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Strange Love in
Frankenstein and The
Murders in the Rue
Morgue
by Jennifer Lui
The term Òhomoerotic novelÓ refers to the
representation of same-sex love and desire in
literature. Historically, male-male examples of the
homoerotic in the literary arts were Þrst seen in books
like Edward CarpenterÕs IolŠus: An Anthology of
Friendship, published in 1902. Since then, poets such
as Walt Whitman, W.H. Auden, and Allen Ginsberg
have contributed to the homoerotic genre. Femalefemale examples include letters between Virginia
Woolf and Vita Sackville-West, and poetry and letters
by Emily Dickinson. Although erotic and homoerotic
writing has been around for hundreds of years, it was
not always socially acceptable to read such things.
These novels were often used to give the readers a
chance to live out sexual fantasies and to fulÞll sexual
curiosities in the privacy of their own home, without
having to compromise the traditional lifestyle that
they usually lived and wanted to project to society.
Because sex was not acceptable to speak about in
public, people needed a way to express those fantasies
in a safe environment, and literature gave that ability
both to writers and to readers. Both Frankenstein by
Mary Shelley and ÒThe Murders in the Rue MorgueÓ
by Edgar Allan Poe embodied the homoerotic
novel in the gothic genre due to the relationships
they included between various characters. The
relationships in Frankenstein between two males were
much stronger and intimate than the relationships
than those in the novel between males and females.
In ÒThe Murders in the Rue MorgueÓ, the opposite
occurs. The relationship between two females is often
considered by critics to be homoerotic and the malefemale relationship passive. SpeciÞc relationships in
both stories can be seen as homoerotic and tell a story
of their own apart from how many readers interpret
them. The idea of homoeroticism in PoeÕs work is
further argued by Joseph ChurchÕs essay ÒTo Make
Venus VanishÓ, where he writes about PoeÕs attempt
to kill off many strong female characters. Both Shelley
and Poe use homoeroticism in underlying ways,
subtly weaving it into the two stories, leaving the
reader with a sense that there could be more to these
relationships that meet the eye.
To many people, Mary ShelleyÕs Frankenstein
is considered a homoerotic novel. The relationships
between various characters support this notion. The
role of the females in the novel is passive, subordinate
to the male characters. The role of the male is a much
stronger presence and the relationships between them
tell a story of its own.
The relationship Robert Walton has with
his sister Margaret Saville is different from the
relationship he has with Victor Frankenstein.
Margaret and WaltonÕs relationship is what I call
ÒinformationalÓ. The only time there is any affection
shown between them is in the salutation of the
letters he writes her. He does address her as ÒDear
Margaret,Ó but itÕs not until near the end of the story
when he says that heÕs returning to see her. It makes
the relationship feel more like he just needs someone
to convey all of the information he has gained from
Dr. Frankenstein to someone, anyone. WaltonÕs
relationship with Frankenstein, though brief, seems
to be much more intimate. Frankenstein shares with
Walton the story of how he created the monster
and the repercussions of that action, a story which
he had not shared with anyone else. Walton then
discovers that he feels much affection for his new
friend and wants to become closer to him. There may
have been more to this relationship if Frankenstein
had recovered from his illness and survived. When
Frankenstein dies, Walton is more than just a little
sad that a friend that he had only met a short time
ago is dead. He writes to his sister: ÒMargaret, what
comment can I make on the untimely extinction of this
glorious spirit? What can I say, that will enable you to
understand the depth of my sorrow? All that I should
express would be inadequate and feebleÓ (Shelley
152). This statement makes the reader believe that
there was a closer relationship between Frankenstein
and Walton than was originally represented.
The central relationships in Frankenstein
are those between Victor Frankenstein and Elizabeth
Lavenza, Frankenstein and Henry Clerval, and
Frankenstein and the monster. FrankensteinÕs
relationships with Clerval and the monster seem more
intimate than the relationship he has with Elizabeth.
While there is no doubt that he cares about her, there
are aspects of the relationship that are strictly platonic.
