Although no reader of Frankenstein, if asked to list its chief concerns, would be
likely to narrow the range to the value of domesticity and virtue, we can discern
in this emphasis a veiled attempt to steer potential critics away from an attack on
the novel's political or religious implications. At the same time, the domestic affections
are certainly of import for the novel, yet like many other themes encountered in its
progressive development, their value becomes increasingly ambiguous.