Nature vs. Science: How 'Frankenstein' Reflects the Feminist Criticism of Enlightenment Thought
1. Introduction
The core concept of the Age of Enlightenment is "reason" which triggered considerable philosophical and other intellectual outcomes (Outram, 2006; Weber, 1992). In this respect, academia obtained an opportunity to develop in not only humanity and arts but also science (Zafirovski, 2010). In the Enlightenment discourse, empirical science which signifies the rational thought was prevalent with individuals' aspiration for social advancement (ibid.). Within it, there are two chief approaches to conduct scientific experiments, including the non-interfering observation and the other with human intervention upon the observed object. In that period, the predominant one is not the former aiming at understanding the nature but the latter targeting at "conquering" the world (Merchant, 1981). Serving as science fiction, the novella Frankenstein in this period also exhibits certain facets of the scientific world. Consequently, as a renowned "product of criticism" (Botting, 1995, p. 1)recognised to be a feminism masterpiece against the patriarchal society, scholars believed that this novel is a feminist critique towards the Enlightenment science. To completely comprehend this statement, it is essential but challenging to grasp accurately what "feminism" indicates in this context. It is not the conventional ones' biological perception but a rather sociological notion. Invoking an explanation from Freud, Strachey, and Richards (1977), masculinity sometimes can be the description of activity and femininity passivity, which to some extent correlates to the two approaches mentioned above. Taking it as a fundamental definition, this essay will first examine the gendered elements as the symbolism of the scientific world before discussing to what extent it is a critique against science from ecofeminism, socio-feminism, and deconstructive feminism perspectives.
2. Ecofeminism Paradigm
In Frankenstein, the most famous quotation about science and feminism is that "they penetrate into the recesses of nature, and show how she works in her hiding places" (Shelley, 2008, p. 30). The utilisation of a seemingly gender-indicating term "penetrate" and the personal pronoun "her" endows nature the feminine identity. In this respect, Shelly draws an analogy between the unsatisfiable craving for controlling the nature and that of possessing a woman. Obviously, this ideology is not the non-intervening method but the one appealing to the absolute command of natural resources. As a preliminary introduction of this topic, the attitudes toward science and nature, which is substantially countered by ecofeminist, attract the present essay's attention to the other gendered elements, specifically, the characters in different sexes.
2.1. Frankenstein
As an important character as well as one of the narrator, Frankenstein, who is portrayed as a scientist, can be perceived as a symbol of those under criticising. There are multiple signs disclosing his "masculine" attitudes and approaches towards conducting scientific research. The first representation is the deprivation of the female reproductive function. In the western context, the fundamental feature of femininity is pregnancy; for example, the Bible writes that "unto the woman he (God) said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee" (Genesis 3:16, King James Version). When Frankenstein attempts to generate an existence by himself, he is opposing this very basic attribute of the female and extending his masculine privilege. Similarly, when Joseph Black discovered the carbon dioxide, this chemist seems to oppose the natural processing of the air as well. From ecofeminism perspective, this abnormal manipulation upon the natural existence is a disrespect of the "mother" earth (MacGregor, 2011). In modern advancement of science, there are analogous examples such as the medicalization of childbirth which substitutes the female's reproduction with specialised technology. It leads to a typical claim by the ecofeminist that the patriarchal system governs the binary relationship which should have been shared by both sexes (Hobgood-Oster, 2005).
The second illustration is the contempt for death. As a scientist, Frankenstein managed to create life from dead things, or even debris. This ingenious employment of science makes Frankenstein regard himself as modern Prometheus, "break(ing) through and pour a torrent of light into our dark world" (Shelley, 2008, p. 36). This breach of the natural law is comparable to the dispossession of reproduction above. Therefore, the ecofeminists criticised this approach as well because its ultimate aim is inconsiderate of mother nature. For spiritual ecofeminism, considering that the earth is alive, which concentrates on principles of cherishing, sympathy, and nonaggression, they refute all the activities devastating the planet (Eisler, 1990). Besides this disapproval of the longing for dominating the world, the symbolism of the real damage on nature has to be analysed. It turns our concentration from Frankenstein to his monster which is the representation of scientific production.
