Commoners In Frankenstein

During the Romantic Era, many cultural problems existed within society’s belief towards women and the impoverished. The negative aspects of Romantic England included the men’s superiority over the women and the poor conditions of the commoners. These problems were part of England’s culture in the years 1800 to 1850 which had a profound effect on the novel Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley. During Romantic England, the people were still divided into different classes based on their social and economic status. These classes were distinguished by “...the basis of power, education, economic status, prestige etc”(“hierarchy”par.3). In English society women were prevented from being an individual that “thinks” on their own behalf and were
Both urban and rural commoners had much in common: “unsanitary and overcrowded housing, low wages, poor diet, insecure employment…”(“bbc”par.2). One of the problems the commoners had to deal with was the insufficient quantities of food which is shown when “... the two younger cottagers; for several times they placed food before the old man when they reserved none for themselves (Shelley 74). The De Laceys are presented as another one of the victims of the Government’s unfairness towards the common people. Often, children have to sacrifice themselves and work all day in order to get the resources needed to maintain their lifestyle. Even after working hard, the De Lacey family does not have a sufficient amount of food to support themselves. The negative aspects of the culture of England during the years 1800 to 1850 had a profound effect on the novel Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley. There were many problems of women’s place in society and of the conditions of the poor. However, through the reforms that were brought into England, the perspective and attitude towards women and the commoners gradually changed. These problems were thoroughly addressed in the writings of Mary Shelley to inform and criticize the English