Jessica Hale makes the argument that the nuclear family portrayed in Shelley’s Frankenstein is a comment on both the strict gender binary of 18th century English society and of the dangers in separating the public sphere and private sphere. She discusses how the nuclear family is based on a power inequality between the elder Frankenstein’s that leaves Caroline (and eventually Elizabeth) trapped in a domestic role. Then by showing how the domestic life and public life are displayed as incompatible Jessica comes to the conclusion that Shelley was commenting on the set roles women were forced into.

In Her section discussing Freud and Frankenstein Jessica does a close reading of pg 122 of Frankenstein. In this passage The Monster is examining a small portrait of Caroline Beaufort around William’s neck

In the same section she uses a secondary source to support her argument. The source is a book written by Leo Bersani called The Freudian Beauty. In this book Bersani discusses a specific idea, that Hale then brings into her argument to strengthen her claims.

There were a few terms that, though I could understand within context, I had trouble pinning a direct definition. One term was “chattel”. It is defined as “a moveable possession: any possession or piece of property other than real estate or a freehold.” To go about finding this definition I first went to the Oxford English Dictionary’s online website and searched it. There were a variety of definitions available and even the etymology, however, after reading through them this seemed to be the definition that made the most sense in context.