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Isolation In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein '

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The monster receives a violent rejection from the society due to his deformed figure which causes him to lead a life of isolation.
The creature always faces rejection due to his appearance as shown through his encounter with the De Lacey family. As of the victor’s rejection towards the monster, he feels as if the De Lacy family is his last hope for his social acceptance. As shown when the monster says “I have, unknown to them, been for many months in the habits of daily kindness towards them; but they believe that I wish to injure them, and it is that prejudice which I wish to overcome” (144). Isolation plays a crucial part in the monsters life, this exemplifies the grief within himself knowing that the De Lacy family will be prejudice towards him because of his outer appearance. He receives disappointment when he is forced to leave the family’s house ultimately crushing his feelings and raising hatred for his creator. The monster’s efforts to adapt to human ways go to a waste as Felix, Agatha and Safie kick him out of the house after seeing his distorted face. …show more content…

The man that is accompanying the girl witnesses the saving, but he assumes the creature is trying to harm the girl, so he shoots him. “This was then the reward of my benevolence! I had saved a human being from destruction, and as recompense I now writhed under the miserable pain of a wound which shattered the flesh and bone.” (151-52). The creature’s terrifying appearance causes people to perceive him as a vicious human being, yet, he is only trying to be kind to a stranger. The man shoots the creature in the shoulder without giving it a second thought, he automatically assumes that he wants to hurt the young girl. The creature feels even more dejected after the man hurts him physically and it also reminds him that he will never be accepted by

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Isolation can have a large impact on someone's behaviour and actions. Mary Shelley uses this information in ”Frankenstein” to show how being isolated from society can affect someone or something. Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” explores themes of isolation throughout the novel and shows what isolation can do to a being leading it to irrational and manic behaviours. This is evident throughout the novel especially when The Monster is talking about being lonely and its effect on him. “I am alone and miserable”

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From the moment the Monster is created by Victor, he is treated as an outsider and is excluded from participtating in communal interaction. Despite the neglect he faces, the monster continues to attempt to integrate himself fully into human acknowledgement, but when anyone lays sight on the creature, he is immediately shunned and falls into outcast status. However, the only character that accepts the monster wholly is De Lacey, a blind old man who lives in the forest all by himself, who is also shunned by society, particularly his family, who has had similar experiences to the monster. De Lacey’s blindness is a blight on his family, drawing comparisons to how the moster’s

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In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, both of the main characters undergo physical and emotional isolation. This enforced or chosen solitude causes Frankenstein to become over-ambitious and harbor secrets from his family and friends, leading to his demise. In the monster, isolation turns to misery, which causes him to become vengeful against his creator and all the world. Through these examples of total isolation, Shelley shows that when people have no connection to others in the world, their worst characteristics and flaws are brought out. Victor Frankenstein was the first character to show a major flaw while in isolation.

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Despite his attempts of interegrating himself into society and seeking companionship elsewhere, the monster was rejected and shunned at every turn. When he first encountered humans, they were fearful and hostile towards the monster. Even when he tried befriending some townspeople, they eventually reacted with terror upon seeing his appearance. This never-ending rejection reinforces the monster’s sense of isolation and fuels his anger towards society even more. To try and alleviate this loneliness, the monster demands Victor to create him a potential mate.

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The first event that angered the creature is when he was holding the girl in his arms, he is confronted by a man who grabs the girl out of his arms. This led to rage and he chases after the man who turns around and shot him. As you can image, the feeling of range and anger overtakes his thoughts saying “This was the reward for my benevolence! I saved a human being from destruction and as recompense I was now writhed under the miserable pain of a wound which shattered flesh and bone. The feelings of kindness and gentleness, which I had entertained but for a mere few moments before, gave place to hellish rage and gnashing of teeth.

