The prospect of considering the connections between gender criticism, psychoanalytic criticism, and feminist criticism is a difficult conundrum to solve because, among other things, they illustrate not only the progression of literary criticism, but also the progression of gender studies and queer studies. Thus, while these three critical philosophies strive to explain the behavior and nature of literary characters, as well as their authors, each critic approaches this task from a different angle, focusing on different ideas than the other two. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The ideas that psychoanalytic criticism is based on are the oldest of the three (which makes sense because it is the oldest of the three critiques), Freudian theory. Thus, to be human, according to psychoanalytic criticism, means to behave within the limits of what Freudian theory considers human behavior. In Frankenstein, for example, Victor fails to complete the Oedipal drama because instead of replacing his mother as the object of his sexual desires with Elizabeth, a woman identical in many ways to Victor's mother, Victor moves into a distorted maternal role by giving her life as a monster. Thus, once Victor abandons his role in the Oedipal drama, he fails to behave the way humans behave according to Freudian theory, and thus, his humanity is lost and Victor becomes a monster. The most glaring differences between this review and its two reviews. its counterparts lies in its conception of men and women. Freudian theory often defines women in terms of men, for example defining women's genitals not as something with particular substance or qualities, but rather as the absence of male genitals. Feminist criticism, on the other hand, does not define women in relation to men, but rather as an idea distinct from men. Thus, the feminist critique of Victor's failure to complete the Oedipal drama and create life himself does not result in Victor losing his humanity and becoming a monster, but rather entering into a new kind of existence sexual, in which he embodies the feminine instead of the masculine. For this reason, the novel can rather be seen as a look at the very nature of the complex relationship between society and the feminine. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The differences that particularly stand out between feminist criticism and gender criticism lie in the definition of what it means to be feminine. Gender criticism creates a distinction not found in feminist criticism, a distinction between sex and gender. Sex is defined as the sexual characteristics assigned at birth, while gender, which is not natural but socially constructed, is defined as the characteristics with which one most identifies in the context of functioning in society. Thus, Victor's creation of the monster can be seen not as a change in the essence of the feminine, but rather as an action revealing a gender change in Victor. The rest of the novel can then be seen as a look at how society interacts with the gender of its members and how society punishes what it sees as deviations..