Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus

¶ … Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus" by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and "Dracula" by Bram Stoker. Specifically it will compare and contrast the two texts. These two stories were written over 70 years apart, and they show two decidedly different views of women in the novels. "Dracula" presents two distinct ideas of women from mother to whore, while "Frankenstein" portrays women as passive and relatively unimportant to the action of the novel. These two novels indicate some of the social issues of the time, and hold some compelling themes for readers, even today.

When Shelley's story debuted, many critics believed a man had written it, a woman could not possibly have written such a novel. One critic writes, "The book was reviewed with considerable enthusiasm, tempered by some fear of its impiety and some shudders at the general theme. The Quarterly called it a tissue of horrible and disgusting absurdity but admitted that there was something 'highly terrific' and tremendous in the language" (Nitchie 145). Almost instantly, it became a classic and created a name for the author. There has been quite a bit of speculation about the role of women in the novel, from the passivity of the women characters to their relative lack of importance throughout the book.

Some critics believe the book is actually a treatise on women in society, specifically mothers, and Shelley's own guilt at her mother's death during her own birth. Another critic writes, "In creating the monster, Victor attempts to undo the death of his mother. [...] to psychoanalytic critics, all of this points to Shelley's own inability to accept her mother's death, as well as her baby's" (Hoeveler 52). In addition, Frankenstein creates his monster with the diligence of a father but without a mother, and of course, he never creates the mate he promises to create, either. He even sounds like a "mother" when he contemplates his creation of the monster, "For the first time, also, I felt what the duties of a creator towards his creature were, and that I ought to render him happy before I complained of his wickedness" (Shelley 86). Thus, the novel could be pointing a finger at the largely male dominant society of the early 1800s, a society that is clearly illustrated throughout this novel.

Finally, all the women in "Frankenstein" are extremely passive, and they all die by the end of the story. Elizabeth acts more like a mother and friend to Victor, and he is innocent, trusting, and even a little dull. Shelley writes, "Elizabeth read my anguish in my countenance, and kindly taking my hand, said, 'My dearest friend, you must calm yourself. These events have affected me, God knows how deeply; but I am not so wretched as you are'" (Shelley 79). "Dracula" includes women who become "wanton" and evil, but "Frankenstein" includes women who have no bearing on the outcome of the story, and so, their presence is somewhat needless and perfunctory.

Stoker includes much subtle information about Victorian attitudes toward women through his characters in "Dracula." In fact, the novel is often seen as a comparison of the two distinct function for women in society of the time, which were mother/wife, or whore. Near the beginning of the novel, Stoker makes this obvious when he introduces some of the count's collaborators. Harker's journal notes, "The fair girl went on her knees and bent over me, fairly gloating. There was a deliberate voluptuousness which was both thrilling and repulsive, and as she arched her neck she actually licked her lips like an animal" (Stoker 45). Throughout the novel this form of separation between virtue and "voluptuousness" continues. There is no middle ground for the novel's female characters; they are either good or bad or virgin or vixen. Women could only choose from these classes in Victorian society, and the rules surrounding them were unyielding. Once a woman crossed the line from virgin to vixen, she could never be a true "lady" again, and this novel makes that abundantly clear.

The theme of voluptuousness continues all through the novel, and it could be an comparison to "whore." When Lucy yields to the count and becomes a member of the Un-Dead, her whole being transforms, and now Stoker introduces her as a reckless vixen. He writes, "Lucy Westenra, but yet how changed. The sweetness was turned to adamantine, heartless cruelty, and the purity to voluptuous wantonness" (Stoker 225). It is clear that wantonness is not a characteristic to be admired in Victorian times, because he compares her wantonness to cruelty, as well. Clearly, both these novels echo the time they were written and society's views on women. Women play insignificant and "wanton" roles in both books, and they are a source of motherly love and distress. One critic, however, feels the novel may be a beacon of change, too. He writes, "Dracula is not only a threat but also imaginative and physical vitality, a catalyst for change. The novel suggests that a new understanding of sexuality and decay is necessary for any attempt to attain social order and growth" (Boone). What is most interesting about these two novels is that they portray relatively like views of women, yet one was written by a man, and the other a woman, indicating how pervasive (and persuasive) society's view of women was at the time, but that at least one author thought those views warranted societal change.

While there are many similarities between these two horror novels, there are some clear differences, as well. There is a distinct Christian influence in "Dracula" that has been noted by many critics and reviewers. The characters often call on God throughout the novel, such as, "God pity me! Look down on a poor soul in worse than mortal peril; and in mercy pity those to whom she is dear!' Then she began to rub her lips as though to cleanse them from pollution" (Stoker 288). On the other hand, Shelley uses God more in times of despair, and there is not such a feeling of good and evil, God vs. The devil in her story. Instead, it focuses on the weaknesses of man and their desires, without as much interest in the spiritual side of the story.

In addition, Stoker sets his novel mostly in Victorian London, a location that many of his early readers could certainly relate to, while Shelley prefers much more exotic locations, such as the North Pole, Geneva, and Scotland, which gives an air of mystery and excitement to her book. To give his novel excitement, Stoker creates Transylvania as a home for vampires and other evil beings, also using an exotic locale, but associating evil with that locale that still lives on today. Shelley uses exotic locations, but does not manage to infuse them with evil the way Stoker does, and that sets these two novels apart.