Literary Criticism and GenAI: Exploring Four Critical Lenses through Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Introduction

Literature is not limited to stories, characters and events. It also reflects society, power, gender, economic conditions, nature and human identity. Different literary theories help us understand these deeper meanings. A single literary text can offer different interpretations when examined through different critical approaches.

This blog is based on the activity Literary Criticism | GenAI Activity Worksheet, assigned by Prof. Dilip Barad, Department of English, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University. The activity asks us to use Generative AI (GenAI) not simply to define literary theories but to demonstrate how critics actually analyse a literary text.

For this activity, I have selected Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818). The novel explores scientific ambition, the creation of life, social rejection, gender roles and the relationship between humanity and nature. These themes provide opportunities to examine the novel through Marxist, Feminist/Gender, Ecocritical and Queer criticism.

Step 1: Understanding the Four Critical Approaches

The first step is to understand what each critic looks for, how the critic analyses a text, and what questions guide the interpretation. The following comparative table is based primarily on Dilip Barad's On Marxist, Feminist, Ecocritical, and Queer Criticism (2024)

Comparative Table of Four Critical Lenses

Critical Lens	Focus	What the Critic Does	Key Question
Marxist	Class, wealth, power, inequality	Examines class relations, economic systems, and exploitation.	How does the text represent class divisions and economic power?
Feminist/Gender	Gender roles, patriarchy, women's agency	Analyses how the text reinforces or challenges gender expectations.	How are gender roles represented, and who holds power?
Ecocriticism	Nature, environment, human impact	Explores relationships between humans and the natural world.	How does the text portray nature and the consequences of controlling it?
Queer	Sexuality, identity, conformity	Questions assumptions about gender and heterosexual norms.	How does the text represent identity, desire, and relationships?

What Is the Difference Between Knowing a Critical Theory and Actually Using It?

Knowing a critical theory means understanding its concepts, definitions and major thinkers. For example, a student who knows Marxist criticism understands class struggle, ideology, capitalism and economic inequality. However, using Marxist criticism requires applying these concepts to a particular literary text.

A Marxist critic examines characters, events, language and social conditions to identify class relations and economic power. Similarly, a feminist critic does not merely discuss female characters but investigates patriarchy, gender roles and women's agency. An ecocritic examines how the text represents nature, human domination and environmental responsibility, rather than simply identifying descriptions of landscapes. A queer critic questions assumptions about gender and sexuality while examining relationships, identities and social norms without forcing a queer interpretation onto every text.

Therefore, knowing a theory is the foundation, while practising criticism involves close reading, textual evidence, questioning and interpretation. Theory provides the lens, but critical practice involves using that lens to discover and explain meanings within a literary text.

Source-Based Explanation and My Own Synthesis

The definitions, central concepts and general analytical approaches in the comparative table are based on Dilip Barad's 2024 source. His discussion explains the focus of each critical approach and illustrates them through literary works such as Hard Times, The Yellow Wallpaper, Frankenstein and The Picture of Dorian Gray.

The comparative table, the questions framed for student analysis and the explanation distinguishing theoretical knowledge from practical criticism are my own synthesis of these ideas, organised according to the worksheet's instructions. The illustrations summarise the source's examples and are not presented as direct quotations.

Step 2: Applying All Four Critical Lenses to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who becomes obsessed with discovering the secret of life. He succeeds in creating a living being, but he is horrified by its appearance and abandons it. The Creature, rejected by its creator and society, experiences loneliness, suffering and anger. The novel explores the consequences of ambition, the responsibilities of creation, social rejection and the relationship between human beings and nature.

By applying four critical approaches, we can discover different meanings in the same novel. The following analysis identifies textual evidence, the relevant critical concepts and their interpretive significance.

1. Marxist Criticism: Class, Social Inequality and Alienation

Textual evidence:

The Creature is rejected because of his physical appearance. While secretly observing the De Lacey family, he learns about human relationships, language, social customs and family life. He hopes to become part of their community, but when he reveals himself, he is rejected and driven away. He also learns about wealth, poverty and social status through the family's circumstances.

Critical concept:

Marxist criticism examines class relations, ideology, social exclusion, material conditions and alienation. In Frankenstein, the Creature's exclusion can be interpreted through the concept of social alienation. He is denied meaningful participation in society and is judged before people understand his experiences or abilities.

The De Lacey family's poverty and Felix's efforts to support them also provide an opportunity to examine material hardship and social inequality. However, the novel does not present the Creature's suffering as a straightforward conflict between two economic classes. His alienation is also based on appearance, fear and the absence of social acceptance.

Interpretation:

A Marxist reading reveals how society establishes boundaries between those who belong and those who are excluded. The Creature's experiences demonstrate how social acceptance is influenced by existing ideas about normality, status and human worth. Victor, who possesses scientific education and social privilege, has the power to create life but avoids responsibility for the being he creates.

This reading also raises questions about responsibility and unequal power. Victor controls the circumstances of the Creature's creation, while the Creature has little control over the conditions into which he is born. The novel can therefore be read as exploring alienation and the consequences of unequal power, although this is an interpretation rather than an explicit account of capitalist class struggle.

