"but to us the discovery we have made complete our misery. No one would believe it at first: and even now Elizabeth will not be convinced, not withstanding all the evidence. Indeed who would credit that Justine Moritz, who was amicable and fond of all the family, could suddenly become capable of so frightful, so appalling a crime?" (Shelley 120 (chapter 7)). *Victor's Brother
"Justine Moritz! Poor, poor girl, is she the accused? But it is wrongfully; everyone knows that; no one believes it, surely, Ernest?" (Shelley 120). *Elizabeth
"You are all mistaken; I know the murderer. Justine,poor,good Justine,is innocent" (Shelley 121). *Victor
Within this chapter, you witness how Elizabeth tries to help defend Justine's innocence. It seems as though both of the women Elizabeth and Justine's pleas are not being heard out. This can go into the reasoning behind the women being subordinate to men. Why did it take for a man, Victor, for the innocence of Justine to get across to others? Why was it a major factor doing this time period for the women to be passive to a man? Were there strong independent women as we see today during this era? Could this type of woman coexist with a man during this time?
Being that Victor was a man Ms.Freeman his voice would be heard more clearly than that the voice of a woman. Due to the fact that during this time period as stated above women were expected to be subordinate to men and insubordination from a woman was unusual. It was a major factor for a woman to be passive to a man because it was a part of her role. Women today have "Roles" such as independent, single mother, or housewife. Simply back then in which is quoted maybe it was a woman's role to be passive to a man. Yes there is a belief within me that there were strong independent women who simply did not voice their opinion because maybe it was not needed. However many women of our time period now are very willing to speak up regardless of the role they are subjected to play.
ReplyDeleteDuring the time period (early 1800's) women did not have many rights and were considered inferior to men. It was not until the mid to late 1800's, when the Women's Rights Movement began, and women started receiving many of the rights they have today. It took for a man, Victor, to get Justine's innocence across, because no one was going to listen to a women. They weren't considered to know much. Not many women even received an education. It was an important factor for women to be passive to a man, because women were to do exactly as they were told to by their fathers or husbands. During this era there were strong independent women. An example of a strong independent women would be Mary Wollstonecraft, the mother of Mary Shelley, who was a leading woman literary figure. A strong independent women wouldn't coexist with a man just because women were controlled by men, and strong, independent women would be uncontrollable.
ReplyDelete