Even though she is only mentioned in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein for a relatively brief
period, the character, Safie, is very interesting as she is unique from the other
characters in that her subjectivity is more clearly dependent on her religion and the
culture of her nation. Contrasts can be made between the Orient and the European society
which attempts to interpret it. Often, this creates stereotypes such as western feminists
that have viewed "third-world" women as "ignorant, poor, uneducated, tradition-bound,
religious, domesticated, family oriented, (and) victimized"(Mohanty 290). Of course, some
of these things could also have said of European women of the time period, although noone
would argue the point since Oriental women were viewed as being more oppressed. Strong
contrasts can also be made in relation to the differences between Safie's development as
a foreign character and her subjectivity as a female character in relation to those of
the other female characters of the book. While the other female characters lack depth
into how their religion and culture affect them, Safie's religion and Arabian culture
sculpt her into a subject with feminist qualities juxtaposed against her fulfillment of
European domestic ideology.
Many theorists, such as Benveniste who said, "Consciousness of self [or subjectivity] is
only possible if it is experienced by contrast," argue that one's subjectivity can only
exist in their relation to the Other(85). The subject's relation this "Other" depends on
which aspect is being examined. For example, when dealing with gender, it would be the
relationship between Man and Woman and when dealing with nationality it would be the
relationship between Native and Foreigner. Thus, the character of Safie was defined in
terms of her relationship to those around her. In the Turkish society, her role would
have been to fulfill positions of lesser rank, such as a daughter to her father or a
woman in relation to the dominant men, and when in Europe, as a foreign Turk in relation
to native Europeans. These relationships, however, were significantly affected by the
teachings her Christian Arab mother instilled in her. Her mother "taught her to aspire to
higher powers of intellect, and an independence of spirit" which in either Turkish or
European society, though more so in Turkish society, were in discord with the standard
position and femininity of women. Both societies viewed women as having a "natural"
tendency to be unassuming and docile and, in addition, it would be considered unfeminine
to seek something more than their domestic role. Safie does not go to the extent of
wishing for something more than a prescribed domestic role, she merely preferred the
European version of that role. This role apparently differs from the Arabian role
primarily in that the European society which she longed to join was associated with the
Christian religion and practices that she has been taught to adore and which would be
forbidden in the Arabian society. In desiring the European role and wishing to marry a
Christian, she does not break the apparent confines of her feminine role but the confines
of her Arabian culture. By believing in the qualities expressed by her mother, and by
displaying them in her venture to violate her father's will to find Felix, she shows that
her subjectivity was not based on the opposition of women versus empowered men, as might
seem the norm, but was instead more distinctly based on the opposition of religiously
submissive women in her culture versus the Christian woman, inspired by the freedom she
experienced before being seized by the Turks, that her mother was. Safie's affinity for
the Christian religion is best shown in her revulsion at the prospect of returning to the
Turkish land and her desire to marry a Christian and remain in Europe.
In addition to the her unique religious point of view, Safie was also influenced by her
Arabian culture but, however, Shelley does not go into much depth this aspect of Safie
and stops at only a superficial, prejudiced description of the Turks. In fact, there are
Eurocentric biases against the Turks throughout the portion of the book dealing with
Safie. In order to examine why Mary Shelley included such biases in her work, one must
first acknowledge the distinct possibility that as she wrote Frankenstein, she carried
with her some prejudices of the Orient. This argument is supported by Edward Said's
statement:
For if it is true that no production of knowledge can ever ignore or disclaim its
author's involvement as a human subject in (their) own circumstances, then it must also
be true that for a European... studying the Orient there can be no disclaiming the main
circumstances of (their) actuality: that (they come) up against the Orient as a
European... first , as an individual second(Said 306).
Thus, Mary Shelley's somewhat slanted portrayal of Safie and her father is not only
unintentional, but a symptom of "ethnocentric universalism", or having a single,
stereotypical view of an entire community(Mohanty 290). When extended to Western views of
the East, this view is more specifically referred to as "Orientalism." Orientalism is
defined as "a way of coming to terms with the Orient that is based on the Orient's
special place in European Western experience" which "has less to do with the Orient than
it does with (the Western) world"(Said 303, 307).
These biases, apparently inherent to many European writers, are most prominently
displayed in the role of Safie's father who is depicted as traitorous and oppressive.
