Solitude In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

“Whosoever is delighted in solitude, is either a wild beast or a god” (Aristotle). Romantic period writer and author, Mary Shelley, depicts two characters in her soft science fiction novel, Frankenstein, that is exquisitely similar to those who “would find delight in solitude” as quoted by Aristotle in his Politics. In Shelley’s Frankenstein, the parallel of Aristotle’s two presented personas consists as Victor Frankenstein as a god and his horrific creation, the Monster, as a wild beast. Unambiguously, Victor is indeed the god of the Monster because he created him, consequently bringing the Monster into existence. The Monster too is merely a wild beast from the perception that he appears to be a frightening and violent creature. Despite this,

Take Victor Frankenstein for example. He yearns for solitude upon that it is where he is able to further his extensive research and focus on his obsession with creating life. Even after his creation of the Monster, Victor still conspicuously chooses to seclude himself from society and his betrothed, Elizabeth, because he finds comfort in his isolation from the world. The Monster, however, finds isolation from society to be miserable; he will give anything to for a fragment of acceptance into society and even more importantly, for his creator to accept him. “I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed. Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded.” (Shelley). This is the words that the Monster speaks to Victor Frankenstein upon their encounter with each other in the cave in which the Monster has been confined to atop the summit of Montanvert. It is apparent that the Monster finds no pleasure in his exclusion from the world, and because of it, has been forced to live alone while everyone around him lives together in happiness. For a moment, the Monster’s solitude allows him to evaluate his life,

Victor Frankenstein has since destroyed his female creation of the Monster due to his fear that she and the Monster would procreate, lost the life of Elizabeth who he had just married hours before she was murdered, and threw his life away to pursue the Monster in a chase that led him to the North seeking for revenge against all that the Monster has cost him. Victor, alone and near death, is then discovered wandering through the snow and ice by a passing ship somewhere in the Arctic. The crew rescues Victor and brings him aboard the ship where he meets captain Walden. It is upon this ship and in the presence of Walden that Victor says his very last words. After Victor’s death, a mysterious figure takes form from the darkness of the room in which Victor’s corpse inhabits and out slinks the Monster. Mournful once more but this time not only for himself, the Monster shares these words, “The fallen angel becomes a malignant devil. Yet even that enemy of God and man had friends and associates in his desolation; I am alone.” Gut wrenchingly stated, it is upon these words that Monster reaches complete solitude now that his potential mate and creator have been destroyed. Through the motif of solitude, the Monster has transformed into an