For though he had “selected the creature’s features as beautiful,” the moment he beholds it stirring, he recoils. Yet Victor had not done away entirely with the need for maternity. Simply put, he devises a new way of bestowing life that completely sidesteps the need for conception, pregnancy and childbirth. Reflecting on this feat, Victor remarks that “no father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely” as he would deserve of the new race of creatures he sought to create. Justine, the Frankensteins’ housekeeper, is falsely convicted of the murder of Victor’s younger brother, also grows up motherless.įrankenstein’s most dramatic instance of motherlessness is the monster itself, a human being created by a man alone. While on their honeymoon, Elizabeth too is killed by the monster. Victor Frankenstein’s mother, an orphan, dies of scarlet fever while nursing Victor’s “cousin” and eventual wife, Elizabeth. To begin with, mothers in Frankenstein are quite short-lived. The creation of FrankensteinĪt numerous points, the novel highlights the devastating effects of maternal absence. Not surprisingly, mothers in “Frankenstein” are conspicuous by their absence – with disastrous consequences. Shelley’s own attempts at motherhood would result in multiple miscarriages and the deaths of three children. Her mother, the feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, had died from complications arising from her birth. Shelley, who published the work at the age of only 19, had many reasons to make motherhood a major theme.
The cost of raising a child to adulthood has been increasing and real median household income has only just regained its 1999 level.Īt this time, when it could be argued that maternity is in decline, Mary Shelley’s classic work of literature, “Frankenstein,” celebrating its 200th anniversary this year, invites us to reflect on the deeper importance of mothers in our lives. Fertility rates are falling in America as millennials decide not to have children. Motherhood is getting considerable attention, even if much of the news is concerning.