More handpicked essays just for you.
Literary analysis of frankenstein
Frankenstein and the monster companionship
Literary elements used in frankenstein
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Both Victor and Elizabeth were raised by generous and loving people and those traits were passed on to the children, Elizabeth moreso then Victor. Elizabeth was adopted into the Frankenstein family after Victor’s mother heard her sorrowfully backstory. This random act of kindness was normal for both of Victor’s parents, as they are described as being “possessed by the very spirit of kindness and indulgence” (Pg. 23). Being surrounded by that much positive influence caused both Victor and Elizabeth to form strong connections to individuals they were close too. Elizabeth especially as she was loved by everyone and truly cared for all those around her, as she helped ground them.
Throughout volume 2 of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley emphasizes the theme, necessity of a friend, to the reader throughout the book. The necessity of a friend is shown through the creature’s loneliness and wanting of another creature. The creature said,” I am alone and miserable; man will not associate with me…my companion must be of the same species, and have the same defects. This being you must create.” (pg: 105-106)
Victor Frankenstein turns away from his responsibilities by ignoring the existence of his creation. Throughout the novel, Victor is constantly running away from the monster and not giving him attention, which resulted in the monsters change of personalities. For example, in page 71 the creation said, “All men hate the wretched; how must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things! Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me, thy creature, to whom thou art bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us.” This quote suggests that because of the ignorance of Victor the monster began to become evil and have the urge to seek
If the narrator had been the creature, the reader would sympathize with him for creating him to be alone vs feeling bad for Frankenstein’s loss. The different point of views offer more evidence to support the author’s message about companionship. Shelley writes from Frankenstein’s point of view, “I have but one resource; and I devote myself, either in my life or death, to his destruction” (Shelley, 1818, p 188). In this quote, we can see how the lack of his wife, friend, and brother has driven him insane with anger and revenge for the creature.
Victor does not handle his monster, or his fears, well. When Frankenstein first sees his monster, he immediately “escaped, [from the room the monster was in] and rushed down stairs. p50” As the monster is an externalization of Frankenstein’s fears, this escape, this inability to so much as look at the monster, can be interpreted as Frankenstein’s inability to acknowledge his fears and anxieties. Like with anxiety, denying the monster’s existence only causes him to grow more destructive.
„I desire the company of a man who could sympathize with me; whose eyes would reply to mine. You may deem me romantic, my dear sister, but I bitterly feel the want of a friend” (Shelley 163-164). This is the wish of the scientist Robert Walton whose letters start Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. Unlike the first thoughts coming to mind when hearing the title, friendship is one of the main topics in the story and the wish Walton expresses in the beginning stands for the desires of all the main characters. Not only Walton feels to be in need of companionship, the central character Victor Frankenstein does so too and even the Creature he brings into being expresses its strong wish to belong to someone.
The monster is spurned by society because of his horrific appearance, his body, alone and hated, unfit for the company of strangers, just as Frankenstein fears he is. He is miserable which makes the hatred grow, as he says, “all men hate the wretched; how then must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things!” In fact, this wretchedness and enforced isolation is the monster’s main character trait, parallel to the isolation being Frankenstein’s biggest fear. Now that Victor is in college, he does not have his family to fall back upon for affection.
The need and mutual respect for love and companionship is what truly makes one human. In the book Frankenstein it is seen from the first time Victor brings his monster to life that he has no compassion or attachment towards him. In fact, he abandons him out of fear. Throughout the story the monster feels a lack of affection, not only from Victor but from the other people he meets and wants to make friends with, leaving him in misery. Due to persistent abandonment and apathy, the monster sought out revenge and committed treacherous acts of violence.
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
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein brings his creation to life and has to endure the repercussions of his actions. While Victor is in fact human, the question of whether the creature or Victor is more human still stands. Humanity is demonstrated as compassionate in the book and monstrosity is the opposite. The creature is more human because of his developed personality and desire to be human. Victor, although born into a humane family, evolved into everything bad about humanity; he developed obsession, resentment, and manipulated life to conform to his idealities.
Interestingly enough, the novel resembles Shelley’s own life and can be interpreted as a reflection of her perception of families. Shelley shares many of the same characteristics with most of her characters. As the main character in the novel, Frankenstein’s creature is depicted as “a motherless orphan” who had an “unnatural birth” (Griffith). This correlates with Shelley’s own childhood as she was raised without a mother and her birth was in some ways “unnatural” as mothers are not naturally made to die during childbirth.
The monster continues by reassuring the creator of his independent intelligence and power over the creature by telling Frankenstein, “This you alone can do”. Here, the creature assumes a role of submissiveness and reliance on Frankenstein. Frankenstein’s monster gains the sympathy of the reader who, despite condemning the murder of innocent people, commiserate with the lonely creature who is in search of an acquaintance, which he will likely never find. The monster also displays power and aggressiveness over Frankenstein; “You are my creator; but I am your master; obey!” The monster wants to desolate Victor’s heart, not by killing him directly,
From his earliest memories, Frankenstein recalls his family being there for him. He describes his parents by saying “My parents were possessed by the very spirit of kindness and indulgence”(Shelly __) Kindness and indulgence are two specific traits that one should inhabit when taking care of others. Another strong relationship in Frankenstein’s life is with his “sister” Elizabeth. As he was expected to marry her, he confided in her and grew up as one of her best
Companionship is the closeness or familiarity, a true fellowship among people who for some reason have a connection. “I desire the company of a man who could sympathize with me, whose eyes would reply to mine.” The quote is from Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. Robert Walton longs for a friend. The creature wanted a female companion.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein examines how the presence of a mother, negatively or positively, affects the development of a child. Victor’s mother, Caroline Frankenstein, dies while Victor is still a young man (he is about 17 years old), breaking their relationship between mother and son. Because Victor loses his bond with his mother, he is unable to act as a mother would when he creates his creature. Caroline Frankenstein’s absence in Victor’s life creates a disunion between the mother and child bond, which is evident in Victor’s creation and his fragmented relationship with the creature. Caroline Frankenstein, Victor’s mother, portrayed a traditional mother in the Frankenstein household, until her death.
