the 1800s, it becomes clear that the novel serves as both a mirror and a critique of its cultural moment. The depictions of Elizabeth, Justine, Caroline, and Safie reveal the limited roles assigned to women, emphasizing domesticity, sacrifice, and silence. At the same time, the text highlights the consequences of women’s exclusion from public, intellectual, and creative life, suggesting that their absence leads to imbalance and destruction. By structuring the narrative through male voices and marginalizing female characters, Shelley reflects the patriarchal silencing of women but also critiques it through the tragic outcomes of such silencing. Thus, Frankenstein is not only a gothic novel of ambition and creation but also a profound commentary on the roles of women in the early nineteenth century. Shelley uses her narrative to question the ideologies of domesticity, powerlessness, and victimhood, leaving readers with a haunting exploration of gender and society.

References

Gilbert, S. M., & Gubar, S. (2000). The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination. Yale University Press.

Johnson, B. (1982). Frankenstein’s Monster: Reading and Misreading. In The Critical Difference. Johns Hopkins University Press.

Mellor, A. K. (1988). Mary Shelley: Her Life, Her Fiction, Her Monsters. Routledge.

Shelley, M. (1818). Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor & Jones.