Loneliness And Isolation In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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"

"It was dark when I awoke; I felt cold also, and half-frightened as it were instinctively, finding myself so desolate" (Shelley 68) For the monster it is the constant rejection and its abandonment by Frankenstein at birth that leads it to loneliness and extreme anxiety. "In all probability, the creature was reaching out, as a small child does to their mother, but his ugly appearance only frightened Victor into running away" (Coulter) The main reason for its rejection is the monster’s outward appearance. The rejection by humans in general and specifically by its creator only increases the monsters feelings of loneliness, emotional abandonment, and, as a result, anger.

Isolation is the separation from others and/or society whether it be physically or emotionally. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, I believe that a central theme is that the isolation from family and society, especially at a time when one is faced with difficulty, can have a negative effect on a person. The main characters in the story, Victor Frankenstein and the monster, both experience the same suffering of being alone in different ways. The negative consequences are the death of their loved one and eventually the end of their own.

In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley emphasizes that Frankenstein’s Monster was a sad and extremely lonely creature. At the beginning of the book, Frankenstein’s Monster tried to communicate, connect, and socialize with people; however, the whole village was terrified of him, and even his own creator ran away and left him

Delacy comforted the monster by telling him he was “ really blameless”. This was then the happiest moment of the creature life, since he did not feel isolated or lonely in the company of Delacy. However, this relationship ended horribly where when when the family of Delacy returns home he was chased away. “ I possessed no money, no friends, no kind of property, I was besides, endowed with a figured hideously deformed and loathsome, I cannot described to you the agony that these reflections inflicted upon me.” He struggle here with self Identity.

Contrary to Frankenstein, the creature does not choose his isolation, but it was immediately chosen for him. Society and especially Frankenstein excludes the creature from being accepted, based on his looks and his little ability to act as a normal human being. Within the novel he states, “What chiefly struck me was the gentle manners of these people; and I longed to join them, but dared not. I remembered too well the treatment I had suffered the night before from the barbarous villagers, and resolved, whatever course of conduct I might hereafter think it right to pursue, that for the present I would remain quietly in my hovel, watching, and endeavouring to discover the motives which influenced their actions.” (Shelley, pg. 110) The creature is aware of this exclusion and through those words a reader can know for sure. The negative effects of the creature’s isolation begins to show within the story through his horrifying acts like murder. Isolation develops to be a motif in the story, which helps a reader truly see that this is a huge similarity between both Frankenstein and his creature.

Human are the most social animals in the world. When becoming isolated, it a signal that emotions have been turned amongst ourselves. If not already there, it is normal to feel depressed, lonely, alone. In Mary Shelley's gothic novel, both the monster and Frankenstein are isolated. Frankenstein will not tell anyone about his creation because he has no one to pour his emotions out to. This causes the loss of his family, friends,and lover. Until the end, he tells his experience to the force but was never really believed so his tale is only really heard by Robert Walton, an explorer with ambitions as strong as Victor himself. In Shelley's novel, she characterizes Victor Frankenstein and the monster as being isolated to convey their misery.

Isolation in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, has several themes imbedded in the text. One major theme is of isolation. Many of the characters experience some time of isolation. The decisions and actions of some of these characters are the root cause of their isolation.

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 choices we make set our path to our destination in life. Victor Frankenstein created a monster to heal his own disease of loneliness, obsession, and suffering. By doing so, he designed a monstrosity that spiraled out of control. He was on a journey of self-fulfillment to finding access to the key of life.

Like most horror stories, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has a wretched monster who terrorizes and kills his victims with ease. However, the story is not as simple as it seems. One increasingly popular view of the true nature of the creature is one of understanding. This sympathetic view is often strengthened by looking at the upbringing of the creature in the harsh world in which he matures much as a child would. With no friends or even a true father, the creature can be said to be a product of society and its negative views and constant rejections of him. Although this popular view serves to lessen the severity of his crimes in most people’s eyes, the fact remains that the creature is in fact a cold-hearted wretch whose vindictive nature

Frankenstein and various other characters plagued the monster with the feeling of self-consciousness. This feeling never goes away and the creature acts out in rage as a result of this horrible feeling (Mellor Abandonment 77). Along with the feelings of self-consciousness, the creature also felt a great deal of loneliness,

Unfortunately, the old man misunderstands the creature's meaning of "monster," and offers him advice instead of understanding. Furthermore, before the creature has time to explain that the DeLaceys are the companions he seeks, the family members return home and, unfortunately, react in the manner the creature had feared. As the creature himself realized, "I could have torn [them] limb from limb...But my heart sunk within me as with bitter sickness, and I refrained." Up to this point, the creature has taken abuse from every human being he has come into contact with. The DeLacey family offered probably the only opportunity for an alternative. But another misunderstanding destroyed his chances once again. The creature retreats to the woods, and decides that he will take this abuse no longer. The creature encounters Victor's young brother in the woods and,realizing he belongs to the Frankenstein family, strangles him and then pins the crime upon a friend. Although no one can deny this as a malicious and brutal act, it can be somewhat explained. For one, the creature is overcome with grief in a state of despair. When he

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.