The situation of being alone is defined as solitude. It can a self-imposed solitude or not, and if it is temporary, does not truly have demolishing consequences. However, when it is experienced for long and even forever, it can be wrecking. Throughout the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein and the Creature experience solitude which is caused by a multitude of harsh events. This brings negative consequences to their life, and it leads them to take threatening actions. The novel suggest that solitude is dangerous because it comes to consume Victor and the Creature which, consequently leads Victor to self-destruction, and the Creature to revenge.
The solitude that absorbs Victor Frankenstein resulted in self-destruction
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When the Creature arrives at a village, the people are extremely scared of the him because he is hideous. The villagers start attacking him: “The whole village was roused; some fled, some attacked me, until grievously bruised by stones and many other kinds of missile weapons, I escaped to the open country, …” (124). Since, the Creature is treated that way when he encounters humans, he understands that society will forever turn him down, and that he is forced in solitude. The fact that he is alone, and that he has been rejected, causes him to want to take revenge. The Creature even comes to say that he will take revenge on the society and his creator that had rejected him: “from that moment I declared everlasting war against the species, and more than all, against him who had formed me, and sent me forth to this unsupportable misery” (149). The Creature desires that everyone that caused him his solitude and the misery that comes with it to pay for what that they have done to him. He wants to take revenge on Victor because he created him, and he gave him the hideous looks which led to him being rejected by society, and this consequently led to his solitude. It is, therefore, Frankenstein’s fault if the Creature is not accepted in society. The hyperbole “unsupportable misery” (149) is a literary device used to create an effect. Misery is obviously unsupportable, but this overstatement emphasizes the amplitude of the Creature’s misery. The Creature, wanting to take revenge on Frankenstein, killed the people that Victor loved. He even kills Victor’s wife, Elizabeth, on their wedding day. Victor describes Elizabeth when he holds her dead in his arms: “what I now held in my arms had ceased to be the Elizabeth whom I had loved and
The creature displays his hatred toward Frankenstein for leaving him immediately and not providing guidance and protection in this harsh, new world by murdering his family and friends. While seeking his creator, the creature first murders Victor Frankenstein’s youngest brother William and exclaims, “I too can create desolation; my enemy is not invulnerable; this death will carry despair to him, and a thousand other miseries shall torment and destroy him” (Shelley 144). The creature wishes for Victor Frankenstein to suffer taking his own companions away, forcing him to be miserable as well by destroying his personal relationships with others by murdering loved ones. Through the rejection of the creature because of his physical appearance, he learns what is accepted as well as how you can treat another being as he succumbs to his anger and proceeds with his crimes. The creature tells Frankenstein, “your hours will pass in dread and misery, and soon the bolt will fall which must ravish your happiness forever.
He never had the choice if his creator was going to abandon him because of his outward ugliness. Paula R. Feldman recognizes this forced isolation, saying, “Frankenstein is accepted by society but chooses isolation, his Creature is an outcast but yearns for companionship… formed only by the cruelty and neglect of society” (Feldman 69). The creature is an outlier of society, but never by choice, and, unlike his creator, who chooses to separate himself from everything in his life, the monster did not have the opportunity to experience life before being forced into solitude. The creature is often is “confined within a state of lonely and insuperable incommunicability” (Schmid 19). The creature wants nothing more than to be accepted by society, and does not receive the affection and relationships that a child should be provided with. He lost the connection with his father right from creation, but never could truly understand why he was abandoned. The creature realizes he will never be accepted by mankind, and wants Victor to make him a companion. He swears revenge on Victor, and displays his disdain for his forced isolation by killing anyone who was close to Victor, including Elizabeth. The acts of violence committed by the monster are a direct effect of having no true relationships, considering that if he had these, he would better understand human interaction, and would not have acted out against Victor in
Few human experiences are as wretched as facing the fact that one is alone; perhaps because isolation is so easily recognized and dwelled upon when one is without friends to distract from life’s woes. Now consider isolation at its most extreme and ponder what such abject loneliness would work upon man. This is the fate of Dr. Frankenstein and the Monster in Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. Frankenstein is the story of how one man’s experiment has the unintended consequence of making Frankenstein and his creation, the Monster, completely isolated from the rest of humanity: the creator of the unnatural monster dares not relate his tale lest due to his punishing guilt, and the hideous being himself shares neither kinship nor experience with anyone.
