Victor Frankenstein's monster continues to evolve when the Arabian lady Safie arrives. Safie proves to be an important character. Not only does Safie teach the monster the fact that there are countries far from its hovel, but she brings a background story with her.
Mary Shelley uses Safie and her father, the Turk, in order to make some contrasting implications through Orientalism. One instance of this is the Turk's underlying plan to keep Safie from marrying Felix. The Turk goes along with the engagement only to appear as a man that is true to his word. Shelley also uses words such as "tyrannical" in context to the Turk. Shelley's usage of the Turk demonstrates the negative ideas that European cultures had of the Turks during her era.
Unlike the Turk, Safie is mostly a representation of positive Orientalism in the monster's story. She is described to have angelic beauty and a lovely singing voice. She is exotic to the monster, and the monster seems to show no disfavor towards her. Although she is very pleasantly mentioned, there are some implications towards her abilities that could negatively reflect the ideas that Europeans had of Oriental women. Safie's voice is described like music; there are no words and no dialogue from her in the passage. She is doted for her beauty, but she is slower in learning than the monster, which has only been alive for little over a year. The combination of exotic beauty and lack in intelligence implies that Oriental women are more accessories than they are humans.
Mary Shelley's views of the Orient are suggested in this part of the monster's story. Under her pen name, Shelley wasn't able to openly discuss it, but there are implications of her opinion towards arranged marriage. For instance, in the monster's description of Safie's situation, it describes arranged marriage as "walls of a harem" that only have "infantile amusements". This attitude suggests the negative view that European women of Shelley's era might have had towards arranged marriage.
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