Solitary Confinement In Frankenstein

Frankenstein removes himself from friends, family and society in order to absolve himself from responsibility of morals. Through efforts to maintain control and an acute fascination, Frankenstein alienates himself at an early age in the name of science. Victor is not entirely ignorant of the dangers of his self-satisfying obsession as he first regrettably reflects, “I was, to a great degree, self-taught with regard to my favorite studies. My father was not scientific, and I was left to struggle with a child’s blindness, added to a student’s thirst for knowledge” (Shelley 28). Rather than recognizing that his isolation is self-induced, Victor blames his alienation on his father’s ignorance. By controlling his relationships, he gains greater confidence in his own abilities, instead of relying on others’ companionship. Notably, evidence for Victor’s disregard toward “domestic affection” is reintroduced as he remarks, “I must absent myself from all I loved while thus employed. Once commenced, it would quickly be achieved, and I might be restored to my family in peace and happiness” (Shelley 138). With selfishness at the core, Victor controls his chaos by distancing himself temporarily, so that he might reunite with his family at a later date. He is being inundated by the common belief that glorious scientific achievement comes at the cost of moral and ethical sacrifice. Victor justifies his self-alienation by means of the creature; however readers

The passion for his work causes him to revert to isolation. Frankenstein mentions that no youth could have passed more happily than mine (Shelley, 67). Furthermore , his parents emphasize to him that it will cause the great distress if he doesn’t get in touch with him. Still Frankenstein still selfishly remains in isolation, despite the great pain he is causing to the ones he loves the most. His choice to remain isolated is what contributes to his monster-like attributes. Frankenstein even sees himself as a monster, can you wonder, that sometimes a kind of insanity possessed me, or that I saw continually about me a multitude of filthy animals inflicting on me incessant torture, that often extorted screams and bitter groans (Shelley, 160). It seems that in this moment, Frankenstein is seeing himself as an isolated

He chose to "avoid a crowd and to attach [himself] fervently to a few [schoolmates]" (Shelley 36). Characteristics like isolation can lead to an unhappy future and cause a person to totally remove himself from society. Though "[Frankenstein's] father had wished him 'to seek amusement in society [he] abhorred the face of man.' ... 'I felt that I had no right to share their intercourse,'" he admits (Goldberg 31). From the knowledge of Frankenstein's past the reader is able to understand the character's behavior and how it develops. Through the years Frankenstein has kept to himself, with a few exceptions, and is heavily involved in his studies. These conditions evolve to a more serious state over time. "Now, he reveals only the 'desire to avoid society' and fly 'to solitude, from the society of every creature.' . . . He is 'immersed in solitude,' for he perceives' an insurmountable barrier' between him and his fellow-man" (Draper 3206). This state of seclusion only adds to Frankenstein's deterioration and to the condition of his creation. Frankenstein's creature takes on the characteristics of his creator, just as children do with their parents. Due to the creator's reclusive habits and characteristics the Creature becomes as isolated and lonely as his creator. After being shunned by Frankenstein, the Creature wonders about lonely, "searching in vain for a few acorns to assuage the pangs of hunger"

Isolation has a negative effect on Frankenstein by making him fall ill. “But I was in reality very ill; and surely nothing but the unbounded and unremitting attentions of my friend could have restored me to life. The form of the monster on whom I had bestowed existence was forever before my eyes. By very slow degrees, and with frequent relapses that alarmed and grieved my friend, I recovered” (55). With Clerval by his side, Frankenstein recovered

Victor Frankenstein’s personal accounts of loneliness and isolation show the effects involved with making an impulsive and passionate decision. Frankenstein predicts the loneliness he could experience if he were to create the monster as he observes, “When I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success, there will be none to participate in my joy” (Shelley 13). Frankenstein knows what kind of situation he is putting himself into prior to constructing the monster. He is passionate and carelessly rebellious against his own knowledge and his previous predictions in giving life to the creature. Frankenstein knows there will be “none to participate in [his] joy,” but he acts out of his own passion and desire to be “glowing” which in turn gives him extreme loneliness. This

Isolation is the seperation from others whether it is emotionally or physically. Throughout Frankenstein this became a issue where they tried to destroy each other. Frankenstein creation is the most obvious victim who suffers alienation, but Victor himself suffer isolation, yet the creature suffer from defection of society due to being rejected and not accepted by others. However, isolation led to Victor and the creatures self destruction.

To begin, Frankenstein goes off to college and immediately isolates himself from society including his family and his minimal friends. This isolation has a negative effect on him, even though his isolation can be seen as his own choice. This isolation and focus on his science evolved into a project to create human life. Through this project, the creature is born and this is when his isolation gets even worse. This secret consumes so much of him and he has no one to turn to.

