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Analysis of frankenstein frankenstein
Frankenstein and isolation
Literary analysis of Frankenstein
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Analysis of frankenstein frankenstein
Frankenstein and isolation
Literary analysis of Frankenstein
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
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”
“ Human beings are social creatures, we are social not just in the trivial sense that we like company, and not just in the obvious sense that we each depend on others. We are social in a more elemental way: simply to exist as a normal human being requires interaction with other people.” (Gawande) Throughout Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein and the article, “Hellhole” by Atul Gawande both writers portray the common theme of the effects of social isolation on the individual. In both ways it shows being lonely vs being alone.
In “Frankenstein”, the characters experience varying degrees of isolation, leading to profound effects on their mental well-being. Victor Frankenstein himself is plagued by the ramifications of his ambitious pursuit of knowledge, ultimately isolating himself from society. This self-imposed solitude takes a severe toll on his mental health, as evidenced by his poignant statement. "I shunned my fellow creatures as if... I had been guilty of a crime" (Shelley 56).
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.
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.
From the moment he is created, the creature knows he is not wanted by Victor. Shelly writes, “Unable to endure the aspect of the being
A prominent motif in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is alienation and how alienation sets the wheels of the plot into motion. In Frankenstein, loneliness due to its milieu and isolation from society make the creature dangerously capricious. Therefore, the creature’s isolation from society expresses a person's traits which are affected more by nurture (alienation) than by Nature. Frankenstein grounds its argument in a symmetrical pattern, with social
It is quite telling that the most severe punishment in our society other than the death penalty or torture is solitary confinement. Although, isolation is in itself a form of torture, it can drive someone to the brink of insanity. Although published nearly 200 years ago, Mary Shelley clearly understood the potential detrimental effects of isolation, as demonstrated in her famous novel, Frankenstein, where both main characters, Victor Frankenstein and his creation, suffer from and cause isolation for the other. Mary Shelley directs the reader to believe that isolation is the true evil, not the monster, Victor or any emotion inside of them. At the beginning of the novel, Victor is isolated from other people, causing to forget his scientific
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.
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.
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
The psychological toll of isolation can be devastating, leading to feelings of worthlessness, insignificance, and detachment from society. Two primary sources of literature are Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, explore the theme of isolation and its effects on the individual.
Isolation and its different types have conditional effects on an individual as portrayed by the different characters in the novel. One desires independence from the rest of the world such as Victor Frankenstein, or one could be miserable at the thought of not being recognized and understood such as the monster and Robert Walton. Isolation has different impacts to the type of person it is affecting and how being isolated could have positive or detrimental consequences. It can be argued that if the monster lived in a society where he was loved and treated with passion, then this would have halted his evil doings and murders. However, many argue as well that the monster is a monster and will show barbaric characteristics regardless of its lifestyle.
[He] had endowed [the creature] with perceptions and passions and then cast [him] abroad an object for the scorn and horror of mankind” (96). He travels to Geneva next, Victor’s hometown. He is livid, and “the nearer [he] approached to [Victor’s] habitation, the more deeply did [he] feel the spirit of revenge enkindled in [his] heart” (96). He is willing at this point to commit any act that would hurt his estranged creator. Mary Shelley insisted that “the monster is naturally good, ... but
Although the terms solitude and alienation are generally used interchangeably, the latter is more suited to define situations where one is estranged or detached from a group in society to which they should belong. Conversely, the description of the former is a state being alone. Hence, it can be concluded that alienation is a category of such a state. The novel Frankenstein, also known as The Modern Prometheus, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley explores the theme of solitude. This theme, along with its aforementioned category, plays an integral role in the creation and construction of Shelley’s fictional characters.