Parental Isolation In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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"

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 this excerpt of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the scene reveals the creature’s desperation to befriend the DeLaceys to escape his loneliness. After approaching the old DeLacey, he expresses his yearning for companionship and protection from the family. However, Felix, Safie, and Agatha suddenly enter the hovel and confront the creature. The “horror” (96) on the faces of his friends and being struck “violently with a stick” (97) show the rejection that the creature experiences. His only link to humanity is broken and he is isolated from society. This passage exhibits the central theme of loneliness as experienced by the creature. The excerpt shows that loneliness is caused by rejection from society, companionship is desired, and isolation

Perhaps the most important takeaway from Frankenstein is the causes of the evil actions of the characters, specifically Dr. Frankenstein and his creature. When isolated or rejected, each character resorts to violence and acts of ill-intention. Isolation and rejection are painful states of being, and even sub-human creations react to them poorly. Victor Frankenstein frequently projects his feelings as a result of the isolation he feels in quotes such as this: “…the shades of my murdered friends heard and approved my devotion; but the furies possessed me as I concluded, and rage choked my utterance.” (Shelley 218). He explains that his mind shifts to thought of evil when he ponders how he lost his friends and family, proving Shelley’s opinion on the harms of isolation. Victors creature falls victim to violence in response to isolation as well. Following William’s rejection of the monster, declaring him a “…monster! Ugly wretch!” and an “ogre,” the monster strangles him (150). Both Victor and his creation experience moments

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.

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

"Victor Frankenstein, does not live up to his role model. He lacks compassion for his creation" (Madigan 3)

Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, was raised by a single parent, her father William Godwin. She acknowledges the mentally stimulating role a father plays in the development of a daughter, presumably speaking from personal experience. She declares, "There is a peculiarity in the education of a daughter, brought up by a father only, which tends to develop early a thousand of those portions of mind, which are folded up” (Veeder). Shelley offers in Frankenstein a portrait of how children’s minds are shape, and ultimately their fates sealed, due to influences from their fathers. Alphonse, Victor’s father, made mistakes in his parenting that negatively shaped the development of Victor’s mind and how he treated other living things.

The gothic fictions “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley and Henry James’ “The Turn of the Screw” approach the importance of a parent role and the effect of such role on the child’s life. In Mary Shelley’s novel, she uses Victors past and present to demonstrate how the poor treatment from his parents lead him to poorly fathering his own child. In contrast, James’ takes the approach of showing parenting in a more overbearing and overexerted way, in demonstrating the relationship between the governess and the children and as their guardian how she seeks to protect them from all danger. This essay will look at these two works and how critics have interpreted this theme to view the similarities in the effects of certain parenting and the differences that led to these outcomes. In looking at the main characters of both narratives and their approach with their children it is possible to see how there must be a balance in the presence and absence of parental figure in the developmental period of a child or creature’s life. Moreover, if such balance cannot be attained this could be the leading factor to the detrimental downfalls of the families in these novels.

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein examines two phenomena of human nature, scientific curiosity and loneliness; the latter will serve as the focus of this essay. The very manner in which Frankenstein begins, that of the correspondence of an unattached explorer who longs for a companion on his voyage, with no one to write to but his sister, establishes the theme of loneliness immediately.

Most people can agree the raising a child is hard and tedious but ultimately worth it in the end; yet the parents in the novel Frankenstein have a trend of letting their children raise themselves or indulging them far too much, thus, leading to the chaotic results of irresponsible, slightly bitter, and tragically lost men. Mary Shelley’s, Frankenstein, is the story of Victor Frankenstein, a bright student that is searching for the keys to life, but becomes distraught after his mother dies and goes on an obsessive journey to revive the dead and find a way around the natural rules of science. After Dr. Frankenstein creates his grotesque monster and then abandons said monster, he goes on a journey far north to capture and kill the monster. There,

He lashed out causing countless tragedies and misfortunes for Victor Frankenstein and those around him. If the monster had only been cared for, this series of unfortunate events could have been prevented. Think of the monster as a young child. He was just brought to life and he longs for love and care from his creator. Likewise, young children want love from their parents.

Mary Shelley makes the claim that the need for the company of others is what makes us human, and develops this claim by using loneliness as a theme in her novel. Victor at first willing isolates himself from his family by not answering their letters as he sets out on his mission to reanimate corpses, and when he perceives his creation as a failure, he begins to write to his family back at last, and is more open to visiting home until he receives news of William’s death and must go to his family no matter what. Shelley exemplifies her claim further by making her least human character, the monster, the loneliest character in her story, and making his loneliness go hand-in-hand with Victor’s. The monster started out with a mind akin to that of

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.