Loneliness In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Victor Frankenstein’s creation, the nameless creature in Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, displays countless characteristics of physical monstrosity; he is described as “ugly”, “demonical” and a “hideous… wretch” (Shelley 36). However, the creature expresses that his only desires are acceptance and love, but he is seen as a monster regardless of his true intentions. When the creature is abandoned by Frankenstein, he is forced to find acceptance on his own and eventually comes across a cottage in the woods. As an attempt to gain approval, he waits to approach the home until the only character home is a blind man, to whom he explains his desire for friendship. The creature says that he is afraid to become “an

His fear inducing appearance adds to his state of isolation, so much so that even his own creator “found himself filled with horror and fear at the hideous thing he created.”(Nardo 51). His abruptly ended friendship with the blind man only worsens his painful desolation since he now understands what a true friendship is like. The monster longs for a companion and begs to Victor “You must create a female for me with whom I can live” (Shelley 144) and pleads with him for a mate of the opposite sex. When this demand is not met, the monster fills with rage toward Victor, and he vows revenge upon

The creature began to converse freely with the blind father who addressed him with kindness. However, when his two children returned, the daughter fainted and the son "dashed me to the ground and struck me violently with a stick" forcing the creature to "quit the cottage and escape unperceived to my hovel" (115). These acts of cruelty emphasize how often humanity stereotypes individuals. Just because a creature looks monstrous does not mean his intentions match his appearance. After this heartbreaking event, the monster decides to stop seeking love and instead to seek revenge against his creator and attempt to force Victor to create a companion for him. The creature attempts to explain his cruel ways when he exclaims, "There was none among the myriads of men that existed who would pity or assist me; and should I feel kindness towards my

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"

The creature was completely alone. His own creator could not tolerate the sight of him and deserted him. He was left with nobody. The monster explained that he was a "poor, helpless, miserable wretch; I knew, and could distinguish, nothing". He had to discover survival,

In Mary Shelley's gothic novel Frankenstein, Shelley introduces a Creature who represents many symbols throughout the story. Such as the war between passion and responsibility, the effects of a corrupt society, and the Creature is a symbol of nature vs. nurture . through this Creature we see mainly the effects of society on an abandoned, innocent being and how it matures in the story fending for itself against society as a whole.

The creature's physical grotesqueness makes the creature unable to attain affection from the human societies. The creature is initially rejected by his creator, who is the closest resemblance to a mother or father figure. Despite this relationship, Victor finds the creature to be a "miserable monster" (39). Consequently, as soon as life is present within the creature, Victor abandons his child. Victor claims that he "escaped, and rushed down the stairs" (40) away from the

Easily one of the most notable themes in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the role of nature versus nurture in developing children, recurs throughout the novel with the two main characters, Frankenstein and his creature, believing in opposite sides of this theme. Favoring nature, Frankenstein maintains that the creature was always evil from the moment of creation, regardless of the creature’s experiences. However, the creature, in his narrative to Frankenstein, argues that “[he] was benevolent and good; misery made [him] a fiend” (106). In adherence with John Locke’s concept of tabula rasa, the creature was born with a blank slate, and only through his experiences does he gain knowledge and personality. Struggling to persevere in the human world, Frankenstein’s creature merely wants humans to welcome him as one of them. The change of the creature from looking “upon crime as a distant evil” because “benevolence and generosity were ever present” in him to seeking revenge on Frankenstein results from a culmination of horrible experiences (103). While it may be hard to see the creature as a trustworthy narrator because of how he has acted and his ulterior motives, he does present physical evidence to support his tale. Facing rejection in different forms, he becomes truly evil, giving up hope of companionship as a result of his trials and lessons. From the moment of his creation, the creature encounters abandonment, violence, isolation, and rejection everywhere he turns.

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

As a result of Victor's neglect and rejection of the creature, society also denies the creature acceptance which creates a life of loneliness for it. The creature, after being rejected by Victor, is left helpless, wanders into a forest, and experiences what hunger and pain are for the first time in life. The creature longs for acceptance, especially from Victor, but is denied. For example, the creature first learns of its rejection from society when it enters the house of an old man that is cooking; it as at the sight of the creature that the man "shrieked loudly" (90) and runs out of his hut. From that moment the creature realizes it is deformed and unlike anyone else. While the creature is roaming through the woods one day it comes upon a cottage. The creature notes the inhabitants of the cottage, the DeLacey family, as being beautiful in comparison to its

(Shelley). The fact that Frankenstein fled from his creation very shortly after it came to life, proves how he refused to accept his obligations and responsibilities after his creature was created. ?The [creature] is Frankenstein?s abandoned child? (Mellor Abandonment 357). It is unfair to bring something into the world, and then not teach it how to survive. Victor was intimidated by his hideous characteristics and felt threatened by the creature. He did not know his creation at all, so he had no right to judge him. This is an example of how various people and society place too much judgment on physical appearance. The creature had just come into the world for the first time, and the first thing he saw was his creator screaming for his life as a result of his appearance. This traumatized the creation, and caused him to seek revenge on Frankenstein. This novel shows how when people are prejudice against physical deformity or ugliness, it automatically characterizes that person as bad or monstrous (Halberstam 59). Victor was the one who gave him these characteristics; so in fact, he is to blame for the creature?s appearance being so monstrous.

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

Because of its appearance, the monster is often feared by all who lay eyes on it. From his own creator to the villagers in the town, from the moment it is born it is judged based solely on looks. Society teaches that such judgements should not be made based on a mere glance. Despite this, there are several occurrences of the monster being chased off by people after conversing in a normal discussion or even saving a woman's life. Anytime the monster is seen with a someone by a passerbyer their immediate thought is it is attempting to harm them. The ideal that one should not be judgmental based on appearance is presented when the monster converses with an old blind man named De Lacey. Because he is blind the man cannot make a snap judgement and must talk to the monster to make a decision on what kind of personality or level of morality the creature possesses. De Lacey even goes so far as to say that aiding the monster would make him feel, “True pleasure.” (96). This ideal is shattered when the man's son comes home and, horrified by the monster's appearance, kicks him out of their house. These negative reactions cause the monster to feel more isolated and bitter at the world, wishing only for family and companionship. The creature sums up his woes thus, “I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel.”

Though the creation shows his feelings similar to humans, he also strives for companionship. The creature obtains the need to find companionship through another creature and the De Lacey family because he feels isolated from the world. When trying to visit the De Lacey family for the first time, the creature points out, “I persuaded myself that when they should become acquainted with my admiration of their virtues, they would compassionate me, and overlook my personal deformity” (Shelley 111). Similarly, the creation also decided to confront Victor. His prideful creator who abandons him, and discusses his isolation when the creature declares, “I am alone, and miserable; man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself

The creature begins as an innocent and lonely being who longs for love and compassion but realizes that he will never be accepted by the community because of his abomination. He was first abandoned by Victor, leaving him to fend for himself and later rejected again and again by the community with anger, hatred and violence. Shelly uses this theme to reflect the shallowness of society where social prejudice is founded on appearances and stress the idea of society's injustice towards abnormalities. It can be understood that the monstrosity in the creature is a social product.