Mary Shelly (1797-1851) is one of the world's most renowned authors and is the author of many books that are still read and highly respected today. However, his best known work is Frankenstein. Mary Shelly's debut novel, Frankenstein, is one of the world's finest works of literature and the definitive novel of the English Romantic era; the novel combines a detailed critique of humanity with many powerful themes and several characters in the novel reflect the troubled woman who wrote the classic tale. Shelly's Frankenstein is easily considered one of the world's finest works of literature. One of the reasons it is in a class of its own is due to the strong feminist overtones present throughout the work. All of Shelly's female characters seem inferior to men; this portrayal of the character was accurate to the period in which the novel was written, during which this proved to be the case. An example of this would be how Shelly described Elizabeth, "whose hair was of the brightest living gold, and, notwithstanding the poverty of her clothing, seemed to put a crown of distinction on her head", when the mother of Victor met her (Shelly 20). From the beginning of the novel, Elizabeth is presented as weak. Victor later said, when his mother brought Elizabeth home, that she was "a possession of mine" (Shelly 21). Not only is Elizabeth presented as weak, but also as an object to be used as the Frankenstein family wishes. And this wish was that Elizabeth would become Victor's wife, "until her death she was to be" Victor's only (Shelly 21). She is presented to the reader as weak, in a helpless position and overall incapable of supporting herself without others; at the mercy of men (Feminism and Frankenstein). Put fe...... middle of paper ...... The History Guide, 2000. February 15, 2011. Web.----------------. “Lectures on Modern European Intellectual History: Mary Wollstonecraft, 1759-1797.” » The History Guide, 2000. February 15, 2011. Web.Flaig, Bonnie. “Frankenstein or the modern Prometheus”. Master intrigues. Ed. Frank N. Magill. Pasadena, CA: Salem Press, 1996. 2420-2423. Print.Walter, Sean. “The Romantic Tenants.” Wentzville R-IV Public School System. Holt High School Modular 4, Wentzville, Missouri, February 7, 2011. Conference.---------------. “Feminism and Frankenstein”. Wentzville R-IV Public School System. Holt High School Modular 4, Wentzville, Missouri, February 7, 2011. Lecture.----------------. “Romanticism and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.” Article Myriade, 2010. Web. February 19, 2011. Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. New York: Bantam Books, 2003. Print