How does Mary Shelley present Caroline Beaufort in 'Frankenstein'?

LANGUAGE

Mary Shelley presents Caroline Beaufort is presented as angelic through the lexical field of piety.

• She is described as a "guardian angel to the afflicted" and having a "benevolent mind". 
• Benevolent links to God
• Guardian angels taught Adam and Eve God's law in the Garden of Eden
• Lexical field creates a holistic comfort which is emitted by religion and can be felt by the audience.

STRUCTURE

Mary Shelley presents Caroline Beaufort as symbolic of Victor's waywardness through characterisation in the novel.

• Caroline is only present in volume I and then dies. 
• After he death, Victor's life seems to fall apart. 
• She is the only character who dies without the influence of the monster in any form which suggests her death might have led Victor to have found comfort in the sciences 
• Thus he ends up creating the monster through his newly found passion of the sciences. 

FORM

• V shaped narrative.
• The monster is the dark and dangerous narrative.
• Victor Frankenstein introduces Caroline Beaufort which then leads to the monster's story. Perhaps Caroline Beaufort has lead Victor Frankenstein to the monster.

All of the points above are associated with Mary Wollstonecraft's Shelley attitude to her mother who died whilst giving birth to her. Shelley grew up hearing of her great mother who wrote 'A Vindication of the Rights of Women' but she did not have her mother to teach her the values of being female or nurture her which may have left her feeling lonely and rather lost as synonymous to Victor.