The Bride of Frankenstein: Race and hybridity

Mulvey-Roberts, Marie

Abstract

In August 1816, Matthew “Monk” Lewis arrived at Villa Diodati after having narrowly escaped being massacred in a slave riot in Jamaica where he owned two plantations. Shortly after his departure, Mary Shelley started writing about the monster. His conversations with Byron and P.B. Shelley about the experiences of being a slave-master may have found their way into Frankenstein, which draws on the discourse of master and slave. Not only can the monster be seen to represent a Caribbean slave, but it also personifies fears of racial mixing, encoded within the creature’s appearance. Furthermore, Victor Frankenstein’s fears that the mate he started to create for his monster might procreate with man, figure among the triggers for her ultimate destruction, when she is torn to pieces by her maker. By contrast, Orlan’s modern recreation of the Bride of Frankenstein through her own body modifications entails a celebration of hybridity. This paper will explore attitudes towards mixed race in 1816 and how these might have been refracted through Shelley’s novel. It will also be shown how the fragmented female monster is reintegrated in ways which enable racial diversity to embody female empowerment.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: Summer of 1816: Creativity and Turmoil
• Start Date: Jun 24, 2016
• End Date: Jun 27, 2016
• Deposit Date: Apr 30, 2024
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/11949220