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. 

How does Mary Shelley present Alphonse Frankenstein in 'Frankenstein'?

In Volume I of the 1818 edition, Alphonose asks Victor if he could consider marrying Elizabeth for "domestic comfort" however, once Elizabeth dies in Volume III, so does Alphonose. His conservative ideas of arranged marriages seem to give him reason to live.

STRUCTURE
Shelley presents Alphonse Frankenstein as a distant father through the use of juxtaposition.

• This is evident as Frankenstein's  "parents resolved" that he "should become a student at the university of Ingolstadt". 
• Thus one might suggest that his parents want to have distance from their own son. 
• The great distance between the parents contrasts with Victor's initial suggestion that his father has an "active spirit of tenderness". Victor may feel satisfied and rather oblivious to his parent's sought separation from him. On the contrary, the audience may acknowledge the way in which Victor is treated and may feel sympathy for him as he may seem quite neglected. Shelley may be intent on inducing empathy from the audience as she grew with only her father: William Godwin and eloped to Switzerland once her father evinced his reluctance in his daughter's union with Percy Bysshe Shelley. 
• Thus, an Elizabethan audience may feel sympathy as not many Britons travelled in general so they would not have been very separated from their parents. 
• The audience may feel sorry for Shelley due to the abnormal and unknown events that can proceed from living far from home. 
• Moreover, a modern audience may also feel sympathy for both the Monster and Shelley as the audience may recall feeling 'homesick' when away from their hometown or relatives. 

FORM

Alphonose Frankenstein is presented as a conservative father through the use of the V form structure.

• Alphonose is not seen during the climax of the novel which suggests he does not provide the sufficient support for his son, Victor Frankenstein. Instead, he is only present to conform to traditional values.
• In Volume I of the 1818 edition, Alphonose asks Victor if he could consider marrying Elizabeth for "domestic comfort" however, once Elizabeth dies in Volume III, so does Alphonose. "Domestic" suggests... 
• His conservative ideas of arranged marriages seem to give him reason to live. He is not versatile and strictly acts like a traditional father. Once he realises, he has done all he could like attempting to arrange a marriage for Victor, Shelley makes him disappear from the novel. However, the audience may feel a sense of despair for Victor Frankenstein and may disagree with Alphonose's Frankenstein conservative values (ideas from the past). Thus, Shelley may be inducing sympathy from the audience as she did not have a mother to live with during the most critical times of her growth.

EXPLAIN FURTHER.

STRUCTURE

Alphonose Frankenstein is presented as an insufficient father through the use of foil characters.
The Monster does not kill him, but everyone else who is so dear to Victor. One might argue that Alphonose Frankenstein was merely Victor's creator and does not act as a sufficient father. Alphonose Frankenstein can be compared to the characters which have ended up dead like Elizabeth who was killed by the monster. However, Alphonose is the only character in the novel who dies without the monster's influence, after his creation and the comparison between foil characters such as himself and perhaps Henry Clerval could be used to present Alphonose's lack of significance in Victor's life although a modern and contemporary audience would dispute that father's are supposed to have a great role within the lives of their children. Shelley did not grow up with a female figure in the house, for her mother Mary Wollstonecraft died and her father provided intellectual growth as opposed to emotional help. Thus, both audiences may feel sympathy for Victor thus Shelley as their parents either did not exist or were emotionally distant from their children.

LANGUAGE: EXTRACT
Or you can talk about 1818: "Sad trash" but in the 1831 edition, Shelley removes the phrase.

Opposite argument is when you may perceive him as Victor's guardian angel:
Essay for Clerval which can be linked to Alphonose found here.

How does Mary Shelley present Henry Clerval in 'Frankenstein'?

