women

• LETTER? in frankenstein...

  women’s voices are predominantly represented through letters, which are often controlled by men, underscoring their limited agency. This is evident when “Clerval… put the following letter in (Victor’s) hands. It was from my own Elizabeth:- “
• letter quote?

  Clerval… put the following letter in (Victor’s) hands. It was from my own Elizabeth
• analysis of letter?

  Elizabeth's voice mediated through physical letter; literal and symbolic in its constraints. The letter, enclosed in an envelope, represents a dual barrier preventing women from expressing themselves freely. Not only is Elizabeth's communication filtered through male intermediaries, but the envelope itself acts as a tangible obstacle to her voice, emphasising her confinement in patriarchal structures.
• analysis of ltter 2. ?

  typical white colour symbolise purity, reinforcing the notion women’s voices are expected to conform to ideals of chastity and passivity.
• 2nd quote?

  Elizabeth Lavenza became the inmate of my …. house (37) and companion of all my occupations and my pleasures”
• analysis 2.1?

  By referring to Elizabeth as an “inmate”, connotating imprisonment and confinement, Victor frames her role in the household as one of subservience and restriction. It communicates the limited autonomy of women in the time, positioning her as an accessory to Victor’s ambitions rather than an independent individual with her own agency. Moreover, the possessive pronoun “my” underscores Elizabeth is an object subsumed into Victor’s life
• 3.1

  Victor’s perverse attempt to usurp natural order by assuming the role of the female as creator.

  • reinforced night of creature’s birth, -> Frankenstein dreamed that when he kissed Elizabeth, she “became livid with the hue of death,” symbolising his taking over of women.
  • The word “livid” connotates to a ghastly and unnatural pallor, evoking death and decay
• 3.2

  Vivid description symbolises Victor’s perversion of the natural reproductive and creative processes, representing his intrusion into realms traditionally reserved for women, nature and the divine.

  • Notably, Elizabeth is portrayed as an idealised figure of purity and life, however in this scene she is ridden with the “hue of death” conveying the destruction of innocence for the sake of ambition.
• 3.3

  Scene evokes Gothic element of doppelganger -> Victor’s internal conflict and moral corruption reflect in his nightmare.

  • Elizabeth’s deathly appearance conveyed as a manifestation of Victor’s own internal decay and the consequences of his actions.
  • The lifeless bride symbolises unfulfilled potential of creation. Typically, a bride represents the promise of a new life and the continuation of human lineage, however her transformation into a lifeless figure shows this potential has been completed destroyed. Instead of gaining something positive, Victors actions resulted in death and decay.