In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the main theme revolves around the internal and external consequences of being isolated from others. Being isolated from the world could result in a character losing his/her mental state and eventually causing harm to themselves or others. Because both Victor Frankenstein and the creature are isolated from family and society, they experienced depression, prejudice, and revenge.
Frankenstein only takes action against it after his last family member has been killed by it because he cannot get accompany from his family anymore, which shows that he cares about himself more than the lives of other people. When the creature kills Dr. Frankenstein’s brother, his good friend Henry and his wife Elizabeth, he does not want to revenge because he still has his father to live for. However, after his father died by hearing the death of Elizabeth, he lost all his social interaction so he is alone and miserable. Before the monster’s depredations, he can depend on his family when he was sick or depressed; but now he is close to the state of solitude that the creature has experienced since being created. Therefore, Dr. Frankenstein becomes dehumanized and obsess with revenge. He could only feel his pain after all his family died, but never think of the creature’s desperation. The creature, with no bindings and no belongings, is on its own the whole life. As its creator, Dr. Frankenstein gives no love to it, but leave it cruelly. He could never understand why the creature take revenge on him because he is a narcissist. In the article, “Narcissism and Empathy in Young Offenders and Non-offenders”, author Erica G. Hepper explains that, “Although narcissistic individuals depend on other people’s praise and respect to feed their ego, they lack communal motivation and fail to consider the effect they have on others” (201). Dr. Frankenstein never care to think of what might happen to the creature after he rejects it. What he cares is he could not bear to look at the creature, so he just runs away. And now, Dr. Frankenstein decides to take revenge on the creature that all its miseries are caused by himself. Surprisingly, after Dr. Frankenstein died, the creature comments him by his bed, “Oh, Frankenstein! Generous and self-devoted being! What does it avail that I now ask thee to pardon me” (146)? Even though the creature
At first, Victor views his monster as a beautiful creation but later when he first lays eyes on the monster he starts to fear and rejects the monster and no longer took interest in the monster. Frankenstein pays no attention to the Monster what so ever, and the Monster becomes jealous and angry at his creator. The Monster starts to take action and starts to go crazy/ berserk and later on in the novel begins to kill Victor’s family. The Monster kills Victor’s little brother William out of jealousy and confusion. The quote on page 58 states,” William is dead!
Exile. Behind the word lies angst, behind it lies fear, behind it lies sorrow. To be exiled, outcasted, or abandoned is one of the biggest fear of humanity. For to be alone, one is left with their own thoughts. No one wants to be the fallen angel. The world exile carries with it many different negative connotations. The rest of society does not dare to interact with those exiled. Society does not dare to dance with the devil. In Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein creates a monster. The creature is abandoned by Frankenstein. And the creature searches for company and to eliminate the feeling of loneliness he has inside. After scrutinizing Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the creature chases after a normal life, one without loneliness; however, society
Critic Northrop Frye says, “Tragic heroes tower as the highest points in their human landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them, the great trees more likely to be struck by lightning than a clump of grass. Conductors may of course be instruments as well as victims of the divine lightning”. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein greatly exhibits the theme of the consequence of knowledge and irresponsibility among others through its tragic hero, Victor Frankenstein. Northrop Frye’s quote is certainly true when looking at Frankenstein’s situation. Victor is a victim of his divine lightning, and ultimately causes much trouble for himself; however, Victor also serves as the tragic hero in the lives of the monster, his family, and his friends.
Many people know that Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, was part of a family of famed Romantic era writers. Her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, was one of the first leaders of the feminist movement, her father, William Godwin, was a famous social philosopher, and her husband, Percy Shelley, was one of the leading Romantic poets of the time ("Frankenstein: Mary Shelley Biography."). What most people do not know, however, is that Mary Shelley dealt with issues of abandonment her whole life and fear of giving birth (Duncan, Greg. "Frankenstein: The Historical Context."). When she wrote Frankenstein, she revealed her hidden fears and desires through the story of Victor Frankenstein’s creation, putting him symbolically in her place (Murfin, Ross. "Psychoanalytic Criticism and Frankenstein.”). Her purpose, though possibly unconsciously, in writing the novel was to resolve both her feelings of abandonment by her parents, and fears of her own childbirth.