This ethnocentrically is best shown when his command to his daughter is unfairly termed a
"tyrannical mandate"(Shelley 110). Although the command can easily be considered unjust
in its betrayal of the life indebted vow made to Felix, it cannot be considered more
oppressive than a European's command to his daughter. Oppressive commands from European
men are sure to have happened since a European father's position in his family is
relatively absolute in that they are the head of the household and in that society, none
within the household have greater authority. The ratio of power between men and women is
more slanted in Turkish society as is evident in the existence of harems and the fact
that women have the possibility of achieving societal rank and ownership of property in
European society and it is for these reasons, as well as her religious conflictions, that
Safie feels Turkish life to be oppressive. The Turkish father's exercise of control over
his daughter is not the simply a Turkish practice as Mary Shelley implies it to be. This
Orientalist view of the Turks is much like the stereotypical story of the "noble"
European rescuing an Arabian damsel from the harem of the "evil" Turkish tyrant and then
claiming her as his. Thus delivering her from one, Orientalistic, form of servitude to
another, more "proper" and European, form of servitude. Of course, Safie breaks from this
stereotype in her almost feminist "rescue" of herself.
This ethnocentrism does, however, help increase the contrast between Safie's
subjectivity with that of other Arabian women, making her more distinctly feminist, as
well as more European in her distaste for some Arabian ways and thereby a more suitable
wife for Felix. Safie felt that what her father was doing was wrong and, in acting on
these beliefs to satisfy her and Felix's happiness, she performed the most feminist act
in the book and thus, was the most feminist subject. Some might also consider her
feminist for her era simply by her rebelling against and eventually disobeying and
abandoning her father. But as was previously mentioned, Safie was "almost" a feminist in
that she was merely more feminist than the other female characters. Both Justine and
especially Elizabeth were typically feminine, meaning that they fitted and fulfilled the
stereotypical "iconic femininity" which includes being a nurturing, domestic of ideal
beauty and grace which must be protected by the dominant man. As they fulfilled this
role, they were strictly non-feminist as feminist roles gravitate towards breaking such
roles and, in fact, sometimes attempt to define themselves outside of men. Though Safie
comes closer than either Justine or Elizabeth, she does not fulfill the feminist role,
but rather supports the "iconic feminine" role less completely than the others. She has
feminist aspects, shown in her efforts to maintain her "independence of spirit" by
remaining in Europe and by, more obviously, rebelling against her father and the
authoritative role he represents. But, since she does not rebel against her domestic role
and, in fact, rushes to it with Felix, she is primarily a slightly non-feminist role
among heavily non-feminist roles. Some critical readers might say that there is an
apparent conflict between the independent nature instilled in her by her mother versus
the oppressive nature of either European or Arabian society, or enlightenment and
domestic ideology. However, the issue of the apparent conflict is resolved when realizing
that the independence her mother gave her was directed against the Arabian society they
were forced to live in. There was no evidence that her mother instilled any preconceived
notions of rebelling against the male dominated society in general, especially the
Christian European society which Safie had come to appreciate.
Though Safie was from an Middle Eastern culture, her mother's adherence to a Christian
belief system influenced Safie's subjectivity and caused her to experience feelings more
consistent with those of European women than Middle Eastern. In addition to this
ideology, her mother also instilled a grain of feminist subjectivity which prompted her
to resist the strong subjectivity put upon her by the phallogocentric, male dominated
society in which she lived, encountered both in Turkey and Europe. However, this
resistance was in the form of religious preference and her willingness to eventually
disobey and rebel against her father's wishes and did not take shape in common
occurrence. She subscribed to the socially common doctrine of women's domestic position
and norms of femininity. In fact, she was, in a manner, willingly given as property to
Felix, supporting what Irigaray referred to as "women on the market." Although her father
promised her to Felix without asking her, when she learned of the deal she did not react
aversely to it but in fact "exhibited towards him the simplest and tenderest
affection"(Shelley 109). As for her feminine subjectivity, her beauty, manner, and
poise, combined with the male society's reaction to her, placed her as typically feminine
even though some might view her slight resistance and willingness to venture forth in
order to find her man as "a masculine energy and enterprise lacking in the novel's other
women"(Smith 283). In conclusion, through her mother's teachings, she was able to gain a
slightly different subjectivity than might have otherwise occurred as society, attempted
to mold her to fit its place for her. And this role differed from the other female
examples given in the work in her strong motivation to achieve her desired European role,
which was more similar to the other female roles in the book in that it fulfilled the
domestic ideology of the European society. The society itself was phallogocentric and,
by nature, riddled with its own subjectivity, such as the Orientalism inherent in Europe,
which attempted to examine the Orient which had "a brute reality obviously greater than
anything that could be said about them in the West"(Said 304).
Works Cited
Beneviste, Emile. "Subjectivity in Language." Course Reader. 83-88
Mohanty, Chandra Talpade. "Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial
Discourses." Course Reader. 289-300
Said, Edward W. "Introduction to Orientalism." Course Reader. 303-312
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Ed. Johanna M. Smith. Boston: Bedford Books, 1992
Smith, Johanna M. "'Cooped Up': Feminine Domesticity in Frankenstein." Bedford Books,
1992 270-285
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