addressing the take that victor is somehow effete for symptoms of illness/victor is dainty and physically frail
there’s an implicit link here between femininity and disability here that i resent (because that is what this typically boils down to: equating victor's physical illness with being stereotypically "girly"). victor is, in a way, feminized in-text, and yes, it is in part because of his illness, due to the historical context, but beyond that it’s so much more, and in so many more complex and interesting ways: it is the birth metaphor, his failing to uphold traditionally masculine values, his general lack of autonomy and of any meaningful way to change his circumstances, the gendered oppression for his "feminine" emotional demonstrativeness, having to rely on a man to preserve his narrative voice, etc.
it is true that victor frankenstein experiences moments of genuine physical weakness, as described by walton or even victor himself, namely his nervous fevers and long convalescences. but these moments do not inherently make him frail nor feminine. the persistence of this idea reflects a broader cultural discomfort with illness, particularly when it comes to male characters, and a deeply ingrained habit of framing symptoms of disability or physical vulnerability through femininity. in short, illness becomes effeteness, and effeteness becomes weakness
but victor, very obviously, textually isn't dainty: he rows boats, he hikes for fun, he scales the alps, he rides horses and donkeys, he hauls body parts around, he fucking dog-sleds through the arctic in a nigh superhuman display of resilience. it is absurd how readers routinely depict victor as someone who would be unable to lift a shovel, let alone an entire corpse, when he is so physically active even in times of and in despite of illness. to reduce him to "dainty" in this sort of diminutive tone because he also happens to faint or collapses under severe emotional and physical strain promotes an image of him as waifish and weak, when in fact he's hyper-active and driven to the point of bodily breakdown, as well as ties into a long history of pathologizing or minimizing traits coded as feminine.