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The creature suffers from emotional abuse however, his response is different from the Jews. The creature is not scared and does not go into hiding like the Jews. Similar to what is seen when he gets revenge on the De Lacey family, the creature responds with anger and vengeance for the situation. After William causes emotional abuse on the creature, he responds with anger and kills William. This moment is described by the creature in Chapter 16 when it says “I

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Mary Shelley, in her book, Frankenstein, has a reoccurring theme of isolation, in which she isolates the main character, Victor Frankenstein, from the rest of society in order to create a creature. Likewise, the creature that is created is also isolated from the rest of society as he is rejected from his creator as to his appearance. The theme is present throughout the novel as it reinforces Victor’s downfall from a normal boy to a grown man intrigued with creating life as he slowly becomes a madman that everyone soon fears. Isolation causes a loss of humanity as it affects the mind and body. Isolation from society does not teach social interaction, causes regret about oneself, provides one with negative feelings, and causes regretful actions.

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When the monster is faced with a choice to do good, or do nothing, he choses to help. The monster comes across a girl in the woods who falls into the river, without hesitation the monster acts to save her. This act of kindness from one who is perceived as a monster is just another instance that shows how benevolent he is. His appearance however proves to be his downfall as this act is met with violence. The creature says, “This was the reward of my benevolence!

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The creature was trying to help this girl, but he was punished because of his looks (101). This causes his fury to build into evil and bitterness: “Inflamed by pain, I vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind,” (101). The creature was in pain from being shot, and he vowed to get revenge against all humans (101). Without friends, the creature has felt no love or kindness from anyone, except from blind De Lacey (95-96). This need for friends has developed into him being evil; where as if he had friends, then he probably would not want to cause pain and misery upon everyone.

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He is a nice, good-hearted being. Yes, he is ugly and possibly rude, but he deserves so much more than being stoned and deserted. Not soon after, the monster builds the courage to present himself to the blind countryman whom he has been staying with. He implores the man to know that the monster is not a bad person, (Pg. 145) “Now is the time! Save and protect me!

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The creatures first encounter with a human being only proves how humane it is, despite his horrid appearance as the old man is delighted with him "I am blind, and cannot judge of your countenance but there is something in your words which persuades me that you are sincere". However, the younger citizens of the cottage enter and the creature is back to square one as they immediately react defensively against it- conveying how the creature will never be accepted with such distorted appearance since it is immediately identified as inhumane and

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Although the monster acts as a creature of evil, this evilness resulted from the neglect he received from humans. As the monster continues to experience abuse, his soul fully corrupts when his last few attempts to establish a bond with humans fails. When the girl in the river is drowning, he saves her, but “when the man saw [the monster] draw near, he aimed a gun, which he carried… and fired” ( Shelley 101). The monsters last chance to establish a friendly connection with another human has been rejected, signifying the the monsters loss of belief in humans judging an individual by their personality rather than appearance. Even the act of saving a human's life fails to establish the monster’s desire for benevolence between himself and others which makes him plunge into a malicious being.

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The creature sees that the little girl is drowning so he decides to save her. Once he saves her the parent of the little girl takes her and starts to run away from the creature. The creature runs after them believing that since he has just saved a human he will be accepted but instead he receives a "quote of being shot" He is once again rejected by humans because of his visage./ His flaw is once again containing him in a life of isolation and is making him realize that he will never be accepted. This characterizes him as a tragic hero as he has once again shown heroic actions but has been rejected because of the way he looks.

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Although he comes with friendly intentions, the Monster is treated violently and with contempt, essentially being forced into his alienation to survive and becoming the “monster” he is already thought of as a result. The Monster’s actions are a response to the treatment he has received from others, everyday villagers and Victor alike. With little known about his origins and no way to explain himself, there is no hope for the Monster to assimilate himself. This is present in other characters of the novel as well, for example, Richard Walton, who has self-alienated in order to gain distinction and knowledge. The Monsters origins and appearance develop these themes of alienation throughout the novel, themes that are further developed by other characters and play an important role in delivering the message of

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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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