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Frankenstein Loneliness Essay

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“All By Myself”: Loneliness in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the author expresses her own loneliness through the various characters. Shelley uses these characters to examine the theme of loneliness and the lasting effect it has. By the end of the novel, these characters are left unfulfilled and more alone than at the beginning of the novel. Captain Walton, Victor, and the Monster all face loneliness, but for different reasons; Captain Walton longs for a companion, Victor isolates himself, and the Monster is rejected by society. At the beginning of the novel, Captain Walton writes to his sister, expressing his feelings of loneliness and how he longs for a companion with which to explore. It is evident in these …show more content…

When Victor leaves for University, he dedicates all of his time to science and neglects his friends and family. Victor is used to being “surrounded by amiable companions, continually engaged in endeavoring to bestow mutual pleasure—[he] was now alone” (Shelley 30). By devoting himself fully to his studies, Victor inflicts isolation on himself. As the novel progresses, Victor’s family members and friends are taken from him by the monster. These losses are caused by Victor's own actions, as he created and abandoned the monster. As he is unable to reveal that he is the one who created the monster that ultimately causes the deaths of his friends and family, Victor is also left alone in his thoughts. By keeping silent about the Monster, Victor puts the people he loves at risk. Victor is selfish as he repeatedly “favor[s] his ambition above his friendships and family” ("Frankenstein." 188). Victor does not want to admit to his loved ones that he has created a monster and will not take responsibility for his actions. As a result of his creation, Victor is overtaken by guilt, which makes him feel even more alone. It is clear that Victor's loneliness is a result of his actions throughout the

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I have no one near me, gentle yet courageous, possessed of a cultivated as well as of a capacious mind, whose tastes are like my own, to approve or amend my plans (Shelley 4).” The companion Walton speaks of to his sister largely reflects upon his inner goals and desires, and only serves to heighten his feelings of loneliness. He goes on to say although he is surrounded by the men present on his ship and the rest of his crew, he does not feel a connection with them. To be isolated does not mean to be entirely alone, in fact, many people feel isolated when they are surrounded by other people; instead isolation often relates to how we perceive ourselves within the world and our environment. Whether completely detached from the rest of the world, or searching for a true companion within

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When Victor creates the creature he also abandons it. Once Frankenstein’s creature begins to murder off his family thus he begins’ to realize the importance of family. Caroline’s death contributes to Victor’s isolated nature.

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Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, shows how a character who is portrayed as a tragic hero, in the beginning, can become the monster in the end. Victor and the Monster in Mary Shelley’s captivating novel showed how rival enemies share striking similarities. The similarities between the two tragic characters are driven by their dreary isolation from the secluded world. A large difference is that they were both raised in two completely different environments but understood the meaning of isolation. Physical differences are more noticeable rather than their personalities.

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He grows angry at Victor for creating him, leaving him, and refusing to make him a female companion. Victor’s creation murders his friend Henry Clerval, his brother William, and even his wife Elizabeth. Once Victor’s creation comes to life, his life is ruined. If he would have accepted him from the beginning and taken on the rule of a father, his life may not have been so miserable. Victor and his creation ultimately needed each other’s love, because their separation ultimately destroyed them

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Victor has had supportive people around him since birth; however now that he is at the university he has nobody to help keep him level headed. "Every night I was oppressed by a slow fever, and I became nervous to a most painful degree; the fall of a leaf startled me, and I shunned my fellow creatures as if I had been guilty of a crime" (35). The isolation being portrayed by Victor is now shifting from not only

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Isolation and loneliness are pervasive throughout Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein." From the beginning, Victor Frankenstein embarks on a solitary journey of scientific discovery, isolated from societal norms and the comfort of companionship. His pursuit of knowledge and creation leads to his alienation from his family, friends, and humanity. An early instance of this is when Victor confided in his cousin, Elizabeth, about his scientific discoveries. However, Elizabeth showed no interest in his pursuits, leaving Victor to isolate himself further (Shelley 23).

