Constantinople appears in Volume 2 Chapter 6 of Frankenstein when Safie leaves her home and goes to live with the De Lacey family. Safie is described as from Constantinople and it’s where her and her father lived before his persecution. She traveled from Constantinople to Italy and then eventually to the Germany and France to be with Felix. Constantinople allows for a different setting than we had been used to so far in the novel. Safie's presence allows for the monster’s learning through experience and contributes to his development.  

According to an article by Boundless Voices on Orientalism in Frankenstein, orientalism is the western portrayal of European culture. We see this in Frankenstein as during the time Frankenstein was written Constantinople served as the capital of the Ottoman Empire or now Turkey and was a contradictory place for the British. Constantinople was viewed as the city of significance and linked Europe to the East and this attracted travelers, artists, and writers. It was typically contrasting to modern, Protestant, enlightened Britain. Additionally, throughout the chapter "Turk" is used. This term was a stereotype in British literature and thought associated with Islamic identity perceived as a form of government built on tyranny and the subjugation of women. 

This helps in understanding the novel as Shelley makes Safie a contrast to the stereotype of Turk women imagined by the British. She is an independent woman of "noble and elevated nature" who "had been taught to aspire to higher powers of intellect". Constantinople serves to represent the “other” in comparison to traditional European beliefs and representations of the time.  

Sources

“Orientalism in Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley.” Boundless Voices, www.boundlessvoiceshi.org/blog-4/blog-post-title-one-b3nyb-wlxjd. 

Constantinople photo