Shelley's Frankenstein

I do not agree with those individuals who state that an author's work has nothing to do with the author's life. Shelley was well aware of the mistreatment of women in her time. One would assume she would have standout female characters that challenged society's view on women's roles at the time. However, Shelley takes a different approach. Instead of having a heroic female character, she has several complacent females who represent the kind of stereotypes found during her time. Elizabeth is the woman adopted by Victor's mother and the intended wife of Victor. His mother comes home with something "beautiful" for her son. It is just accepted that Elizabeth will marry him. She waits and waits until Victor finally marries her but is unaware that a monster he created is stalking and killing his loved ones. He won't even divulge his secret until they are married. In the end she is a victim to the monster's revenge. Justine is another victim in this novel. She is accused of murdering William, the brother of Victor. The real murderer is the monster and Victor knows this. However, he does not say a word and Justine is put to death. Caroline is Victor's mother. She spends her life waiting on Victor's father. She takes in Elizabeth when she is young and contracts scarlet fever and dies. Her life had no great purpose. Even Victor's female monster he was going to create is discarded because he was afraid the monsters might have children together. So he dumps the body and never creates an Eve, a helpmate for his Adam.