Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein: or The Modern Prometheus, has stood over nearly two centuries as a literary masterpiece. Shelley gives birth to these two very essential characters, who we come to know as the creature and the creator of this being, scientist Victor Frankenstein. Throughout the novel, we see the battle between these two opposites, both physically and mentally, bringing to light many life lessons and struggles, one of them being what it means to be different and shunned from society. Victor Frankenstein’s creation, the creature, is neither man nor inhuman, but rather another species all on itself who has trouble navigating through this new life he was brought into. Often shunned, mocked, and ridiculed, the creature quickly realizes this world does not accept his nature. 

Upon beginning this novel, I was highly interested in Mary Shelley herself. Shelley, daughter of the infamous feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, followed in her mother’s footsteps in her ideas regarding women’s status in society. This knowledge and background on Shelley herself are interesting to show that Shelley’s life piece, Frankenstein, did not include a strong female protagonist. Instead, Shelley wrote in two leading male characters: a well-respected and genius scientist and an inhuman monster-like being. However, after reading further into it and keeping in mind Shelleys very own background, the connection between the creature and the female race can be made.

The creature is often shunned and mocked for things out of their control, just like women in Shelley’s time. Because of a woman’s appearance and features, they were deemed incapable of specific jobs, duties, or the ability to do things that the male race could physically do. The creature is also judged heavily on its appearance, looking inhuman and being described as grotesque and horrifying to some who cross his path. “A mummy again endured with animation could not be so hideous as that wretch. I have gazed on him while unfinished; he was ugly then, but when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion, it became a thing such as even Dante could not have conceived”(Shelley, p.55). Shelley describes through the creator’s eyes how horrific the creature is to the eye and making a comparison Dante inferring hell and satanic ideas. This comparison is attractive in how Shelley included how women were perceived in history, tying in women as evil and satanic creatures during the witch hunt era. In addition to appearances and physical differences, the creature is also viewed as Frankenstein’s property. The creature is not its being but rather an object associated with Victor. This idea of people being property to others is very similar to what women were encountering daily when Shelley was around. “But I knew that I possessed no money, no friends, no kind of property”(Shelley, p.143). Women at that time were not viewed as separate entities, but rather an accessory to their husband, with no thoughts, actions, or views held separately. 

Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein ties in feminist ideals by introducing the creature as one of the main protagonists. The beast is shunned, mocked, and treated as unequal to men throughout the novel, similar to how women were treated and viewed during Mary Shelley’s time. Shelley brought her background and beliefs into Frankenstein, making this novel even more complex, genuinely allowing it to stand the test of time.