The Balance of Women in the World of Frankenstein

• Because Frankenstein creates a male creature, and he himself is male, and basically the novel talks through the voices of mostly male characters, one could say that one of Frankenstein's motives in Geneva is to purify the population into a patriarchical society where no women are present.  For one, when the creature asks Frankenstein to create a female creature so that he may have a companion/someone to love, Frankenstein starts in on his work, but then immediately refuses to create a female creature.
• Victor denies the values and sexuality of women.  One can see that in the book, there are two sides or spheres to the gender role of Geneva and the world.  On the public side, where jobs are completed outside the household among interactions with other people, is where the males reside.  But, on the private side is where the females are forced to stay, where jobs are in the town of Geneva or in the household itself.  This clearly shows that women are discriminated against as non-superior beings that absolutely do not go above males in the novel.
• In Geneva, women have no strength in society and are forced to abide by the laws set forth by the patriarchical society.  For example, when Justine is being tried, Elizabeth calls out that she is completely innocent and did not murder little William.  Instead of the townspeople agreeing with Elizabeth and saving Justine from her intended execution, they, "charg[ed] her with the blackest ingratitude" (p. 80).  What is interesting is that the majority of the male society of Geneva believe that women are evil beyond belief, which is completely false in every way.  If they were to listen to Elizabeth they would have saved Justine from a death that she did not deserve, and if women had the power to save themselves, Victor could have happily lived ever after with his wife Elizabeth.
• Although Geneva is mostly a male-dominant society, the De Lacey family is an example of a society where everyone is treated with, "justice, equality, and mutual affection" (277).  Women should be able to have the importance that they deserve in society, and be able to work among men as independent entities that answer to no man, but to the society as a whole.  But, to my displeasure Victor Frankenstein cannot see the power in women, and in consequence he misses out on the opportunity to save himself and his wife because he is too afraid that the female creature will unleash her power upon the world and create a monster population that would overcome any obstacle such as the population of Geneva.  In short, Victor believes that a woman that he, or any other male figure, can't control was made from the ashes of the devil himself and that they are the most demoniacal of beings.
• What may be the reason for Victor's behavior towards the women in the world, is the fact that he may not be attracted to them.  In other words, he's probably a homosexual.  All of his best companions or soul mates are males that he interacts with, such as Walton, Clerval, etc.  The description of Clerval's eyes shows that there is an attraction that is extremely homoerotic between Victor and Clerval, but it is solely an attraction through the eyes of Victor.  We do not know if Clerval acknowledges said attraction, but I think that Frankenstein could possibly be a story of how a person like Victor is supposed to find companions in the world of Geneva and beyond.