LANGUAGE

Mary Shelley presents Henry Clerval as virtuous through the use of intertextuality. Elizabeth, Alphonose and Clerval draw characteristics from 'Paradise Lost' like the group of angels (Uriel, Raphael and Michael), for Clerval is described as a "noble spirit" and "perfectly human" which suggests he is a good moral compass and guidance system. One might suggest "perfect" conveys Clerval 'sinless'. Clerval tries to protect Victor as they are a "contrast" of each other and Henry Clerval being into "moral relations of things" which opposes Victor's scientific values. This is synonymous to when the angels in Paradise Lost attempt to protect the innocence of Adam and Eve. The use of intertextuality destabilises the story as it may create a despairing effect towards the audience as Adam and Eve still committed Sin thus creating freewill which suggests Victor's situation will only exacerbate. However, Shelley may have presented Clerval as perhaps angelic to signify the abnormal and unhealthy state Victor is in and to create a sense of sadness and even tension. The suspense is created as the monster becomes destructive like Satan in 'Paradise Lost' which destabilises the story further. Thus Henry Clerval's healthy fashion provides to the audience a contrast between Victor's morbid life of science and his great and healthy one of "morals". Shelley may be addressing ideas of Romanticism as more suitable for Romanticism rejected giving reason to everything like science does and living amongst nature. The use of intertextuality allows Shelley to foreshadow the dangers of taking the Enlightenment belief thus scientific route as Victor is a creator, just as God is in 'Paradise Lost' - they both suffer from their creations which Victor created as a result of science. Henry Clerval then provides a nuance of how Victor's life becomes dilapidated and emphasises his virtue as he lives in an ideal state (angels lived in heaven).

FORM

In 'Frankenstein' Mary Shelley uses a meta narrative to present the significance Clerval has towards other characters in the novel. Victor says "Clerval! Beloved friend" then "I will proceed with my tale". The use of the adjective "beloved" in the past participle suggests Victor is stuck in the past and is therefore lost in the present which suggests Clerval's power over Frankenstein in the novel. Shelley may be sharing the impact felt by her when Mary Wollstonecraft died, her mother. Shelley's mother died at birth and Shelley was left to hear about all the great aspects of her mother's life which may have influenced her own beliefs in equality between men and women (a modern audience may call the belief: feminism). Victor steps out from narrating to gush about Clerval which may act as a euology. Shelley greatly admired her mother. The breakthrough from the meta narrative shows the strength of his feelings for Clerval and the influence Clerval has on other characters which creates an ominous effect towards the audience as Clerval being a "contrast" to Victor and "perfectly human" suggests Victor not longer has someone to look up to and a support system. One might suggest Victor's state of mind and the "hell" he "bore[s] within" him will exacerbate and Shelley may be reflecting on how she felt rather lost when she grew up without a mother figure. 

STRUCTURE

Find in extract.

You can consider how Henry Clerval and Victor are together whilst they are journeying.

How does Mary Shelley present Victor Frankenstein in 'Frankenstein'?

FORM
Shelley presents Victor Frankenstein as a villain through the use of the Chinese-box form.

• The monster follows from Victor who follows from Robert in the narrative. However, one might suggest the Monster's narrative which is at the core of the novel which might convey his narrative as an embodiment of Pandora's box which is opened by Victor thus allowing horror and turmoil to spill out. 
• Therefore, the audience might see Victor as a bad person as he causes the audience to question his narrative, for the monster justifies his destructive behaviour. 
• Shelley may be presenting the monster as a hero although he is destructive in the novel, an Elizabethan audience may draw parallels between the monster and Satan from 'Paradise Lost' as they both are mistreated by their creators: God and Victor Frankenstein. A large audience began to feel sympathy for the monster and Satan despite their dangerous behaviour.
• The Chinese-box form allows the audience to blame Victor for the monster's genocide as Victor opens up the monster's narrative. A contemporary audience would also vilify Victor Frankenstein as the monster creates a neutral argument by offering his perspective on events. Through offering the blame onto Victor, Shelley may be presenting the consequences of a lack of parents, for she grew up with one parent (William Godwin). One might argue that the monster's loneliness and lack of nurture has led him to act as a feral child (a modern audience might say) which might galvanise sympathy and amplify a derogatory image towards Victor Frankenstein.

STRUCTURE 

Mary Shelley presents Victor Frankenstein as irrational and unfair through the use of the layered narrative.

• This is evident as Victor Frankenstein is given more leave way and opportunity to speak as opposed to the monster, who is filtered by Walton's story and Victor's story.
•  The monster is given less opportunity to speak which allows the Victor to ignore his rebuke although the audience may feel as though it is much more important to hear from him. 
• Victor's greater allowance of speech creates a sense of inequality and unfairness which may induce sympathy for the audience and transfixes them as synonymous to the effect of the 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner' layered narrative by Coleridge. One might suggest the layered narrative will remind the audience of the importance of the monster's story (next narrative) just as it is the same with the poem which opposes Victor's idea as he continues to call the monster insults like "daemon". 
• Moreover, Shelley may be addressing the inequality and the lack of freedom of the French Revolution as the French working-class were subject to a lack of freedom, like the monster. The monster is disadvantaged from birth like the working class people. Thus, the audience may feel a sense of sympathy for the monster and may in turn, vilify Victor as irrational and perhaps a supremacist which isolates the audience from feeling as though he is relatable and fair.

