Isolation as a Key Theme in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Essay

In this essay I will be discussing who really is portrayed as the monster in her gothic horror novel, Frankenstein or “The Modern Prometheus”. Frankenstein was written in 1816, (thought by many to be the first real science fiction novel) during the age of Romanticism and it tells the story of a selfish man, Victor Frankenstein, whose ambition conducts him to seek for supernatural powers and leads him to death. He is a young scientist, eager to discover something new, the key to life, help to make scientific advances and let other scientists get a better idea of how the body works and who after studying chemical processes and the decay of living beings, gains an insight into the creation of like, leading him to create a monster that becomes

Common rules create common fools. A society where everyone acted the same, abiding identically by some universal principles seems immediately enticing. It would be a world of no crime, where every individual acted in exactly the way that maximized pleasure for every other individual. In short, it would be a perfect utilitarian state. Yet, such a society would be rigid and boring, lacking all the qualities of unbounded life. Beauty comes from tragedy. Meaning is derived from misfortune. Some argue that happiness itself cannot truly exist without its counterpart, misery. Without uniquely acting individuals, life is meaningless. Mary Shelley would certainly have agreed with this statement. Indeed, in her novel Frankenstein, Shelley recognizes

Throughout time man has been isolated from people and places. One prime example of isolation is Adam, "the man [formed] from the dust of the ground [by the Lord God]" (Teen Study Bible, Gen. 2.7). After committing the first sin he secludes "from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken" (Teen Study Bible, Gen. 3.23). This isolation strips Adam from his protection and wealth the garden provides and also the non-existence of sin. Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, is able to relate to the story of Adam and the first sin to help her character, the Creature, associate with Adam. The Creature is able to relate because "[l]ike Adam, [he is] apparently united by no link to any other being in existence"

One of the most important themes in this novel is isolation. While they’ve all endured their fair share of it I believe the Creature was isolated the most. The Creature gets rejected by every person who meets him. With Frankenstein, it seems, had a choice and isolated himself purposefully, the Creature wasn’t given the same choice. The creature was isolated because he was different, yet in both cases the isolation brought about only unhappiness and tragedy.

In his refusal of his creature twice in less than twenty- four hours, it only can solidify and foreshadow the trials to come. Frankenstein then, in a wonderful show of character proceeds to hunt the creature and allow for hatred to consume him. “When I reflected on his crimes and malice, my hatred and revenge burst all bounds of moderation. I would have made a pilgrimage to the highest peak of the Andes, could I when there have precipitated him to their base” (Shelley 9.6). In a predictable turn of events, the creature lets his hatred to blind him as well. “Frankenstein! you belong then to my enemy--to him towards whom I have sworn eternal revenge; you shall be my first victim” (Shelley 16.30). The creature goes from being a seemingly innocent and child- like character to a cold-blooded killer in a matter of chapters. This transition can be marked by his disownment by Frankenstein, or his father for all intents and purposes. Frankenstein’s refusal to accept his failure poses new threats (Betty T Bennett). Now, Prometheus and his relationship with his creations are on the totally opposite end of the scale. Prometheus loves his creations and they love him. “As their

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.

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

Written in 1817 by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein is a novel about the "modern Prometheus", the Roman Titian who stole fire from the gods and gave it to man. The story takes place in several European countries during the late 1700's. It is the recollection of Victor Frankenstein to a ship captain about his life. Victor is a student of science and medicine who discovers a way to reanimate dead flesh. In a desire to create the perfect race he constructs a man more powerful than any normal human, but the creation is so deformed and hideous that Victor shuns it. The creation then spends a year wandering searching for companionship, but everywhere he goes he is shunned and feared. Hating life

In addition to being rejected by his creator, Frankenstein’s monster is also treated very violently by humans, leaving him alone and feeling like he did something wrong, even though their reactions are based solely on his appearance. The monster does not want to be thought of as a monster at first, but as he comes to realize from human interactions, no matter what his actions are, people will always judge him by what he cannot control. The monster explains the first interaction he had ever had with

    Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a novel in conscious dialogue with canonical classics and contemporary works. It contains references to Coleridge, Wordsworth, and P. B. Shelley, but also to Cervantes and Milton. It is the latter's Paradise Lost which informs the themes and structure of the novel more than any other source. Like many of her contemporaries, Mary Shelley draws parallels between Milton's Satan and the Titan Prometheus of Greek myth. However, the two are not simply equated (as in Byron's poem, "Prometheus"), but appear in various facets through both Victor Frankenstein and his creation. Furthermore, God, Zeus, and Adam are also evoked through these

Throughout Mary Shelly’s novel Frankenstein we come across several seemingly different themes, however they analytically revolve around two central ideas. As it comes up in the book, the two major themes that clearly correspond are solitude and insanity. Victors’ voluntary solitude allowed him to pursue his passions in science, but more importantly distorted his sense of morality. Thus validating the statement that solitude is what ultimately led to Victors’ insanity.

Society does not take kindly to new and different people, and especially those that appear dangerous. The looks of new characters in society heavily influence the way we view them and their intentions. For example when, “a grin wrinkled his cheeks. He might have spoken, but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me,” Victor assumes his Creature is trying to detain him because of the Creature’s grotesque appearance gets instinctively associate with that of a monster’s appearance (Shelley 44). Although Victor does this it is not like any other normal person would not have done the same thing. In fact most people would probably react the same way, because, we as a society have created these stereotypes of appearances and actions. In this case the Creature even though he basically is a child he does not look it at all, and that’s when society pushes reasoning aside and tells one’s mind that this Creature looks like a monster and by that logic it must want to hurt people. The Creature is not human he is something between human and Creature. Mr. Cottom agrees that, “for in addition to upsetting the exemplary coherence of the body, the concept of man as a species, the foundation of society in the family, individual identity, and the rule of consciousness in the individual, the monster overturns the power of science,” (Cottom). Since society approves the denouncing of others that are different, whether it be race, religion, or etc. the Creature’s body is an unfortunate piece of him. It’s interesting though because supposedly Frankenstein had chosen the best parts for the Creature to make him a beautiful and elegant Creature. However, once brought to life his body is actually hideous and revolts anybody that lays eyes on him

The central message of the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is alienation and isolation can lead someone into a dark place, or make one do the unthinkable. Alienation and isolation affect just about every major character in the novel, and this message is shown through each one. Shelley also uses many literary elements and techniques to advance the plot.

Prometheus is a titan in the ancient greek mythology known for creating mankind. Said to be the wisest of all Titans of Olympus, Prometheus was a god among gods. Wanting to bring knowledge and enlightenment to his creation, Prometheus stole godly fire from the sacred Mount Olympus to bring to mankind, until he was caught and brutally punished for his actions. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is believed to have been a work inspired by the myth of Prometheus, it is even given an alternate title ‘The Modern Prometheus.’ Various aspects and elements of the story of Prometheus are present in Frankenstein; the reason for which many see Frankenstein as a reflection of the tale of Prometheus.

One would not think to compare an ancient Greek mythology tale that’s been shared for generations to an 1800s science and gothic fiction written and published by a 21 year old English woman; however, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's use of parallels and symbolism in her most famous work allow just that. The story of Victor Frankenstein deserves to be subtitled “The Modern Prometheus” due to its similarities to the famous Greek mythology tale. Prometheus and Victor are both creators of a new species in which they are embodied and in the end, the creations lead the creators to their downfall.