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Emma Wales Mrs Schroder English III 13 January 23’ Frankenstein In the novel Frankenstein, the creature’s experiences with society cause feelings of isolation and loneliness which lead him to desire love and revenge. Once the creature is created by his master, he spends his time traveling trying to make connections with people. He feels a deep loneliness in his heart and is pushed away by everyone around him.

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First, Victor is the person who does not have this companionship in the beginning of the story. Victor is all alone with no one around, so he has no feelings and wants someone to associate with. “Winter, spring, and summer passed away during my labours; but I did not watch the blossom or the expanding leaves—sights which before always yielded me supreme delight—so

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Bailee Small Ms. Vertiz 9H1 04 September 2023 The Monster Within In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the theme of isolation and loneliness is as pervasive as the chilling winds that haunt the novel's dark and eerie landscapes. From the isolated mountaintop laboratory where Victor Frankenstein brings his creature to life, to the creature's own desperate search for connection and companionship, Shelley's novel is a haunting exploration of the human need for connection and the destructive consequences of its absence. As we dive into the world of Frankenstein, we are forced to confront the deep, unsettling truths about the ways in which isolation and loneliness can warp the human psyche and drive us to the brink of madness.

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Victor falls ill with anxiety, and as a result of Victor’s neglect the monster begins to destroy his life. Even when the monster confronts Frankenstein, threatening that he “will glut the maw of death, until it be satiated with the blood of [Frankenstein’s] remaining friends, 102" Victor does not acknowledge the problem he has caused, the literal embodiment of his anxiety. He does not attempt to confront the monster head on or alleviate his loneliness, both a form of acknowledgement and thus a healthy way to respond to his fears. Instead, he once again pretends the monster doesn’t exist which only further enrages and empowers him. Once again, this mirrors the fact that when fears and anxiety go undealt with they will only grow and confirms that the monster is the embodiment of this

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In the story Frankenstein, one certain theme that sticks out is isolation. Isolation is portrayed by many characters in many different ways. Victor's feeling of isolation revolved around his studies and the monster. The Monster felt the feeling of isolation from always feeling like an outcast as well as feeling like he is doing something wrong. The character's actions in this story were the main cause of them feeling isolated in the end.

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Once noted, the parallels between Frankenstein’s fears and desires and the reality the monster experiences are many. Now that Victor is in university, he no longer has family and friends to fall back upon in the unknown territory of his university. Frankenstein voices is that “[he] believed [himself] totally unfitted for the company of strangers,” irrational as it may be, and believes himself solely dependent on his family and childhood friend for companionship. Without the love guaranteed to him by his family, Victor believes he is unfit to make companions by himself and destined to a life of loneliness. He places much importance on the fact that his father and Elizabeth love him and are concerned with his well-being.

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By denying both main characters the sensation of domestic affection, or any other kind of social belonging, Mary Shelley highlights the importance thereof. The resulting isolation became the driving force behind both Frankenstein and his creation’s abominable actions which, in turn, shows that trying to avoid isolation and seeking the feeling of social belonging is the primary message of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and of

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In reality, he is disgusted by the sight of his creation so he abandons it leaving it all alone in the world without any guidance and runs away to the next room. Victor himself suffered from being a social outcast and now he bestowed the same feeling onto the creature by abandoning him. By treating the creature as an outcast, “he will become wicked … divide him, a social being, from society, and you impose upon him the irresistible obligations—malevolence and selfishness” (Caldwell). Not only is Victor selfish for abandoning his creature but he is shallow as well. Instead of realizing that he achieved his goal of bringing life to an inanimate body he runs way because of how hideous it is.

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Isolation and a lack of companionship is the tragic reality for the monster, who was abandoned by his creator and is repulsive to everyone that he comes across. Victor removes himself from society for many months; severing nearly all human contact then renouncing his creation based on the monster's appearance. As the monster matures he begins to understands the relationship the cottagers share with one another, while the monster, “yearned to be known and loved by these amiable creatures: to see their sweet looks directed towards me with affection was the utmost limit of my ambition. ”(Shelley). Armed with nothing but the longing for a real connection, the monster approaches his unknowing hosts only to be “brutally attacked—by those he trusted...because of their human ignorance.

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