There is a longstanding conception, although deformed and reformed many times throughout history, that woman is the completion of man, the fairer, gentler part, without which mankind would only be half of what it was made to be. John Milton’s Paradise Lost expounds on the biblical creation of humanity, underlining within the text that God was unsatisfied with the existence of man alone, finding full pleasure in his work only following Adam’s union with Eve. “I, ere thou spakest, knew it not good for Man to be alone; and no such company as then thou sawest intended thee” (Milton, Book VII). Humanity was not complete, not considered “good” until the woman was formed and united to the man, the two together making one divine entity of being. During the Romantic Revolution the concept of unity between man and woman was beginning to return to its origin of genuine love and mutual responsibility in the western culture with the ideology that a man does not possess his wife, but is a steward of her heart as she is of his, having been tasked with the divine responsibility of caring for each other as they would care for their own body. When God introduces Eve in creation, Adam exclaims, “I now see bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh,” the second half of himself (ibid.). Throughout Mary Shelly’s novel Frankenstein, this theme is evident in the relationship between the protagonist, Victor, and his cousin, Elizabeth. The character of Elizabeth consistently represents the second half of Victor, even paralleling him at times as if they were one: Elizabeth the untouched, pure side of what Victor could have been had he not meddled with excessive knowledge. As Victor begins to pursue this knowledge more adamantly, he distances himself from Elizabeth–a significant factor in his own fall from paradise.
Shelly presents the upbringing of Victor and Elizabeth as a paradise in itself. The two complement each other and care for each other as did Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. “From this time, Elizabeth Lavenza became my playfellow, and as we grew older, my friend…her disposition uncommonly affectionate…I loved to tend on her” (Shelly). Both she and Victor grew up in innocence, purity, and complete provision, untouched by pain or sorrow, a paradise of their own. “No youth could have passed more happily than mine” (Shelly). Beginning with their childhood and carrying through the entire book, every mention of Elizabeth holds themes of joy, contentment, light, and hopefulness, implying that she represents paradise on earth, and the union to Victor the completion of it. However, as Victor sets his heart to pursue knowledge, he grows distant from Elizabeth, from the paradise they inhabited together, and thus from goodness as well. As he chases this vanity, his character begins to change, displaying the pangs of the original sin that led to mankind’s downfall. A notable aspect in this account is that it is Victor who falls for the temptation of knowledge, and Elizabeth who stays content with naivety and tranquility, a reversal from the original story. Elizabeth’s constant position in contentment and paradise acts as a continual reminder to the reader about Victor Frankenstein’s origin, a glimmer of hope for possible restoration.
As Victor changes throughout the story, raging downward further from the gates of Eden and toward dark despair, Elizabeth remains inside it, untouched and unchanging. She becomes an image of what he used to be, what he would have been had he not set his heart on knowledge alone. Her faded presence represents the only “good” left in his life. She arises in several instances throughout the trying times in Victor’s life through consoling letters and a few visits. In the months following his infamous creation, Victor grows ill with remorse. However, upon the reception of a letter from Elizabeth, he exclaims, “Dear, dear Elizabeth!” (Shelly), indicating that despite the hopelessness he feels, it is the prospect of her, of what he used to be, of their union that offers him hope, because not all is yet lost. Further in the book, Elizabeth’s belief in Justine, her heart of hope and desire for genuine truth and justice all depict the characteristics of Eden as well. As the circumstances grow dimmer she represents the former hope and goodness through the consistency of her character, her naivety to the true evil, and her determination to live in peace, all depicting the state in which Victor too once lived but no longer abides. “Amiable cousin! Such were your thoughts, mild and gentle as your own dear eyes and voice. But I—I was a wretch” (Shelly). This reminds the reader of Elizabeth’s connection to Victor, and her continual pull toward goodness and hope as he spirals toward darkness and despair.
There are several defining moments in this story, but the one which holds the most power with respect to the divine bond between man and woman is the scene in which Victor destroys his second creation, a female companion for the monster. It was the creation of such a companion that completed God’s work in the Garden of Eden and made it good, and the destruction of such a companion that brought all torment onto victor’s life, severing every line of hope that he had in a return to paradise, a return to Elizabeth, to his former life. As Victor progresses to this point, it becomes evident that his distance from Elizabeth has become so grave that her goodness cannot reach him any longer. “The gentle affection of my beloved Elizabeth was inadequate to draw me from the depth of my despair” (Shelly). This is a direct parallel signifying that the goodness in his own soul is far out of reach, replaced by hellish traits of depression, darkness, and despair.
The final moments Victor spends with Elizabeth are depicted with such vivid imagery, revealing in one last surge the goodness that Elizabeth holds within her, the representation that she is of Victor’s old self, and his newfound, unshakeable connection to the dark. “We walked for a short time on the shore, enjoying the transitory light…contemplated the lovely scene of waters, woods and mountains obscured in darkness” (Shelly). The subsequent murder of Elizabeth is the departure of everything “good” in Victor. It represents his complete and utter separation from paradise and even from humanity itself. The act of Victor destroying the female companion of his monster and the resulting death of his own female companion uncovers the presence of a foundational chiastic structure beneath the whole story. Victor left paradise to pursue knowledge, the result of which brought about the creation of a horrifying monster. He destroys the female piece, the second half of his creation that would have completed it, and in return his female piece, his own second half is destroyed, resulting in his loss of humanity and transformation into a monster of his own–the ultimate break from any hope of a return to paradise. “All voluntary thought was swallowed up and lost. I was hurried away by fury; revenge alone endowed me with strength…when otherwise delirium or death would have been my portion” (Shelly).
From the beginning of their lives together to the very end, Victor and Elizabeth represent the powerful bond of the union between man and woman, as well as the connection of man to the distant concept of paradise. In this work, Shelly carefully depicts the dismay that ensues from the break of such bonds. Elizabeth’s character represents all that was once good and innocent in Victor. As he runs from paradise and the good in him diminishes throughout the story, she too becomes more distant. In a last futile attempt to regain paradise and “goodness” through marital unity with Elizabeth, Victor loses everything: she dies and his last ounce of humanity and hope dies with her. Through the parallel character of Elizabeth and her connection to paradise, the audience keeps throughout the text a deeper understanding of Victor’s origin and the devastation of his actions as he digresses, keeping continually in mind that every step he takes toward earthly achievement means another step away from the heavenly blessing he had in companionship and tranquility.
October 26, 2018
Works Cited:
Milton, John. “Paradise Lost, Book VIII” Project Gutenberg, 1992. http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26/pg26-images.html.
Shelly, Mary. “Frankenstein.” Edited by J Paul Hunter. W.W Norton & Company, Inc., New York, 2012.