http://mith.umd.edu/eng738T/frankenstein-and-the-female/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=frankenstein-and-the-female English 738T, Spring 2015 Sat, 12 Nov 2016 04:10:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://mith.umd.edu/eng738T/frankenstein-and-the-female/#comment-122 Kathryn Skutlin Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:32:25 +0000 http://mith.umd.edu/eng738T/?p=329#comment-122 I think that some of the confusion about why the monster chooses Justine and why Victor refuses to use her body can be solved by looking at this situation in terms of access and denial. Victor had access to Justine while she was alive. She was madly in love with him, but he chose Elizabeth instead. The creature longs for Justine, knowing that such a union could never be because Victor has made him incompatible with human society. Perhaps angry that Victor could so carelessly cast off the love of a beautiful woman--the love that the monster longs for--he chooses her in death as a reminder to Victor of the ready access to love that he has in comparison to the impossibility of finding love that the monster faces. When Victor sees Justine, he is reminded of what he has done in creating a monster that is doomed to remain outside of society and that is incompatible with love. As a result, one can speculate that he refuses to condemn Justine to a similar fate. Even though Justine would be made monstrous, she might still reject the love of the creature and be alone. Victor's decision to abandon his resolve and bring Elizabeth back stems from the knowledge that Elizabeth will be welcomed with his love. He wants to restore the love that was lost, not create a love that is monstrous and outside societal norms. I think that some of the confusion about why the monster chooses Justine and why Victor refuses to use her body can be solved by looking at this situation in terms of access and denial. Victor had access to Justine while she was alive. She was madly in love with him, but he chose Elizabeth instead. The creature longs for Justine, knowing that such a union could never be because Victor has made him incompatible with human society. Perhaps angry that Victor could so carelessly cast off the love of a beautiful woman–the love that the monster longs for–he chooses her in death as a reminder to Victor of the ready access to love that he has in comparison to the impossibility of finding love that the monster faces. When Victor sees Justine, he is reminded of what he has done in creating a monster that is doomed to remain outside of society and that is incompatible with love. As a result, one can speculate that he refuses to condemn Justine to a similar fate. Even though Justine would be made monstrous, she might still reject the love of the creature and be alone. Victor’s decision to abandon his resolve and bring Elizabeth back stems from the knowledge that Elizabeth will be welcomed with his love. He wants to restore the love that was lost, not create a love that is monstrous and outside societal norms.

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