Monsters and Women in Frankenstein and The Bride of Frankenstein

Abstract

This paper will discuss and analyze the representation of the females and the politics of gender in Frankenstein and its fictional rewriting, The Bride of Frankenstein. Highlighting the gender specific roles of female characters, such as Elizabeth and Pandora, with a feminist outlook in a creative way, The Bride of Frankenstein makes the comparison with Frankenstein, which underlines the traditional position of females at home. The Bride of Frankenstein reflects women's increasing rights and even showcases the new model of the relationship between men and women in the future. Focusing mainly on the feminine perspective and their desires through female characters such as Elizabeth, Pandora, and Thea, who perform significant roles in developing the whole story afterwards, The Bride of Frankenstein shows the world without the male dominance seen in Frankenstein, while the desires of the male characters such as Frankenstein, Smith and Rotwang, conversely, are frustrated by them. The character of Elizabeth in The Bride of Frankenstein is reinterpreted most creatively. Getting rid of the shadow of men that has been always cast on women, Elizabeth’s intention for female independence is to destroy the male-centered world, and enslave males under female's power. Pandora, the female monster, rejects the current sexual politics and overturns the idea of women as inferior and docile. Rather she envisions the relations of women and men by emphasizing equality between them rather than hierarchy. She calls this relation as "friendship." Here Pandora’s suggestion of friendship, different from Elizabeth’s idea of female bonding and intimacy, implies the reevaluation of the "separate sphere" paradigm. Eliminating the gender specific relations which emphasizes a distinctive women’s culture, she suggests the gender-free friendship as the means to accomplish a world she envisions. As The Bride of Frankenstein showcases the incessant process of the critical reinterpretation of Frankenstein, the closure of Frankenstein seems to remain incomplete and unending.