The creature's ambiguous humanity has long puzzled readers and viewers of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The novel offers rich materials for philosophical reflection; we can find many connections linking Frankenstein, the Humanities Base Themes, and topics often discussed in Introduction to Philosophy. In this essay I will focus on how Frankenstein can be used to explore two philosophical topics, social contract theory, and gender roles, in light of ideas from Shelley's two philosophical parents, William Godwin, …showed first 75 words of 2017 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2017 total…feminine gender socialization, should their characters be perverted, as Wollstonecraft would have predicted? How did Victor's masculine gender socialization shape his character? Was it one important variable in why he abandoned the creature? Return to the top of the page WORKS CITED Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Emile. 1762. translated by William Boyd, New York: Columbia University, 1956. Shelley, Mary. 1818. Frankenstein. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1996. Wollstonecraft, Mary. 1792. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. New York: Penguin Books, 1992.