Frankenstein in a historical sense Frankenstein by Mary Shelley was published in 1818, during the era of romanticism. Romanticism describes the period from the end of the 18th century to the mid-19th century. This period was seen as a response to the Enlightenment; overall, there has been an increase in the desire to understand the world objectively (lecture). Although Romanticism is generally considered a literary and artistic movement, Mary Shelley documents the development of Europe in a historical sense through her novel Frankenstein. Through the motives and personal experiences of its characters, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein provides insight into scientific development, the emerging roles of women, and how the individual is perceived. Only three female characters are relevant to the story: Caroline Beaufort, Justine Moritz and Elisabeth Lavenza. These characters have their distinct moments of triumph, but are ultimately seen as inert in the story. For example, Caroline Beaufort is portrayed as a compassionate woman who strives to care for her ill father. After the death of her father and her marriage to Alphonse Frankenstein, little was said about her until her death. Justine is less relevant to the main plot, but she does almost nothing to save her life after being convicted of the murder of William Frankenstein (Shelley, chapter 8). Elizabeth is somewhat present, but is not seen as an independent character. The fact that she waited until after her wedding night instead of being vigilant made it easier for her death to occur (Shelley, chapter 23). The passivity of women in the novel gives us insight into the lack of role women played in the 19th century. Another demonstration of women's attitudes and roles during this period is presented in Hoffmann's "TheIn." “The Sandman”, Clara and Olympia are respectively symbols of the Enlightenment and the industrial movement (Hoffmann). Clara can be considered the “voice of reason”; she has her own ideas regarding the well-being of her fiancé, Nathaniel. Olympia, on the other hand, is an automaton who agrees with everything Nathaniel does. With the exception of Olympia, Clara and the rest of the women and Frankenstein share little relevance to their respective stories. All of these women are considered individual thinkers, but have not fully understood what their independence is. This means that the importance of women was low, but the scale of their role increased in the early 19th century. Although Frankenstein gives the reader clues about the 19th century, inferences can be made about how the individual views society through the story of Frankenstein's monster. After Frankenstein aborts his creation, the monster goes out into the world and experiences society without having any prior knowledge of society. He talks about how he learned basic human functions as well as how he came to terms with being a monstrosity. The event in his history which gives the most evidence of the events that occurred in the 19th century was his meeting with the De