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  • Essay / The objectification of Safie in the novel “Frankenstein”

    Over time, the presence of patriarchal ideologies in the Western world has significantly diminished. Yet, in the past, women have lived in brutal societal conditions that most people, especially men, cannot imagine. In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, patriarchal society and its ideals drive the behavior of many characters. The daughter of a Turkish merchant unknowingly engages in a commensalism-like relationship with Frankenstein's monstrous creature. The monster takes advantage of Safie's stereotypically passive nature by using her as a method of learning the De Lacey family language. However, academics are not the only thing he learns from the strange woman, the close relationship between Safie and Felix forces the monster to recognize unforeseen emotions related to his neglect. During Safie's stay at the cabin, the monster continually calls her "Arab" and emphasizes her appearance, showing that he views her as an object. Frankenstein's monster objectifies Safie in order to advance her studies and advance her emotional intelligence along the way. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayLanguage, institutions, and social power structures have reflected patriarchal interests throughout history, which has had a profound impact on women's ability to express themselves. From a feminist perspective, men in literature use power to establish systems that naturalize power and maintain dominance by making women's inferior roles appear engineered. In Frankenstein, Caroline Frankenstein plays the ideal female character who supports her father who falls ill and cares for him until his death. This exhibits the attributes associated with patriarchal domesticity because she is caring and self-sacrificing, as Caroline puts her father's needs ahead of her own. Traditionally, a woman's usefulness to men is what defines them, and the power exercised over women therefore affects their experiences of individuality. Within patriarchies, women are also typically objectified and, instead of being seen as their male counterpart, they are the “other” or “that,” making women seem less than fully human. Furthermore, instrumentality, when someone treats a woman as a tool to achieve their goals, is an underlying problem both rooted in patriarchal ideology and, more specifically, in the indirect relationship between Safie and the monster. Despite the fact that Safie and the rest of the cottage owners don't. Knowing that the monster is watching them, he decides to form a relationship with Safie from which only he will benefit. Although Safie and the rest of the female characters in Frankenstein are the product of a female author, Safie still has a demeaning characterization typical of the era. When Safie arrives at the chalet, Agatha and Felix begin to teach her English; the monster watches, and “the idea instantly came to him that he must use the same instructions for the same purpose” (Shelley 116). The concept of instrumentality is first introduced after Frankenstein's monster realizes that he can use Safie for his own benefit, which is the epitome of the objectification of women. For the remainder of her stay at the cabin, Safie's usefulness to the opposite sex becomes the monster's primary focus and illustrates the effects of patriarchal domesticity. As the monster continues to celebrate the happy family, Safie's lessons become his own as well. So, because of a passive woman, the firstThe monster's academic education results: “[His] days were devoted to special attention, so that [he] could master the language more quickly; and [he] can boast of having improved more than the Arab, who understood very few things…” (Shelley 117). Because Safie only exists to serve the opposite sex, whether she actually learns the language or not no longer matters because she now represents a means to the monster's educational end. Although Felix and Agatha view her with great admiration, Safie's role in patriarchal society remains that of a passive and objectified female character. Incorporating Safie into the story is more than just creating an easy way for the monster to flourish academically and learn Felix's language. and Agathe; it also provides an important emotional channel. By observing Safie's relationships with the vacationers, particularly his romantic relationship with Félix, the monster realizes how alone he is. His recent education leads the monster to recognize that he knows no one like himself: "Other lessons have been even more deeply impressed upon me... all the various relationships which bind one human being to another in mutual bonds... I n I had never seen a being before. looks like me” (Shelley 120). The monster now knows that he is alone and despised by all who lay eyes on him, and that even his creator has abandoned him. However, without Safie's presence, the monster would not have the opportunity to experience the feelings of "indignation, joy and wonder", nor would he realize that his creator, Victor Frankenstein, had seized his chances of making connections. The monster's disappointment with his life is a response to the cottagers' cheerful attitudes, which are constantly manifested through their light-hearted lifestyle. After witnessing Felix's admiration for Safie and discovering strong family relationships, the monster says to himself: "But where were my friends and relations? No father had watched over my childhood days, no mother had blessed me with smiles and caresses…” (Shelley 120). Even if Frankenstein's monster had no intention of observing classes outside of the academic realm, his self-pity is unnecessary given that it was his decision to treat Safie, someone human, as an object having only an instrumental value to achieve one's personal objectives. Eventually, the monster further develops his emotional intelligence by taking advantage of Safie's interactions with Felix and Agatha, but the results are not in his favor. Even for a monstrous creature, patriarchy still influences how Frankenstein's monster views women; by viewing Safie as an object, he reduces an entire genre to the status of mere tools for his own purposes. Based on past observations of the monster and his experience with other women, he believes that they are inherently passive and object-like, as far as he refers to it. Even for a monstrous creature, patriarchy still influences how Frankenstein's monster views women; by viewing Safie as an object, he reduces an entire genre to the status of mere tools for his own ends. Based on past observations of the monster and his experience with other women, he believes that they are inherently passive and object-like, to the extent that he refers to Safie as "the Arab". Although instrumentality is already a theme present since the monster uses Safie to advance his studies, he continues to minimize her existence by rarely using her first name: "While I was listening to the instructions that Felix was giving to the Arab, the “strange system of human society was explained to me” (Shelley 118). In some works,.