AN ODE TO ELIZABETH LAVENZA

elizabeth lavenza - elizabeth frankenstein - victor's sister - victor's wife

elizabeth lavenza is a grossly underrated and misinterpreted character in frankenstein. for purposes of this post, i'll be referring to the 1818 edition of frankenstein.

born to a sister of victor's father in italy, and adopted by the frankensteins, elizabeth is "given" to victor as a gift at the age of five. victor is trusted to take care of her and eventually marry her. throughout her childhood, this expectation is repeatedly put on elizabeth by caroline and alphonse frankenstein, her parents. caroline is also a victim of grooming, as she married alphonse at a very young age in a vulnerable state of grief following her father's death. it makes sense that she would view this type of relationship as normal, and push expectations of an unhealthy marriage onto her daughter. the marriage eventually takes place, but is not consumated. elizabeth is killed by frankenstein's monster on her wedding night.

elizabeth, in films, is portrayed as a one-dimensional love interest to victor. something to sway him "back to real-life" while he's in the laboratory. she exists to give viewers a shock at her death (which is often filmed with sexually immoral undertones (cough cough kenneth branagh)), and be victor's "anchor to the real world". in some films, she's related to him, in others, she's not. filmmakers always want a romance subplot, and they use her as the perfect woman for victor. in the novel, however, no romance exists between the two. their betrothal is written as a tragedy, and neither one looks forward to the marriage for romantic reasons. it's a perfect example of how trauma is passed down through generations, when you look at caroline's troubled marriage to alphonse, and how that was passed onto elizabeth and victor. elizabeth is also expected to fulfill a parenting role toward her own family, and remain stoic and steadfast throughout the unimaginable grief inflicted on the frankenstein family. alphonse expects her to take care of him, and of course she complies. since she was adopted by the frankensteins, she feels obligated to do whatever they ask of her, making her an easier target of manipulation than victor is. she stays at home while victor goes to university, taking care of alphonse and william with justine. after william and justine's deaths, she still has to take care of alphonse, and help him manage his grief, since victor is out of the country for most of the novel. she looks forward to her wedding as an escape from her cyclical life at home.

elizabeth is easily one of the most complex characters in frankenstein, and gothic literature as a whole. it's sickening when films (and even literary analysts!) reduce her to a damsel in distress, or a token piece of innocence to anchor victor. elizabeth shows audiences the effects of trauma and pressure from a young age. she lived and died stressed and unfulfilled in the novel, and underappreciated by the audiences that read her story.

lots of love - jasper