LANGUAGE 

Mary Shelley presents Victor Frankenstein as dangerously ambitious through the lexical field of spirituality. Victor Frankenstein is described as a "divine-wanderer" and "engaged, heart and soul" in trying to pursue ambition which suggests his entire form and life is focused on a single vocation as "heart" and "soul" may convey the two natures of human: physical and spiritual. Shelley would have rejected religion for she was a Romantic writer  thus one might suggest that she is conveying Victor as a symbol of the Enlightenment Era where reason could be provided to everything and causation was confidently found. Romanticism and Enlightenment were conflicting ideas during the Elizabethan era. Shelley may be critiquing the idea that reason can be provided as Victor's ambitions cause his death so there is no reason to be scientifically engaged. Belief in Galvanism and science were new and many people like Shelley may have been anxious and oblivious over the long-term effects and ethical arguments. Shelley's causes Victor to die in the end as a consequence of his vocations,. The lexical field allows Shelley to bring belief in religion (dualism) to allow the audience to reconsider Enlightenment beliefs as Victor presents the audience with an ethical issue in science which is: whether science is a threat to mankind. His ambitions are dangerous as Romantic writers such as Shelley preferred being in nature than engaged in the sciences and religion.

You can argue that Victor is rational through lexical field of nature.

How does Mary Shelley present women in 'Frankenstein'? [2]

Shelley presents women in Frankenstein as virtuous through the use of character names.
Justine -----> Justice
Safie --------> male name in Arabic meaning pure. She may be drawing on "Saphia" which is Greek for wisdom and can suggest how women were intelligent and logical thinkers.

How does Shelley present Safie in 'Frankenstein'?

FORM

Safie is only heard of through the monster's tale. The monster was discriminated against for his looks, there were contemporary views based on race which may be considered as prejudicial. The monster introduces characters that are prone to discrimination like the poor De Lacey's, non-white Safie and the ugly Monster, himself. The audience may feel the great sense of discrimination which may induce sympathy from them as the force is grand through different types of discrimination being addressed.

STRUCTURE

Safie's background mirrors Shelley's - they both incorporate radicalism as Shelley was brought up by her father, and Safie from her mother which was contrary to Islamic norms of the time. In Islam it said one must "aspire to higher powers of intellect" except "the female followers of Mahomet". Despite breaking Elizabethan conventions, Safie still remained to have an "angelic beauty and expression". Thus, the reader may questions the limits society imposes on her freedom and ponder whether he position is really different from the Christian women, like the author. Shelley may be disputing contemporary prejudices within the Elizabethan society she lived in, for women were often less educated than men as they were expected to be less academically able. Moreover, Shelley mirrors Safie's adaptability to her own as Safie flees from her "Arabian" background in Turkey. This event is synonymous to when Shelley flees England and elopes to Switzerland as her father did not conform to her marriage with Percy Bysshe Shelley. The use of mirroring brings a sense of equality towards the Christian and Muslims as the audience may realise that they are not very different.

LANGUAGE

Lexical field of physical features.

 One might argue that Safie is not much different to the Christian women as she upholds "beautiful" looks and "soft looks of compassion" which is synonymous to Safie's "expression". "Expression" suggests how her face looks and the "beauty" of it may suggest it shows ability to relate to other people and seem empathetic of others like Elizabeth. 

How does Mary Shelley present women in 'Frankenstein'?

FORM

In 'Frankenstein', Mary Shelley presents women as thoughtful to the main plot through the use of the epistolary form.

• In the novel, women are only heard of in the letters from Victor Frankenstein (Elizabeth begins with "my dearest friend"). Thus, one might suggest that they are unheard and passive in the main plot of the novel (the rise and decline of Victor Frankenstein and the creature) but they only assist in building the climax. 
• Not having women in the main plot presents the narrow story of the monster and Victor as women are not their to provide any solutions for the two. In fact, Victor throws the female monster in the sea which exemplifies how Shelley deliberately removes them from the main plot.
• The epistolary form shoes how women were distant in the sciences as opposed to the men, for the monster and Frankenstein were incredibly engaged with the sciences. One might suggest the distance women in the novel create provides nuances in Shelley's great belief of Romanticism - a belief that reason can not explain all within the world and an embrace of nature. Many romantics rejected 'artificial' life (like the monster). 
• Thus the women only being in the distance of science and in nature may convey to the audience how they are much more logical and intelligence. They are far away from involving themselves into the main plot unless forced (Justine was accused of murder).
•  Shelley may be challenging Elizabethan views on women as they were often seen as less intelligent and less rational thinkers. However, women in Frankenstein, women distance themselves from science as a Romantic would have, and remain happy people unlike Victor Frankenstein and the monster who eventually die.  To protect themselves of a chaotic life, the epistolary form shows the women's persistent distance in the novel as a letter would have to be sent to places far away from the sender. 

