It is not surprising that the function of men and women in a society plays a huge role in the literary works that would arise in a given era. The roles of men and women in the 18th century, for example, might even align with those of the next century. For example, Eliza Haywood's Fantomina: Love in a Maze (1735) and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) depict women as mere objects. In Haywood's short story, Fantomina is described as a "Victory" after being attacked by Beauplaisir while in Shelley's novel, Elizabeth is presented, after Caroline's death, as a "pretty gift" for Victor. However, because they were written a century apart, the two texts also demonstrate a difference in the response to the roles that were upheld in each of the societies in which the texts were set. Both Haywood and Shelley criticize the traditional roles of women during their time period. but while Fantomina challenges traditional women's roles, the women of Frankenstein defend them. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay One of the ways in which Fantomina challenges a woman's role in British society is by changing her appearance from a woman of higher social status to a woman of lower status – a prostitute. When Haywood states that there is no authority figure or person that Fantomina knows in town that she is accountable to, she suggests that a lady should not act this way, but the protagonist is still capable to get away with it (Haywood 36). ). At the Playhouse, she resides in a theater dressing room, which is a key symbol of wealth and class, but as a prostitute, Fantomina smoothly enters the pit, where prostitutes mingle with men, in a "free and without restraint.” d Manner” (Haywood 36). It is here that Haywood reveals the impact of a person's behavior and clothing on their social status. When the protagonist changes both her behavior and her clothing, she is no longer a “Lady”, but a “Woman”. Yet with the downgrading of her status, she can experience a new sense of freedom, where she also mixes with men. One of the men Fantomina converses with is Beauplaisir, and in doing so she defies the societal restrictions that women pursue men, while taking extended stays outside of her town. While a woman of low birth possessed the freedom to interact with any man she chose, a woman did not. Fantomina had already spoken to Beauplaisir, but “then his quality and reputed virtue,” or in other words, his virtuous status, prevented him from making advances (Haywood 36). Because she is now unrecognizable, Fantomina takes pleasure in conversing freely with him. However, if an authority figure or someone Fantomina knew was there, she would not have attempted to pursue Beauplaisir at the Playhouse as herself. Furthermore, as her feelings for him grow stronger, Fantomina goes to great lengths to win Beauplaisir's affections, notably embarking on "fanciful adventures" under the false pretense of visiting a relative in the countryside (Haywood 52). The protagonist's extremely virtuous mother arrives abruptly after hearing rumors about her daughter restricting the vast freedom she was exploiting. This suggests that British women were not allowed to travel outside their city and had to be kept away from taboo behavior. Finally, Fantomina challenges the societal expectation thatSexuality of single women is a restricted quality. Under her disguises as Fantomina, Incognita, and Celia, the protagonist has sex, which she calls her “Virtue” and “Honor,” on several occasions with Beauplaisir (Haywood 38). While single men in 18th century Britain exercised their freedom to have sex before marriage, women were expected to remain virgins until marriage, which is evident in Fantomina's deliberate plan to hide her charades for marriage.security of one's reputation (Haywood 40). If women had acted otherwise, they were not fit to marry because they would have “nothing left to give” to their husbands (Haywood 39). By having sex before marriage, the protagonist establishes a new sense of freedom that she will use to manipulate Beauplaisir while she is Incognita. Typically, a man has more power than a woman, but in this case the protagonist uses his sexuality as a way to gain some control over him. Incognita had him “always delusional, wild, impatient, wanting, dying” and this new power the protagonist now possessed differed from the stereotypical image of power between men and women (Haywood 50). Frankenstein reveals that this was a crucial responsibility for women. to bring happiness to their male counterparts. Elizabeth adheres to this standard by believing that it is the "most bounden duty" to bring happiness to her uncles, cousins ​​and Victor and that she is "determined to fulfill her duties with the greatest exactitude", even after her aunt's death (Shelley 26). Shelley's use of the words "imperious" and "utmost exactness" suggests that Elizabeth's priority was not to restore happiness to herself, but to the men in her life. This also shows that women were expected to forget themselves, especially their own emotions, compared to men. In order to fulfill her duties, Elizabeth had to sweep her feelings under the rug, as if they were insignificant and without substance. Another example where Elizabeth demonstrates her dedication to bringing happiness to her male counterparts is when she writes to Victor, even after suspecting him of cheating: “Be happy, my friend; and if you obey me in this one request, remain convinced that nothing on earth will have the power to interrupt my tranquility” (Shelley 135). The word “cheating” can be defined as acquiring feelings for one person while committing to another. Elizabeth displays a lack of anger or sadness when she accuses Victor of loving and seeing another when he is committed to her and urges him to seek his own happiness. This would bring Elizabeth "tranquility" and when she states that nothing in the world could ruin her tranquility, Elizabeth is insinuating that Victor's happiness is the source of her eternal happiness. Thus, Shelley indicates that women's happiness depended on men's happiness. Shelley's purpose for the character of Elizabeth in the novel was to accentuate the effects of Victor's transgressive science, which ultimately leads to his death. While Elizabeth is depicted as mere collateral damage in a fight between Victor and his creature, Margaret Saville demonstrates no importance to any of the main characters and is only included to enhance the plot. Women were presented as passive figures whose presence, or lack thereof, emphasized the predominance of a male voice. Although Shelley introduces Margaret as the very first character in the novel, she provides little or no information about Margaret's personal life, even though it is to her that Walton's letters are addressed. Plus, she doesn't even have a voice because she doesn't act.