2.2. The Monster
When this monster was formed, he required the human beings to admit him. Additionally, he hoped Frankenstein can create a female companion for him which is a natural request. However, as the monster is not the identical creature with human beings, he was not accepted and even abominated by the ordinary people. Even he endeavoured to demonstrate the innate goodness he owns, Frankenstein still refused to believe. Then, the monster started to damage the world and the individuals surrounding him. If we take this monster as an indication of scientific manufacture in general sense, this plot can be recognised as a criticism of technology misapplication. Firstly, the monster's yearning for acknowledgement denotes that the purpose of every scientific invention is to cater tohuman beings. Afterwards, as this creation is different from the natural elements and seems to be horribly powerful, no one accepts it to enter into the community or other normal groups. Although the invention per se is neutral, there are researchers who utilise it improperly and endow it with the evil attribute. Consequently, the monster commences destroying the nature and the other people which can also be identified as the scientific production initiates to cause destruction to the world. In this regard, it has to be noticed that this monster murders numerous female people around Frankenstein. If it is true that the female characters are the icon of nature, this scrutiny may be more tenable and the feminism criticism of this novel can be more trustworthy.
From the ecofeminism perspective, modern science abuses the employment of natural resources, even using the scientific invention to injure the world. This "science of man" (Hume, 2003) not only administrates the labour, material, and property, but also exploits them in certain detrimental behaviours such as war. Furthermore, even though some scholars' primary intention is positive, they may lose the controlling position of their technology. In these respects, this novella which presents the catastrophic consequences of the scientist can be comprehended as an ecofeminism criticism of the masculine enlightenment science and even contemporary science.
3. Socio-Feminism Paradigm
Within sociology or other interdisciplinary fields, the most significant indication of gender difference is social status (Lakoff, 1973). Therefore, this section will discuss how the social status of different genders in the text suggests the situation of the scientific area.
3.1. Male Characters
As a scientist, the novel seems to bestow Frankenstein the most prestigious status among all the characters. Leaving the female roles related to him to Section 3.2, this part will majorly focus on the relation between Frankenstein and the monster. Together with the dominating position of male, some people discover that the females are the "supporters", "nurturers" and "caregivers" in the society (Stoddart & Tindall, 2011). This hierarchical relation attracts the present essay's attention to the similar relation between the scientist and his scientific production. Although the monster is not a female figure, he was created to satisfy Frankenstein's needs which resembles the female status in the society. Due to the discrepancy between the "feminine" purpose and the "masculine" production, Frankenstein fails to content himself and finally hurts himself. It may be the sign of a woman who possesses the male-like power rebelling against the male-ruling scheme. This deconstructive perspective of the monster's gender will be mentioned in Section 4 again with more detailed analysis.
Robert Walton, who has a comparable preoccupation with knowledge, is another representation of the male scholar. From a sociological perspective, he is typical racism and male chauvinist. In the text, it seems to be ethnocentrism when he utters that "he (Frankenstein) was not, as the other traveller seemed to be, a savage inhabitant of some undiscovered island, but an European" (Shelley, 2008, p. 13). This ideology prompts considerable models attacking the minority group, for example, colonialism, imperialism, and racism. The analogous opinion also reinforces the patriarchal framework which separates the female from the male and undervalues the females' contribution to the society. In this regard, men have constructed various boundaries to distinguish themselves from women. If analysing Captain Walton's idea about friends, overtly, he needs "a man who could sympathise with" him, which neglects the female character directly. After he befriends with Frankenstein, his role as a symbolism of science intensifies which implying the male dominating scientific world. It is a socio-feminism criticism to the masculine enlightenment academia.
Furthermore, taking sociolinguistic evidence as an example, the gendered terms in English such as "waiter/waitress", "man/woman", and "policeman" are the main target under criticised by feminism linguist (Gumperz, Drew, & Goodwin, 1982; West & Zimmerman, 2015). The similar phenomenon can be seen in the collocation of "science" and "nature". According to Table A, within the collocation search of "natural" in Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA), "resources" is the term ranking second only after the terminology "natural gas" (Davies, 2008). It reveals the situation that individuals consider nature as the raw material which has to be processed and fabricated. This profit-oriented philosophy is a sign of the "masculine" attitude to the world. In the text, Walton's intention of "ascertaining the secret of the magnet" (Shelley, 2008, p. 6) via exploring the natural world reflect some extent of this ideology. Furthermore, Frankenstein describes the capacity of animating the dead things as "my ability to give life to an animal as complex and wonderful as man" (Shelley, 2008, p. 35) which seems to substitute the human beings with "man". Additionally, Frankenstein's abandonment of his scientific production also suggests that the scientists will desert their inventions if these things cannot benefit them. This masculine contempt on the feminine nature and the exploitation of it are under criticised by the novel, presented by the tragic ending of it.