You can argue that they are passive and then re-argue the narrow nature of the novel. For same reason but less about Romanticism and logical. You can talk about her mother being a feminist and 'a Vindication of the Rights of Women',

LANGUAGE 

Shelley presents women as objects in 'Frankenstein' through the use of pronouns.

•  Victor Frankenstein says he looked "upon Elizabeth as mine" and a "possession of my own" which suggests he thinks Elizabeth belongs to him.
• The use of "my" and "mine" suggests women can be bought if they are objects thus one might argue that Victor is symbolic of conservative and heavily traditional ideas. Shelley's repeated use of the possessive pronouns may be indicative of her disagreement ashelley was greatly influenced by her mother's belief in equal rights between men and wen, for Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley's mother even wrote a book on her beliefs called 'A Vindication of the Rights of a Women'. 
• Hence, the use of pronouns allow the audience to consider Elizabeth Lavenza's role in the novel as merely an accessory of Victor's. 
• The novel later contrasts Elizabeth's portrayal as one who is respectful and empowering as she tells Justine to "rise" from her deep state of despair. Shelley may be challenging the initial prejudice the characters and the audience are made to feel of Elizabeth: merely property. 
• Thus, the audience may realise that with our without Victor, she is more than a piece of property and that she is humanely empowering and great which forms a positive impression on women. 

STRUCTURE 

Shelley presents women as neglected by men through the use of character presence. 

To induce sympathy for male readers.

FORM

Women are powerful.

- The epistolary form means Mrs Saville, Walton sister, is given no voice. 

• She is simply the intended recipient of Walton's letter. 
• She hears of all the implications rising in Frankenstein yet can not respond to even offer solutions so the men of the novel are left to fend for themselves which only results in death or the unknown (monster leaves the ship in the end and Victor dies). 
• The correspondence owing to Walton's being on a ship, can only be one-sided and as such is scarcely a correspondence at all. As Walton is Frankenstein's sole audience, Mrs Saville is Walton's which vastly amplifies women's power and role in the novel as pushing it forward. 
• Simultaneously, Mrs Saville's lack of voice may induce sympathy from the audience so that they can understand how voiceless women tended to be in Elizabethan society. Shelley shows how women are fundamental in maintaining society and she shows this by having women only involving in the subplots of the novel, as opposed to the main plot which ends in a rather chaotic fashion.

Mention Shelley's influence from her mother: Mary Wollstonecraft. 

Language

Shelley presents women as vulnerable through the use of a paradox.

•  Justine in court reflects the vulnerability of women in society;  she is an innocent women who is driven to "confess" but she "confessed a lie". One might suggest, women were overwhelmed by their stereotypical requirements, so much to the point that they were "threatened and menaced" that they began to think that they were "monster" people deemed she was. 
• To "confess" means to tell the truth which conveys how desolate and hopeless Justine may feel. Shelley ridicules the justice system of Geneva (European nation) as suspected criminals are 'guilty until proven innocent'. Moreover, Shelley addresses the political nature of Geneva and may be addressing the way in which women were treated legally (women could not vote for instance). Moreover, Shelley me be channelling Mary Wollstonecraft's belief in equality between men and women (a modern audience might say feminist views) as Mary Wollstonecraft was Shelley's mother and a great influence on her life. The the use of the paradox may cause the audience to feel rather confused as well but may see the element of injustice Justice feels which may induce sympathy from the audience.

How women were vulnerable through mirroring scenes: Justine is executed and Victor is trialled in court for something he did not do but is able to escape it. Showing his male dominance. An example of mirroring events is when the female monster is thrown "into the sea that very night" and how Harriet Shelley committed suicide in 1816 by drowning herself in the sea. Effect? Why? To show how women were often see as disposable like rubbish. This is a contrast to how traditionally in Christianity, people would be put into graves as a more respectful means. Audience feels at sudden loss as the grave will always be on ground and easy to locate whereas a body in sea is not likely to be found.