Society Made Monsters Societal isolation is not talked about as much as it should, it creeps into a person’s mind and fills them with apathy towards their fellow man. No quote better emulates this than in Chapter Seventeen of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, “I am malicious because I am miserable. Am I not shunned and hated by all of mankind?” The Creature is beseeching Victor Frankenstein to end his loneliness by providing him with a woman like him.
Approximately sixty percent of Americans report that they feel lonely regularly which is a societal complication (Santos). Humans are social creatures and they require contact with others . Loneliness can be described as the feeling of being alone regardless of the amount of social contact with others while social isolation is the lack of those social connections completely (CDC). The two go hand in hand and can often lead to each other causing deeper rooted issues. Novels such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, short stories like George Saunders “The 400-Pound CEO, and websites including the CDC all demonstrate or examine the effects of loneliness and social isolation on an individual.
The relationship between the creature and Victor juxtaposed the relationship of God and man. Shelley displayed this where the creature said, “You must create a female for me with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being. This you alone can do, and I demand it of you as a right which you must not refuse to concede” (161). Just like Adam in the bible, the creature experienced loneliness
As Mary Shelley crafts the story Frankenstein, she tells the tale of VIctor and the Creature. When looking at which of them deserves pity, there are many things to take into account. The Creature is more deserving of sympathy because he is an orphan, a lonely individual, and an intimidation. Finally, the Creature is feared because of the intimidating appearance that Victor has given him.
By telling the creature directly that he refuses to even try and listen to what the creature has to say, Victor is isolating the creature from connecting with people, because Victor won’t even let him explain his side of the story. Victor refuses to see things from the creature’s perspective because he is unwilling to understand the creature and his struggles that he’s faced. By writing Victor as an intolerant and quick to judge character, Mary Shelley demonstrates the prejudice that the creature faces because of his
Shelley shows that Victor’s abandonment of the creature contributes to many feelings the creature goes through. Shelley writes that: “I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity; but am I not alone, miserably alone? You, my creator, abhor me; what hope can I gather from your fellow creatures, who owe me nothing? They spurn and hate me.” (Shelley 103).
Throughout the novel, Mary Shelley emphasizes empathy and companionship as critical humanistic traits; yet, the content depicts the creature displaying these traits while Victor Frankenstein instead embodies the opposite inhumane psychological characteristics that would define him as a monster. Victor's fascination with playing God and creating a new species that "would bless him as its creator and source" ultimately displays his narcissistic intentions that opens the door towards his unhappiness and cruelty. (Shelley 40) Beyond this door, we see that Victor's lack of empathy towards the creature and even his own family enhances his own moral disengagement towards society. Although the creature may display the physical characteristics that
In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the creature is consistently rejected, causing him to harm others. First, Victor abandons the creature, and he is left roaming the world alone with no one to guide him. Then, society rejects the creature, leading him into isolation. Society views the creature as an ugly wretch. Therefore, he has a hatred for Victor: his creator.
The creature's anger and desire for vengeance are fueled by its experiences of rejection and isolation as it is left to fend for itself in a hostile environment. Shelley's novel investigates the moral and moral ramifications of Victor's activities. Quote here It highlights the dangers of unchecked ambition and the consequences of neglecting one's moral
The abandonment is parent 's choice which include the failure to support their child financially and emotionally. Sadly, parents leave their child uncertain about the future. As the baby develop, kid might grow up outrageous with the feeling of being neglect. The child could resent his or her parents and walk into wrong path as there is no one to educate time about morality. In Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein, the creator abandons his creation undoubtedly uncertain about his invention life in the future.
In the novel, “Frankenstein”, by Mary Shelley, Shelley conveys the idea that nothing is born evil but it’s society that can create a monster with judgmental rejection. The monster proves that, when he is ultimately humiliated by people because of his appearance. The monster kept finding himself shunned from the public every single time. Each time he tried to convince the people that he was good, he was harmed with stones.
Effects of Parental Rejection In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein creates the creature. However, he immediately runs away because it was so hideous, abandoning his creation. After experiencing rejection from his creator, the creature feels resentful toward Victor, leading it to kill three of Victor’s close friends and family. Research has shown that the perceived parental rejection results in children growing up to be violent and depressed.
Rejection is like ripping the wings off a butterfly; you force the butterfly to live forever on the ground taking its innate ability to fly. Author, Mary Shelley, in her novel, Frankenstein, illustrates how Victor Frankenstein’s obsession with creating new life ends up destroying everything he loves. Shelley’s purpose is to highlight how the regressive effects of rejection can push someone into a maddening state. Through Shelley’s use of point of view, emotional reaction, and tone, I believe that Frankenstein’s creation should be pardon from all his crimes committed due to the mental state others pushed him into.
„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.
From his studies, he finds himself living unhealthy yet unable to leave his work. Shelley displays a dark period that leaves Victor mentally unstable from his scientific discoveries. She also portrays the effects of outside forces on human kindness through the creature’s diminishing good nature. From the creature’s formation Shelley describes his love and hope in the world yet when his interactions with others end poorly his inherently good nature disappears. Shelley’s confirmation of Rousseau’s work continues when she characterizes the women in her novel as submissive.
