I want to start by saying that 'criticism' has, at the same time, too many vowels and too many consonants. I could probably win Hangman with that one.
Smith writes that, as children, we create spheres to separate things into. This was confusing at times, but she consistently wrote of how it was connected with masculinity and femininity. On page 313 she writes about what we all think of when we hear 'feminism': the woman stays at home to cook, clean, and take care of the kids while the man goes out and works hard to bring home the bacon. Smith writes, "the man's public sphere of commerce and activity was kept distinct from the woman's private sphere of home and passivity," (313). She goes on to write about different traits that show masculinity and femininity. Examples of these traits can be found in Frankenstein. Victor was our only masculine male character because the others showed a more nurturing and loving side, and the women characters were portrayed as very domestic and caring. I think that if Victor had been a little bit more feminine, he wouldn't have run from the creature when he saw it. Victor's father wasn't very masculine when raising his son, and I believe this may have something to do with why he ran instead of taking charge.
Smith gives the example that Mary Shelley stayed in the private sphere when publishing Frankenstein anonymously in 1818. At that time she allowed her husband to do the editing which is another example of the public/private sphere.
When reading this, I thought of the creature. He spends most of his time in hiding wishing he wasn't alone. He wants family, and he wants to be loved. Do you think the creature is more masculine or more feminine? Since he is a creation of Victor's and isn't human, is he exempt from these particular spheres?
2 comments:
I'm not sure if I think the creature is exempt from the spheres, but I do think that he is more feminine than masculine. Also, the rejection of his creator and society made him take on more traditionally masculine traits, such as aggression. But I think that on whole and inherently, he is more nurturing, much like Victor's father.
In my American Literature class, we just read Emerson's Nature, which he originally published anonymously like Shelley did with Frankenstein. I thought it was really interesting that he chose to do so when he probably did not feel like he absolutely had to (unlike Shelley).
Whether or not the creature is part of the public or private sphere is a very interesting question. Please note that the idea of separate spheres is a critical theory whose purpose is to allow us to examine some aspects of human society; it assumes that children from birth begin to be acculturated into one or another, depending on gender. And it has its limitations. But the creature's real problem, as he understands it, is that he is a society of one, and therefore separate spheres, or spheres at all, become academic questions.
Post a Comment