At no point does Frankenstein and Elizabeth have
an intimate relationship. There is no hand-holding,
kissing, or any indication that their marriage would
be anything other than a marriage of convenience. In
fact Elizabeth questions their upcoming marriage in a
letter to Frankenstein:
You well know, Victor, that our union had
been the favorite plan of your parents
ever since our infancy. We were told this
when young, and taught to look forward
to it as an event that would certainly take
place. We were affectionate playfellows
during childhood, and, I believe, dear and
valued friends to one another as we
grew older. But as brother and sister often
entertain a lively affection towards
each other, without desiring a more intimate
union, may not such also be our
case? Tell me, dearest Victor. Answer me, I
conjure you, but our mutual
happiness, with simple truth Ð Do you not
love another? (Shelley 130)
Frankenstein and Clerval obviously had a
different kind of relationship. Clerval was the one
who takes care of Frankenstein while he is ill, the one
Frankenstein chooses to travel with to London. They
have a close relationship which seems to be more than
a Òjust-friendsÓ relationship. Why would Frankenstein
choose a friend to travel with instead of his future
wife? Why is Clerval the one that is with Frankenstein
the majority of the time? The relationship between the
two of them is something that could be seen as just a
friendship, but in the context of everything else that
happens it is easier to Þt into the homoerotic category.
FrankensteinÕs reaction to the deaths of Clerval and
Elizabeth also add to questions about his relationship
with each of them. When he Þnds that Clerval has
been killed, Frankenstein gasps and throws himself
onto the body. When Elizabeth dies, he takes a minute
to react to ElizabethÕs scream, and only when she
screams again he runs back to his room and Þnds her
dead; then he faints. It may have been the shock that
the monster had killed Elizabeth instead of him that
night, and not the shock of Elizabeth dying that made
him faint.
The third important relationship is that between
Frankenstein and the monster. When Frankenstein
created the monster, he assumed the role of creator
of life, which is traditionally a female position, a
female role. By taking this position, Frankenstein
seemed to set his role as a person who may have
felt challenged by Woman as creator. The monster,
even if he requested that Frankenstein create him
a female companion, has an afÞnity for males. He
appears in FrankensteinÕs bed, and until the night he
killed Elizabeth had only directly killed men or boys,
both FrankensteinÕs brother William,, and Clerval.
Additionally, the way he killed them was in itself
intimate; the monster strangles them with his hands.
In the case of William, the monster told Frankenstein
directly that: ÒI grasped his throat to silence him,
and in a moment he lay dead at my feetÓ (Shelley
97). ClervalÕs death, as Frankenstein is told by the
magistrate, was also by strangulation. Although those
who had found the body had originally thought
that he had drowned and been thrown ashore
by the waves. When they recover him and try to
resuscitate him, the see that Òthere was no sign of
any violence, except the black mark of Þngers on his
neckÓ (Shelley 121). The act of strangulation demands
close proximity between the killer and his victim. By
having the monster kill in such a way, Mary Shelley
adds to the idea of the closeness the monster feels
with men. The monsterÕs murder of Elizabeth may
also be Oedipal. By killing Elizabeth, who in a normal
relationship may be considered the ÒmotherÓ Þgure,
the monster was able to reach Frankenstein.
Edgar Allan PoeÕs ÒThe Murders in the
Rue MorgueÓ also seems to contain a sense of the
homoerotic. The women in the story, Madame
LÕEspanaye and her daughter, Mademoiselle Camille
LÕEspanaye, could possibly be considered lesbians.
The relationship they have with each other, and
also the relationship they have with their male
tenant, could support this theory. Joseph ChurchÕs
essay ÒTo Make Venus VanishÓ also addresses the
issue of the strong, independent female character
and her ultimate demise, which could be tied in
to the idea of a homoerotic relationship. Although
the relationship between Madame LÕEspanaye and
her daughter can be seen as just a mother-daughter
relationship, there seems to be a closer relationship
than that. The laundress, Pauline Dubourg, describes
their relationship as Òvery affectionate toward
each otherÓ (Poe 37). There was no male Þgure
involved personally in their lives, no ÒsigniÞcant
othersÓ mentioned. Although it may seem like a
leap to say that a mother and daughter who were
very affectionate are lesbians, it has to be taken into
consideration that their lifestyle was not one that
was considered ÒnormalÓ for women of their time
since it was without a man. They are Þnancially selfsufÞcient and reclusive. For two women to be living
without a man, and clearly not feeling that they
needed one, was something that could have been seen
as uncommon and unsafe because they had no one
to protect them. Such women may have felt that they
were strong enough to protect themselves if anything
happened, but in this case they werenÕt. Many felt
that they did not feel there was a need for a male to be
around; therefore, they did not care for them much.
