How does Shelley present relationships between men and women? Essay

How does Shelley present relationships between men and women? Shelley present relationships between men and women in various ways but they all have an inter-linking message within them. This is that women are dependent on men in the majority of relationships. Shelley uses characters as examples of different relationships; for example Caroline and Alphonse’s relationship is a very loving one. All that Frankenstein says of his parents his good things, for example he says, â€Å"Active spirit of tenderness that animated both,† the majority of descriptions of their relationships is similar to this. Their relationship effectively creates a benchmark with which to compare all the other relationships with. None of the others is anywhere nears as perfect as theirs is described. In comparison to their relationship Walton’s relationship with his sister is significantly less passionate. Walton expresses his love for his sister occasionally, he says, â€Å"I love you very tenderly,† he is however not in touch with the emotional turmoil you would expect his sister to be going through. Emotionally Walton is naive; their relationship is long distance, and it is clearly obvious Walton has no experience in communicating his feelings. Their relationship is an unsure one. The main relationship between Victor and Elizabeth is of great contrast, especially between them. As the novel goes on it is apparent that Victor stands for evil, he is selfish, lets an innocent die and his self-piteous as well as ignorant. Elizabeth on the other hand stands for love, caring and is completely unselfish. They are two complete opposites, but they are supposedly in love. There is huge contrast between them, and their relationship is quite rocky... ...sonality. Again in the way that Shelley has presented the relationships between men and women, she has expressed her feminist opinion on how women are forced to give in to men. This is where the role of the monster comes in, it wants a female for companionship, a woman as an equal. The monster represents the relationship that feminists want; he doesn’t want to dominate a relationship, where the woman has to depend on the man. The way Shelley presents relationships seem very feministic, men are portrayed as selfish and ignorant, while women are portrayed essentially as the heroines, for example Justine. She dies with honor, while Victor is portrayed as self-centered. S well as feminist opinions being expressed, there is a general feeling that relationship will eventually fail and are often painful. Shelley uses relationships to express her opinions.