Table A: Collocation of "Natural" in COCA
3.2. Female Characters
In this novel, the female characters are pretty typical the ones in patriarchal society. In addition, as the scientist identity of Frankenstein, the relation between him and the females surrounding him can be understood as that between enlightenment science and nature. Generally, the unequal position of these two genders can be interpreted from their discourse right and right to learn the truth, which is also a sociolinguistic feminism theory (Lakoff, 1973). In the text, the monster slaughters the females around Frankenstein under the circumstance that none of the women knows the exact situation. On one hand, it means that the scientific progress has nothing to do with women, indicating that scholars conduct a spectrum of experiments without the considerations to the earth. On the other hand, it signifies that the masculine science will damage nature in an unexpected and unpredictable way.
Moreover, the female characters in the novel are all perfect supporters. For instance, Justine Moritz is an archetype for a male's subordination with the skills and personality traits of aiding males. The faultless fiancée Elizabeth Lavenza finally give way to Frankenstein's career and dream, with a psychoanalytical symbol of his vanishing love (Li, 2012). This inferior status of women reveals, again, the masculine science's exploitation of nature and the disrespect of it. It also suggests that scientific advancement can sacrifice the protection of nature which is only a supporter of the science or the other human activities.
4. Deconstructive Feminism Paradigm
The widespread discussion on the structuralism and existentialism perception of the biological sex leads to the development of the deconstructive feminism branch (O'Leary, 1997). Currently, it is broadly acknowledged that gender is not a binary concept which varies according to the individuals' personalities (Amaya, 2017; Rhoads, 2005). Therefore, this section will use this theory to examine the novella.
4.1. Frankenstein
In Section 2.1, Frankenstein was believed to be a typical male who desires to extend his masculine privilege via stealing reproductive right. However, he may indeed be a transsexual or even hermaphrodite. In this respect, when he desires to invent a creature and breach the natural law, he is operating his masculine identity. He, conversely, may be functioning as a feminine one or perhaps a natural one, when he refuses to accept the abnormal production of the monster. Then, the two dichotomous attitudes towards the scientific invention emerge in Frankenstein himself. The masculine scientist ambitiously conducts the research, whereas the feminine ordinary people criticise the overaggressive approach. It seems, in this plot, the male feature defeats and this monster is disliked by Frankenstein, which may imply the criticism of the masculine enlightenment science.
Similarly, after influenced and hurt by the monster, Frankenstein wants to eliminate the monster and tries to stop Walton continuing the obsession with knowledge and science. This seems to signify that Frankenstein has transferred to a female identity which emphasises the non-intervening scientific method and environmental protection. This ultimate transformation of gender is an intrinsic criticism of the former masculine state.
4.2. The Monster
As mentioned in Section 3.1, the monster can be seen as a woman with male-like power. To be clearer, the monster may experience the transformation from female to male. Initially, the purpose of his birth is to cater to the male's needs, similar to the subordinating status of the female group. Right after Frankenstein creating him, the monster starts to show his needs for love, acceptance, and sympathy, which are all the features emphasised by the feminist as the "feminine" attitude to the world (Eisler, 1990). Afterwards, as he has not succeeded to gain the respect and love from human beings, the monster begins to transfer to a male figure. It means that he gains the other people's "respect" through showing off his power and force, which is similar to the male's imperialism thought (). In the final plot, the monster redeclares his reason for destroying the world and disappears. It seems to show his innate "feminine" pursuit for the natural goodness and freedom, but meanwhile, to present his dislike and even disdain for the social-constructed masculine science pattern. That is why he claims " I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel" (Shelley, 2008, p. 77).
This transformation of gender also can be the sign of the critique of the enlightenment science. The scientific production per se is neutral and the purpose of constructing it is always positive, nevertheless, there are scholars utilise these technologies negatively which instils the horror of the invention into the individuals. The last scenario actually symbolises this novel's feminism critique of the masculine science, in which the scientific production hurts its inventor as well as the other "innocent" people.
5. Conclusion
This essay has analysed Frankenstein from three different feminism aspects including ecofeminism, socio-feminism, and deconstructive feminism. In ecofeminism part, the dichotomy between science and nature reflected in this novel has been examined to display the criticism of the damage on nature caused by the masculine interfering science. The socio-feminism section principally analysed the dissimilar social status of the characters representing the different significance between science and nature, showing the criticism of the neglection of nature. Additionally, Section 4 gives a deconstructive investigation on Frankenstein's and the monster's gender, via which the male identities were all negatively portrayed or even destroyed in the end. Limited by length, this essay does not provide enough excerpts in the real text which is required in the following investigation. Furthermore, as the major focus is the analysis of the correlation between feminism theory and the text, the present essay may be insufficient in elaborating on certain theories which are summarised and condensed. In the prospective studies, a more profound theoretical review should be comprised to produce better literary criticism.
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