In her article, Jessica Hale introduces unorthodox views that interpret subtle connections within the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. In her analysis of how issues related to gender, sexuality, and race play a role not only in the novel but also on a larger societal facet, I found her argument about the existence of homosocial relationships in Shelley’s novel to be the most interesting. To summarize, Hale believes that male characters in the novel are connected by “intimate and intense relationships” amongst each other. Whether in talking about Robert Walton’s platonic connection with Victor or Alphonse Frankenstein’s ties with his friend Beaufort through his nurturing of Caroline, Hale argues that the presence of homosocial relationships reveals the “inherent instability of the institutions of family….that society sougth…to establish as stable and immutable in the 19^th century”. Hale provides evidence by quoting passages from the novel such as “I desire the company of a man who could sympathize with me…” by Robert Walton. By giving a thorough analysis she shows that because men would seek for the companionship of other men, without necessarily needing interactions with females, there exist homosocial interactions in the novel that alter conventional views about “domesticity”. Hale also employs the “They Say” technique to draw statements from other authors, such as Schoene-Harwood, in an attempt to give a more concrete opinion about certain homosocial relationships. For example, while Schone-Harwood claims that men such as Alphonse and Henry do not show signs of femininity, Hale notes that they indeed do, through their “nurturing qualities”.

In the eyes of writers, certain words may have deeper meanings than their proper definition. In reading this article, I struggled in immediately understanding the meaning of domesticity. Hale goes on about explaining how the novel portrays this concept. In reading further, I understood that domesticity symbolizes the different roles that men and women play in family, whether at home or in public. Though Hale gives a straightforward definition at the beginning of the section Domestic and Public Spheres, I continued to use context clues in understanding the word’s domesticity relation to characters or certain plots.