What becomes visible through the Marxist lens?

The Marxist approach makes us notice social exclusion, material inequality, power and alienation. It encourages us to question how society determines who belongs and who is treated as an outsider.

2. Feminist/Gender Criticism: Patriarchy, Women's Agency and Gender Roles

Textual evidence:

In Frankenstein, women such as Elizabeth Lavenza, Justine Moritz and Caroline Beaufort occupy important positions in the story, but their lives are largely shaped by the decisions and actions of men. Elizabeth is presented as Victor's beloved and future wife. Justine is falsely accused of William's murder and executed, while Caroline dies after caring for Elizabeth during her illness.

Victor's experiment is another important point for feminist analysis. He attempts to create life without the participation of women. Later, when he begins creating a female companion for the Creature, he destroys the unfinished female being because he fears the possible consequences of her existence.

Critical concept:

Feminist criticism investigates patriarchy, gender construction, women's representation and the unequal distribution of authority. It asks whether women have independent identities and agency or are primarily defined through their relationships with men.

Interpretation:

A feminist reading of Frankenstein draws attention to the limited agency of its female characters. Elizabeth is associated with love, domestic harmony and emotional support, while Justine suffers from a judicial system that fails to protect her. Their experiences demonstrate how women's lives can be controlled by family structures, social expectations and male-dominated institutions.

Victor's attempt to create life without women can also be interpreted as a symbolic challenge to the traditional association between women and reproduction. His ambition to become the sole creator of life raises questions about male authority, reproductive power and the exclusion of women from scientific creation.

His destruction of the unfinished female Creature is especially significant. He imagines that she might possess her own desires and refuse to obey the male Creature. This fear can be read as revealing anxiety about female independence and autonomy. However, the female Creature is never brought to life, so her personality and possible resistance remain imagined rather than directly represented.

What becomes visible through the Feminist/Gender lens?

The feminist approach highlights women's limited agency, patriarchal authority, reproductive control and the consequences of male-centred ambition. It also encourages readers to examine whose voices are heard and whose experiences remain marginalised in the novel.

3. Ecocriticism: Nature, Human Ambition and Environmental Responsibility

Textual evidence:

Nature plays an important role throughout Frankenstein. Victor's scientific experiments are followed by illness, guilt and emotional suffering. During his journeys, he encounters the magnificent landscapes of the Alps, glaciers and mountains. The natural environment sometimes offers him temporary relief from his mental distress.

The Creature also experiences nature directly. He finds shelter in the natural world, observes the changing seasons and learns about life through his surroundings. The novel's descriptions of mountains, ice, forests and storms create a contrast between the beauty of nature and the destructive consequences of human actions.

Critical concept:

Ecocriticism studies the relationship between literature and the natural environment. It investigates anthropocentrism, human domination over nature, environmental ethics and the consequences of treating nature as something that exists merely for human use.

Interpretation:

An ecocritical reading examines Victor's desire to discover the secret of life and his attempt to exercise control over natural processes. His scientific ambition can be interpreted as an expression of human desire to overcome natural limitations. However, his failure to take responsibility for his creation exposes the ethical problems associated with knowledge pursued without sufficient consideration of its consequences.

The natural landscapes in the novel are not merely decorative backgrounds. The Alpine scenery and Arctic environment create a sense of the sublime, showing the immense power and scale of nature compared with human beings. Nature also provides emotional comfort to Victor and the Creature, suggesting a deep connection between the human mind and the environment.

Nevertheless, the novel is not directly an environmental warning about modern pollution or climate change. Such connections would be contemporary extensions of the text rather than its explicit subject.

What becomes visible through the Ecocritical lens?

The ecocritical approach reveals the tension between human ambition and the natural world. It encourages us to question the belief that human beings can control nature without ethical responsibility and to consider the relationship between scientific progress and the limits of human power.

4. Queer Criticism: Identity, Social Norms and Otherness

Textual evidence:

The relationship between Victor and the Creature is central to the novel. Victor creates the Creature, rejects him and later becomes involved in a destructive relationship marked by demands, resentment, pursuit and revenge. The Creature asks Victor to create a female companion, arguing that companionship would ease his loneliness. Victor initially agrees but eventually destroys the unfinished female Creature.

The novel also contains intense emotional relationships between male characters, particularly Victor and Henry Clerval. Their friendship is marked by affection, care and emotional attachment. However, the text does not explicitly identify these relationships as romantic or sexual.

Critical concept:

Queer criticism questions heteronormativity, fixed ideas about gender and sexuality, social expectations and the boundaries of identity. It can examine relationships, emotional attachments and social pressures while distinguishing explicit representation from possible subtext.

Interpretation:

A queer reading of Frankenstein can explore the Creature's position outside accepted categories of identity and social belonging. He is neither accepted by human society nor given a recognised place within conventional family structures. His desire for companionship and recognition challenges the assumption that social belonging is naturally guaranteed to those who conform to accepted norms.

