The Heartbreaking Story Of Alienation In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Have you ever discriminated against someone or been discriminated against because you were different? Frankenstein is a book that explores society and human behavior when someone different is introduced. It says that humans are not always willing to introduce someone new to their society and that sometimes they tend to discriminate against the different one. To show this, the writer used a monster which was introduced to a human society. This monster is rejected everywhere he goes because of his difference. He is rejected by his creator, and then he is rejected by the villagers, by the farmers who the monster had so long admired and in the end by the reader himself.

It always find a way to categorize or place labels on things. Although, some of these placements are accurate, majority of them are misconceptions. People in this society are prejudice toward the creature and often place him in an evil category based on his appearance. They hold disdain for people unlike them, especially for a creature they never seen before. Society wrongly treat the creature on the assumption he is a monster. They torment him because of his forbidding look. The moment he was accused of murder he demeanor took a turn for the worst. “I had saved a human being from destruction, and as a recompense I now writhed under the miserable pain of a wound which shattered the flesh and bone. The feelings of kindness and gentleness which I had entertained but a few moments before gave place to hellish rage and gnashing of teeth. Inflamed by pain, I vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind” (16. 19-20). Neglecting the sunshine and truce, society has brought the monster out of the monster. This led to the mass murder of Victor Frankenstein’s brother and

Alienation is a product of society’s inherently discriminatory bias, catalyzed by our fear of the unknown in the realm of interpersonal conduct. Mary Shelley, in her novel, Frankenstein, dissects society’s unmerited demonization of individuals who defy—voluntarily or involuntarily—conventional norms. Furthermore, through her detailed parallel development of Frankenstein and his monster, Shelley personifies the tendency to alienate on the basis of physical deformity, thereby illustrating the role of the visual in the obfuscation of morality.

Isolation comes from the word isolate which means to cause someone or something to be alone or to be apart from others. Social isolation is the lack of contact between people or things in a society. Thomas H. Schmid says that “it also emerges within larger discourses of isolation”. He is correct: there are many types of isolation, but social isolation is very common. (“Addiction and Isolation…”) In the book Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the main character Victor Frankenstein creates a “monster” that comes to life. Victor becomes terror-stricken by the creature due to it’s hideousness, and he flees from his home, leaving the creature alone and isolated. The creature becomes very lonely and angry toward his creator. He then vows to make Victor’s life miserable for creating, abandoning, and isolated him. (Shelley) Isolation not only has grave effects on the monster’s human interaction and social development, but on humans, too.

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

"We are unfashioned creatures, but half made up, if one wiser, better, dearer than ourselves-such a friend ought to be-do not lend his aid to perfectionate our weak and faulty natures,” writes the narrator of Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, Dr. Frankenstein. Without a companion of some sort, people will only suffer more. However, without the supervision of parents, children altogether are greatly affected for the rest of their lives. An innately good and sympathetic creature, Dr. Frankenstein’s monster struggles to survive in the human world. After creating and abandoning his creature, Dr. Frankenstein is the juxtaposition of a monster, portraying humans as shallow, judgmental, and uncaring. The monster simply wants humans to accept him as one of their own. Facing rejection in different forms, he becomes truly monstrous and evil, giving up hope of companionship as a result of his abandonment. Modern case studies of abandoned children report similar ideas. Children who are abandoned do not learn about morality, yet only people with morality are accepted by others as human. Children who are abandoned are frequently not accepted by others as human ultimately.

Rejection is a hard thing to overcome. Rejection and abandonment can happen to newborn babies, children, and adults. Some babies are abandoned due to birth defects; children and adults are bullied and rejected because of the clothes they wear, their hair, face, ethnicity, and body. Some of this rejection can go too far, and can cause the one being bullied to become suicidal, or even homicidal. The theme of rejection is apparent in Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein. Isolation and abandonment happen to each of the main characters; Victor Frankenstein, the creature, and Robert Walton.

(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.

“ I shuddered to think that future ages might curse me as their pest...” Here, Frankenstein has isolated himself to create another creature but he states that he is scared of what future generations may think of his work, for he is on the verge of creating a another specimen on Earth who is just as if not more abnormal and loathed than the first. In chapter 15, the creature visits a blind man and is accepted as a friend, but as soon as the blind man’s son sets eyes on the creature, he is seemingly judged as a monster and villain. This exemplifies how standards of appearance in society must be met in order to be accepted and in this case, the creature is far from appearing “ normal,” and is shunned by mankind. The two fall into misery and blame each other, causing much conflict and

 "What can stop the determined heart and resolved will of man?" This question, posed by Captain Robert Walton on page 22 of Mary Shelley's immortal Frankenstein, lies susceptible to interpretation to mean the ambition of man in one sense, but in another, the collective persecution and prejudice inherent in mankind.

This represents a rebellion against the social norms and customs, something that the 19th-century writers and readers never thought feasible until the Romantic’s break away from Enlightenment ideals. This parallelism in breaking away from social norms and society's backlash in doing so is further personified in the creature’s lack of understanding of why he’s hated. He means well and wants affection, but every single encounter he has with anyone is that of disgusted rejection. The significance of the hatred he receives by pretty much everyone is that it points out society’s own hypocrisy in this facade of “acceptance”. Shelley’s time hailed itself as being revolutionary and the Romantics called themselves accepting of all but social values don’t change that fast, deep down, they still wanted the status quo of everything being ordinary. Furthermore the creature itself is a rebellion to social to norms since he isn't brought to life normally and is instead summoned with science. So the people’s rejection of the creature, is therefore, a rejection of science itself since he is the embodiment of Frankenstein’s pursuit of science. What this goes to show in Shelley’s eyes

Literary Research of Frankenstein: Themes of Revenge and Isolation Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein follows the life of Victor Frankenstein, as he brings life to the lifeless, and then describes his guilt and shame for creating a monster. The monster seeks revenge on his creator’s and everyone he loves when he realizes that he will never be accepted by humans. Frankenstein is a novel that uses several different themes. The two following themes are in my opinion the novel’s main focus points: Revenge and Isolation. Although revenge forms a very destructive type of bond between the monster and Victor, it ultimately becomes their common bond and gives them a reason to live.

Mary Shelley suffered through difficult experiences as a child growing up; having to deal with death, loss, and loneliness. Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, has demonstrated an impact on me because of the way Mary Shelley created the role of the monster to be dettached from happiness. In reality, no one likes to feel alone and we avoid the emptiness by occupying ourselves hoping to forget about our problems. In this case, Shelley wrote a book, depicting alienation in order to refrain from her problems. Society comes with expectations and rules, and sometimes people don’t meet those requirements.

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.