Frankenstein pushes the blame of disregarding his own family onto his father and the pursuit of knowledge. He chooses to not accept responsibility for ignoring those closest to him. He chooses to be apart from all of them. After returning home, Frankenstein?s isolation continues due to him knowing

Emotional isolation in Frankenstein is the most pertinent and prevailing theme throughout the novel.  This theme is so important because everything the monster does or feels directly relates to his poignant seclusion.  The effects of this terrible burden have progressively damaging results upon the monster, and indirectly cause him to act out his frustrations on the innocent.  The monster's emotional isolation makes him gradually turn worse and worse until evil fully prevails.  This theme perpetuates from Mary Shelley's personal life and problems with her father and husband, which carry on into the work and make it more realistic.(Mellor 32)  During the time she was writing this novel, she was experiencing the emotional pangs of her

The first manifestations of his erratic truths are seen when he proclaims to Frankenstein “For the first time the feelings of revenge and hatred filled my bosom, and I did not strive to control them, but allowing myself to be borne away by the stream, I bent my mind towards injury and death.” (118) and sets the cottage of his former “friends” on fire. The monster did not have much contact with humans, and therefore, had very little experience with the emotions he felt for the De Laceys. Their refusal hurt him, so he cultivated a loathing for the family and acted maliciously. This can also be seen as the beginning of the monster’s transformation - as his experiences make him more resentful, his ideals, goals and actions become more monstrous. The conflagration is what frees the monster from the vice of his first wish for emotional fulfillment. His inability to satisfy his needs combined with the satisfaction he gains from cruel behaviour causes the monster to believe that he is a wretched beast. The truth he saw in his own nature - the kind, innocent being - is blended together with the hideous and terrifying fiend others see him as, so a new sort of fabrication is created. By using this element, Shelley depicts how an individual is forced to alter the truth that they associated with their own life when they realize the imperfect nature of their ideals. This may cause an individual to indulge in unkind behavior in an attempt to reconcile the relation between their ideals and worldview. Without the family’s denial, the monster’s idea of perfection would have remained stagnant. After that experience, he starts to believe that the prejudiced view of the humans who fear him and the abandonment he faced is enough reason to retaliate against mankind. This

The monster is in need of help from his creator, for he is new to the world and does not know anything about living yet, but instead, he has nobody and is forced to figure life out by himself. Readers understand the monster’s emotion because he says “I sat down and wept”. By understanding his emotion, it will cause readers to feel sympathy for him. This also proves one of the larger themes of the novel, that people should treat others with empathy, because as his creator, Frankenstein should have been able to understand and share his feelings, for he was often alone and left to teach and fend for himself during his studies. Frankenstein’s reject to his creation is what caused the monster to feel so alone, and ultimately, what led to both of their destructions.

Although Victor grows up in a loving family, he becomes more seperated and isolates himself from others throughout the novel Frankenstein. Although Victor is isolating himself all through the novel, he is also setting a scene for others to be isolated from him, because of his lack of communication with everyone. Victor had not been in contact with friends or family. Some examples of this are shown throughout the early chapters of the novel.

Frankenstein's creation is a complex character whose true motives cannot be determined easily. Although one cannot excuse his actions, they should certainly not be viewed out of context. The creature is exposed to the painful reality of loneliness from the moment of his creation. "I had worked hard for nearly two years," Victor states, "for the sole

Alienation and isolation have been apparent in society since the beginning of man. When an individual stumbles outside the realm of social normality they are viewed as degradation to society or a threat to normal society.(“Truthmove” 2012) In the gothic tale of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley frequently displays the many different forms of alienation. Victor Frankenstein and his creation were two of the characters in this book that went through alienation and isolation.

The film opens on the main character Victor Van Dort, the son of recently wealthy aristocrats, being forced to Victoria, daughter to a family of even wealthier aristocrats. (Russell) The Van Dorts are looking to raise their status in society through the marriage to the aristocrats, and the Everglots are hoping to further bury their secret bankruptcy and get their hands on the money they, wrongly, assume Victor’s family has. At the very beginning, Victor is shown to be a very reserved, shy character when he is shown alone in his room drawing a butterfly while his parents sing excitedly about the upcoming wedding. This also emphasizes the drastic differing opinions about the wedding, and how Victor obviously dreads it. “This introduces the classic character of the old foolish woman through Victor’s mother and gives the audience a silent look into the character of Victor. He is isolated at the beginning by his own will.” (Drouillard). Isolated protagonists are used often in Gothic fiction as seen in another Victor, this one Frankenstein, who hides himself away to focus on work. Before the wedding, it’s very obvious that Victor is nervous, and the parents are just as worried that he will not perform correctly at the ceremony. As he rehearses in the woods, Victor manages to properly say his vows, puts the wedding ring on a hand-like branch, and everything goes smoothly. Of course, in a fantasy, nothing truly goes as planned and the branch-like hand is revealed to be a real hand.