The relationship between Victor and the Creature can also be examined through the concepts of intimacy, dependence, rejection and the desire for recognition. Victor's creation of a being without a conventional reproductive relationship provides another possible point of discussion about the novel's treatment of gender and reproduction.

However, it would be inaccurate to claim that Victor and the Creature have an explicitly queer romantic relationship. Their relationship can support a queer-informed analysis of otherness and social exclusion, but a reading based on same-sex desire would require more specific textual evidence. The novel's explicit treatment of the Creature's desire for a female companion also needs to be considered.

What becomes visible through the Queer lens?

The queer approach draws attention to identity, otherness, social conformity, relationships and the boundaries of accepted belonging. It allows us to question how society defines normality while avoiding unsupported claims about the characters' sexuality.

What Becomes Visible When the Same Text Is Viewed Through Four Different Critical Lenses?

Reading Frankenstein through four critical approaches reveals that a literary text does not have only one possible interpretation. Each approach directs our attention towards different aspects of the novel.

Critical lens	What becomes visible in Frankenstein?
Marxist	Social alienation, unequal power, material hardship and the Creature's exclusion from society.
Feminist/Gender	Patriarchal authority, women's limited agency, reproductive control and gender expectations.
Ecocritical	Human ambition, the power of nature, the sublime and ethical responsibility towards natural processes.
Queer	Otherness, identity, social conformity, non-normative belonging and the need for careful interpretation of relationships.

These interpretations demonstrate the value of critical theory in literary studies. The Marxist critic examines social and material structures; the feminist critic investigates gender and patriarchy; the ecocritic explores human–nature relations; and the queer critic questions accepted norms of identity and belonging.

Although all four approaches examine the same novel, they ask different questions and uncover different meanings. Their interpretations may overlap, but each provides a distinct perspective. Using multiple lenses also helps us recognise the limitations of any single interpretation and encourages more careful, evidence-based reading.

Step 3: Human Verification and Critical Reflection

Human Verification of the GenAI Response

After examining the AI-generated analysis, I checked the interpretations against the events and characters in Frankenstein and the concepts discussed in Dilip Barad's source.

• Marxist criticism: The Creature's alienation and the De Lacey family's poverty support a discussion of social exclusion and material conditions. However, the novel should not be reduced to a simple conflict between rich and poor.

• Feminist/Gender criticism: The limited agency of Elizabeth, Justine and the unfinished female Creature provides relevant evidence for examining patriarchy and gender roles.

• Ecocriticism: The Alpine landscapes, Arctic setting and Victor's scientific ambition support an analysis of nature and human responsibility. The novel should not be described as explicitly addressing contemporary environmental pollution.

• Queer criticism: The Creature's exclusion and desire for companionship can be examined through identity and otherness. However, the relationship between Victor and the Creature is not explicitly presented as a romantic or sexual relationship.

I agree with the AI's central interpretation that Frankenstein can be read through several critical approaches. One important qualification is that a possible interpretation should not be confused with direct textual evidence. This verification helped me understand why close reading and independent judgment are necessary when using GenAI for literary criticism.

My Reflection: How GenAI Helped Me Understand Literary Criticism

This activity helped me understand the difference between knowing a literary theory and actually applying it to a literary text. Before this activity, I understood the basic definitions of Marxist, Feminist, Ecocritical and Queer criticism, but I was not fully aware of how each critic examines a text differently.

By applying all four approaches to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, I learned that the same novel can reveal different meanings. The Marxist lens helped me understand the Creature's social alienation, while the Feminist lens highlighted women's limited freedom and Victor's control over creation. The Ecocritical lens made me think about human ambition and responsibility towards nature. The Queer lens encouraged me to examine identity, otherness and social expectations.

One important insight I gained from GenAI was that critical theories are practical tools for close reading, not just definitions to memorise. However, I also had to question the suggestion that Victor and the Creature's relationship could be considered queer. The novel does not explicitly describe their relationship as romantic. This taught me to verify AI interpretations using textual evidence and my own critical understanding.

Conclusion

This activity demonstrates how GenAI can support the study of literary criticism by explaining theoretical concepts and showing their practical application. Through Frankenstein, I explored how Marxist, Feminist/Gender, Ecocritical and Queer approaches offer different perspectives on the same literary work.

The activity also taught me that AI-generated interpretations require human verification. GenAI can help organise ideas, identify possible connections and introduce different critical perspectives, but the student must examine the original text, question unsupported claims and develop an independent interpretation.

Ultimately, literary criticism is not simply about knowing theories; it is about asking meaningful questions, examining textual evidence and developing thoughtful interpretations. This activity has helped me understand how different critical lenses can deepen my reading of literature and improve my analytical skills.

References:

Barad, Dilip. “On Marxist, Feminist, Ecocritical, and Queer Criticism.” ResearchGate, Nov. 2024,www.researchgate.net/publication/385739537_On_Marxist_Feminist_Ecocritical_and_Queer_Criticism DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.16827.02082.