Mental Illness In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
Mental Illness In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
Abstract
Mental illness is a prominent problem in today’s troublesome world. Each day many people are diagnosed with a mental illness, most commonly depression. The human mind becomes tarnished when a person has a mental illness, and often the illness takes over a person’s life completely. Mental illness is a serious problem and often goes untreated or misdiagnosed. The darkness within a person’s mind is one of the toughest aspects of life for people to conquer and many lose themselves in the fight. To further understand mental illness, it would be easiest to peer into the life of someone with one of these illnesses. For example, taking a
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While filming the movie, which eventually became one of his biggest successes, he fell in love with his on-screen wife Michelle Williams. The love sprouted after Williams had injured her knee and Ledger took it upon himself to care for her. Their love grew so quickly that Williams was pregnant before the film was finished. Their child, Matilda was born in October of 2005. The two girls were the loves of his life which he was quite open about. During the following couple years, Heath’s fame increased and the demand for his work grew, keeping him away from home more and more. This led to a break in the relationship between him and Michelle. They separated, and this sent Ledger into the darkest place he’d ever been. He was crushed and depressed over the fact that he couldn’t spend time with his daughter. This depression, coupled with anxiety and insomnia that he had experienced for most of his adult life, led to him taking a plethora of prescription pills to counteract his illnesses. Eventually, this barrage of medications on his body caught up with him, and he passed away due to accidental overdose on January 22, 2008. The story of Ledger’s life is saddening to say the least, and just goes to show that mental illness is a silent killer that can take the life of any unsuspecting victim caught in its path (Pendleton, 2008).
After reading Frankenstein by author Mary Shelly, it is easy to see that the novel’s protagonist, Victor Frankenstein, is a
Mental illness becomes a bigger issue with a long lasting cultural stereotyped due to the manner in which it has long been labelled (Miles, 1988). Although mental illness is very much connected to instabilities in one’s mental health state, as previously mentioned, a person can be mentally healthy but still suffer from a mental illness. What is understood by mental illness is that it
In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, the unnamed creature brings terror to civilians and commits horrific acts against his creator, Victor Frankenstein. However, his redeemable acts of kindness makes his character morally ambiguous. He struggles between doing well and causing trouble because of isolation, the excerpts of society, and his pursuit for love.
Mary Shelley’s story of internal turmoil, the cruelty of altering the laws of nature, and the consequences of redefining the laws of nature is a harrowing one, known widely by many audiences, yet it is never the nature of the characters that is discussed, only the outcome. Shelley’s deliberate use of different character foils portrays the deeper connections and themes in her 1818 novel, Frankenstein. The creation and presence of Frankenstein’s monster directly foils the character of Victor Frankenstein himself, illustrating overarching themes of self inflicted isolation and internal conflict, exposing the dangers and consequences of complete and total narcissism, and revealing a truth many still refuse to accept: we, as humans, are capable
What differentiates Mary Shelly’s novel, Frankenstein from the majority of horror novels are the very real and timeless themes it explores. The overriding theme of the novel - scientific investigation without consideration of morality and responsibility is still an important topic in today’s world. “Perhaps the reality of cloning and genetic engineering makes this theme more relevant today than when Frankenstein was first published”(Patterson). This theme, along with the more subtle themes of revenge, the inability to accept those who are different, and the inability to control one's destiny are all themes which separate Frankenstein from other novels in the genre.
Although about 450 million people in the world currently are suffering from a mental illness, many untreated, the topic still remains taboo in modern society (Mental Health). For years, people with mental illnesses have been shut away or institutionalized, and despite cultural progression in many areas, mental illnesses are still shamed and rarely brought to light outside of the psychiatric community. The many different forms in which mental illness can occur are incredibly prevalent in the world today, and there is a substantial debate about the way that they should be handled. Some people are of the opinion that mental illness is merely a variance in perception and that it either can be fixed through therapy or should not be treated at
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the author portrays various aspects of human nature and societal norms through the characters and their actions. Although the characters conform to these norms, some of them question inwardly-particularly Victor Frankenstein.
