Writing Resources
Commodification of Females within Mary Shelley's Frankenstein European Females within the eighteenth century were constantly objectified by the male dominated society In Frankenstein Elizabeth Lavenza is the adopted cousin of the Frankensteins and is used for Victor s companionship and pleasure The female monster who is never created by Victor is used as a bribe for the abandonment of destruction but also as a way for the monster to have someone to fulfill his personal needs Safie is used as an object for the regainment of the undeserved freedom that her father seeks and what the monster desires but cannot achieve When viewed from a feminist lens Mary Shelley s Frankenstein is a gothic novel in which commodification of women as objects belonging to male figures is a central topic Elizabeth Lavenza is a woman who is constantly commodified throughout Shelley s novel Elizabeth is objectified by Shelley as an object of the Frankenstein s since she is only deliberated in terms of her significance to them To Victor Elizabeth is the beautiful and adored companion of all his occupations and pleasures mine mine to protect love and cherish since till death she was to be mine only 37 Never within the chapters is it discussed about how Elizabeth feels about exposed and forced to a new family and home To Caroline Frankenstein Elizabeth is a pretty present for my Victor 37 The objectification by Caroline Frankenstein is extremely telling as Caroline is directly comparing Elizabeth to an object that is defined in and of itself as an value for others to gain pleasure from Through this commodification Elizabeth who is without her own feelings is made into an object for the Frankensteins to revere and esteem over Despite her objectification by the Frankensteins in the novel she is very loving and caring towards everyone Because of the constant love and care that Elizabeth provides the commodification that is brought upon her is partly her own fault Elizabeth s inability to defend herself in crucial situations leads Victor and the Frankensteins to constantly see her as a mere object of his ownership and pleasure For example when Caroline declares that Victor and Elizabeth will be married Elizabeth never states her opinion and lets Caroline decide her future
