This book explores the idea of the world, abandonment, and revenge. In Frankenstein, abandonment and betrayal is shown when Dr. Victor Frankenstein creates the monster, then leaves him to care for himself. because the monster did not turn out as he planned, displaying abandonment. This means that the monster had to fend for himself and learn his own way of life without love or protection from anyone. “Yet even that enemy of God and man had friends and associates in his desolation; I am alone.”
Emotional and physical isolation in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein are the most pertinent and prevailing themes throughout the novel. These themes are so important because everything the monster, Victor, and Robert Walton do or feel directly relates to their poignant seclusion. The effects of this terrible burden have progressively damaging results upon the three.
Frankenstein Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is filled with many themes. Themes help the reader to better understand what the author is trying to get across. Shelley’s novel about a man who is enamored with the idea of bringing something back to life is very clear with the themes. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, themes are introduced about the topics of nature, knowledge, and loneliness to give meaning to the reader. For example, nature is a place of renewal.
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 O’Connor 5/8/24 English 8 The Importance of Social Connection and Nature in Frankenstein In her first novel, Frankenstein, Mary Shelley highlights the importance of guidance and connection when in pursuit of knowledge through her portrayal of the self-educations of various characters. She also emphasizes the importance of connection with nature in keeping one’s perspective balanced. Walton reading only his uncle’s books about voyages, Frankenstein reading old books on natural philosophy, and the creature learning about the world through fiction all show how Mary Shelley warns against self-education without guidance because it can be ineffective or become obsessive.
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)
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.
Male companionship presents itself in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay, as a complement to the characteristics that the other male companion does not possess. In Frankenstein, the desire for male companionship spawns from the contrasting natures of Victor Frankenstein and Henry Clerval. Both Henry Clerval and Elizabeth Lavenza serve as foils to Victor’s nature but a woman’s place in Frankenstein’s hierarchy prevents female to male companionship. The one-sided nature of Victor and Henry’s relationship prevents either from achieving a literary climax as companions. The desire for male companionship spawns from a similar place of distinction presented by Mike and Albert’s class and lifestyle differences in
Frankenstein In the book Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, revenge is seeked by a project of an isolated scientist who wished for companionship and glory from his works. Victor the main character had a prophecy that he could bring the deceased back to life. He created this eight foot, hideous beast stitched up out of dead body parts, and brought it to life. At the sight of this monster Victor pushed him away leaving them both all alone.
„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 significance of the preface and letters is to set up a plot with a twist. Walton’s letters introduce an important character, Walton himself. It introduces many ideas that will show up in the novel. The letters foreshadow upcoming events in the novel.
Whereas Frankenstein does not properly value the domestic affection he is given until it is violently taken from him, his creation learns that this is what values most in life and yet is not able to gain this affection from others. Francis Bacon says in his essay Of Friendship “I have given the rule, where a man cannot fitly play his own part; if he have not a friend, he may quit the stage”. Shelley highlights the need for a sense of belonging and companionship by letting both her main figures suffer the pain of not having this need fulfilled and, in consequence, they both “quit the stage” (Bacon) and turn their backs on humanity. Social isolation, although through different circumstances, was the predominant cause for both Frankenstein and his creature’s demise. Even Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley’s husband, wrote in his preface to Frankenstein about the “amiableness of domestic affection” (Shelley 9).
In Frankenstein, the creature shows the importance on the need for friendship. The creature feels lonely because he has no friends. The creature states, “…no Eve soothed my sorrows nor shared my thoughts; I was alone,” (Shelley 93). The creature is clearly stating that he feels alone. Even Adam had Eve and his creator when Adam and Eve was on Earth to share conversations with (92).
Personality and human life can be shown in both psychology and literature but is it reliably ? Psychology . Psychology uses strict research methods and is very precise, the knowledge of personality is improved with experience. While novels, despite fictions, attempts a demonstration of human personality based on the author's own experience. A novel is defined The words that the author uses in the context of a story, help to understand better human personality and behavior than statistics found in psychology.
The theme topic of loneliness is evident in both the beginning of Frankenstein and throughout Coleridge’s work, and it clear that Shelley uses this powerful allusion to express a simile between Robert and the Mariner; Robert is as lonely as the Mariner after he loses all of his men and must continue his journey alone. Although Robert is not physically alone, emotionally he feels as if he is. This allows Shelley to better characterize Robert as a gothic hero because of his self banishment from society and the people around him. He finds flaws in all of the men aboard his ship, leading him to loneliness and detachment. In addition to the theme topic of loneliness created by the allusion, Shelley also alludes to the similar settings expressed in both pieces.