Throughout the novel Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley, the creature is subjected to countless acts of violence and rejection. For a monster to develop, one must have been formerly exploited either by an individual or their society. The creature is not only a physical product of science, but his atrocious behavior is also an explicit result of Victor’s actions toward him. The creature was not born a monster, but slowly morphed into one as he experiences violence and rejection from his society.
In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, the character Dr. Victor Frankenstein is arguably a very disturbed man. The main idea of Shelley’s novel is explaining two sides of the same story along with a different perspective. Robert Walton, an Artic seafarer, opens the novel with him coming across Victor Frankenstein. He listens to Victor’s life story, which is the main part of the novel, while he attempts to keep him in good health. Victor’s part of the novel explains how he discovered how to bring the dead to life, although he was not prepared to the consequences it would bring. After bringing the monster to life, Victor can not face his own creation and abandons it. The monster is then left to live in the woods, educating himself and attempting
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Victor Frankenstein is depicted as the a typical mad scientist when Shelley focuses on the issues of fatherly neglect that she was subjected to in her own life after her mother passed and her father remarried. Victor is obsessed with the idea of discovering the secret of life and starts experimenting and creating a creature out of old body parts. Once he brings his creation to life, he is disgusted with his monstrous creation and abandons the creature. The Creature by definition is considered a monster. He is rejected by the society and even by his own creator, his “father.” The Creature in rebellious attempts begins killing Victors loved ones as revenge.
Over forty million Americans suffer from a mental health condition; and, unfortunately, fifty six percent do not receive any treatment at all. “Mental illnesses are health conditions involving changes in thinking, emotion and behavior”(Psychiatry.org). People live with their conditions even though their quality of life and personal relationships may be negatively affected. When one lives in a state of denial about having a mental illness, they are cheating themselves out of living life to their fullest potential and will achieve true freedom only when they face the illness head on and seek recovery.
In Mary Shelley's novel, Victor Frankenstein suffers an extreme psychological crisis following his violation of what is considered a fundamental biological principle. His creation of life undermines the role of women in his life and the role of sexuality, and allows existing misogynist and homosexual tendencies to surface. Victor represses what he has uncovered about himself, and it merges into a cohesive whole in his psyche that becomes projected on the instrument of revelation, the monster.
Perhaps the strongest evidence of feminism in Frankenstein stems from what happens when Victor Frankenstein tries to create life without the help of a
Psychological disorders are stated to be abnormalities of the mind, known as mental disorders (Klasco, 2011). Abnormalities of the mind cause persistent behaviors that affect an individual’s daily function and life (Klasco, 2011). The different types of psychological disorders include mood disorders, personality disorders, anxiety disorders, and eating disorders (Klasco, 2011). The causes of these disorders are unknown, but factors that contribute to these disorders include childhood experiences, chemical imbalances in the brain, illnesses, heredity, stress, and prenatal exposures (Klasco, 2011). Psychological disorders can be serious and can be life-threatening
Mary Shelley’s, Frankenstein, is well regarded as one of the first science fiction novels for the monstrous creature that young scientist, Victor Frankenstein, brings to life, and for the chilling events that follow this “abhorred” being’s creation. The unnatural appearance and brutish manner of the creature implies that it is the true monster of the novel. However, there are multiple characteristics displayed by Frankenstein that reveal a more monstrous disposition than his creation. In this case, the difference between being a monster and being monstrous are blurred. Frankenstein is quite “monstrous” due to the projection of his internal issues upon the world around him, which leads to
When you turn on the news and see mass shootings, what do you think of? The thoughts that come to my mind are what could drive these people to hurt innocent citizens. There has to be some voice in these people’s heads telling them to pull back the trigger or a reason why they act out the way they do. Something in the biology of their human brain has malfunctioned. These people have a mental illness. In my paper I will informing you with the biology of a mental illness. The specific information of the biology of a mental illness I will be telling you about is what the biology of a mental illness it, diagnosing a mental illness, and how the biology of mental disorders has affected the world.