The relationship that the two women, especially
Madame LÕEspanaye, have with their former tenant,
a jeweler, is interesting. He is a male tenant and they
kicked him out because he had been renting out the
upper rooms of the house to various people and Òshe
became dissatisÞed with the abuse of the premise by
her tenantÓ (Poe 37-38). Because there is no complete
backstory of what happened during this incident,
we have no way of knowing if it was something that
had been happening for a while between the two
parties, or if all of a sudden the women decided that
they didnÕt want him renting out the upper rooms.
There may have also been other reasons why Madame
LÕEspanaye evicted the jeweler and took over the
fourth ßoor herself. One thought is that she did not
want others questioning the life she had with her
daughter, and by living away from other people they
were able to have an intimate relationship without
others Þnding out. Since the women are reclusive,
itÕs not as far a stretch as one may think. They tend
to keep to themselves and may not be comfortable
sharing a relationship that may have been considered
taboo at the time. From the accounts in the story by
individuals, it didnÕt seem as if the LÕEspanayes had
a very good relationship with any males. Many of the
neighborsÕ accounts are neutral about both of them
and there was no connection with any of the others
in their neighborhood at all. The women seem to
have no need of men and do not appear to want any
around. Strong females like the LÕEspanaye women
threaten some men and threaten to lead to their early
demise in some stories.
In Joseph ChurchÕs essay ÒTo Make Venus
Vanish,Ó he talks about how Poe, in his story, looks to
kill off the female characters because of their power.
Poe held a view that women should be subordinate
to a man and did not feel that women should
have any power. He could have been considered a
misogynist due to his stories Òpunishing and silencing
womankind in the worldÓ (Church 409). PoeÕs dislike
of women is often seen in many of his works. In ÒThe
Fall of the House of UsherÓ, Madeline is basically
buried alive behind a wall and in ÒThe Murders in the
Rue MorgueÓ, the central women are murdered. Poe,
through his character Dupin from ÒThe Murders in
the Rue MorgueÓ, creates two women who go against
everything he feels a woman should be. According
to Church, Òone such as he must expect that women
subordinate themselves to man, but in this case
he Þnds the mother and daughter self-reliantÓ
(Church 411). Church writes also about how in the
story Madame LÕEspanaye has no husband and her
daughter has no father. This leads him to believe that
Òthe women apparently consider themselves superior
to and satisÞed without menÓ (Church 411). The Þnal
thing that Church hints at concerning homoerotic
values in the story is that Òin PoeÕs prejudicial
handling, their family name Ð LÕEspanaye Ð resonantly
betokens ÔLesbianÕÓ (Church 411).
In both Frankenstein and ÒThe Murders in
the Rue MorgueÓ, homoerotic relationships are not
blatantly stated but only hinted at. The relationships
between characters like Victor Frankenstein and
Henry Clerval and Madame and Mademoiselle
LÕEspanaye suggest that there is more going on that
whatÕs on the surface of the story. Relationships such
as these may even drive the story to be something
else entirely. In the case of Frankenstein, the idea that
there is maybe more doing on gives you a new way
of looking at the obvious relationships when you
consider the relationships that could be happening.
ÒThe Murders in the Rue MorgueÓ shows strong
women who did not need men around and suggests
that there is something going on between them that
caused them to not want any men around. ChurchÕs
essay supports the idea that the relationship between
the LÕEspanaye women may have been more than just
a mother/daughter relationship. Homoerotic stories
have been around for a long time and you never know
if the book youÕre reading may have some undertones
of homoeroticism that you may not see unless you
consider the possibility.
WORKS CITED
Church, Joseph. ÒTo Make Venus VanishÓ: Misogyny
as Motive in PoeÕs
ÒMurders in the Rue Morgue.ÓÓ ATQ. June 2006:
407-418.
Poe, Edgar Allan. ÒThe Murders in the Rue Morgue.Ó
The Gold-Bug and Other Tales. Ed.
Stanley Appelbaum. New York: Dover Publications,
1991.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. New York: W.W. Norton
& Company, Inc., 1996.