An idea becomes a vision, the vision develops a plan, and this plan becomes an ambition. Unfortunately for Victor Frankenstein, his ambitions and accomplishments drowned him in sorrow from the result of many unfortunate events. These events caused Victors family and his creation to suffer. Rejection and isolation are two of the most vital themes in which many dreadful consequences derive from. Victor isolates himself from his family, friends, and meant-to-be wife. His ambitions are what isolate him and brought to life a creature whose suffering was unfairly conveyed into his life. The creature is isolated by everyone including his creator. He had no choice, unlike Victor. Finally, as the story starts to change, the creature begins to take control of the situation. It is now Victor being isolated by the creature as a form of revenge. All the events and misfortunes encountered in Frankenstein have been linked to one another as a chain of actions and reactions. Of course the first action and link in the chain is started by Victor Frankenstein.
The novel provides no explanation for the creature 's ugliness, and if we are tempted to account for it psychologically as a mere projection of Frankenstein 's guilty revulsion from his deed, we run up against the evidence of the other characters ' reactions. The monster appears frighteningly ugly not just to his creator but to all who see him.” The fact that the monster is ugly, made him receive different treatment from his creator and from everyone else who saw him. So, when the creature finally realizes that he can no longer hope to be treated nicely by anyone, he must start viewing them the way they look upon him. This is shown when he states, “Yet mine shall not be the submission of abject slavery. I will revenge my injuries; if I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear, and chiefly towards you my arch-enemy, because my creator, do I swear inextinguishable hatred. Have a care; I will work at your destruction, nor finish until I desolate your heart, so that you shall curse the hour of your birth." (Shelley, 175). After being treated with disrespect and as a terrifying outcast by so many people he eventually became a sadistic monster. Frankenstein’s creature is finally starting to experience some evil villainous thoughts. So at this point, he can be distinguished as a villain not just because
In gothic novels tragic figures are symbols of pain to the characters. Victor Frankenstein brings misfortune to his loved ones, which concludes to his overall tragedy. Ironically the monster in this novel is Frankenstein the creator not the creature. He has seven victims including himself and his fall is due to his ambition to be superior.
I will not hear you. There can be no communicate between you and me; we are enemies. Begone, or let us try our strength in a fight, in which one must fall” (68). At this point in the novel, I sympathize with the monster even though he has become a terrible person. As his creator, Victor Frankenstein should have cared for the monster despite his disgusting appearance, but Victor ran away from his responsibilities toward creature, he did not give the creature what he wanted in his life, because he was feared of being killed by the creature. Frankenstein made the creature to murder the living humans, because the creature was very isolated and he did not had no one to talk to:” I was benevolent; my soul glow with love and humanity: but am I not alone, miserably alone? You, my creator, abhor me; what hope can I gather from your fellow creatures, who owe me nothing?” (68). If Frankenstein would have guided and nurtured the creature then the creature would have never sought revenge on Frankenstein and his family: I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend” (68). The creature demonstrated his true personality, due to the abandonation of his creator. However, the creature perceive Frankenstein of being the omnipotent God: “Remember, that I am thy creature: I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou divest from joy for no misdeed” (68). Which demonstrates the melancholy part of the creature that was filled with loneliness and
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, there are many themes present. One prominent and reoccurring theme in the novel is isolation and the effect it has on the characters. Through the thoughts and feelings of both Victor and his monster, Frankenstein reveals the negative effects of isolation from society. The negative effects that Victor faces are becoming obsessed with building a monster and becoming sick. The monster faces effects such as confusion about life and his identity, wanting companionship, and wanting to seek revenge on Victor. Victor and the monster are both negatively affected by the isolation they face.
Mary Shelley in her book Frankenstein addresses numerous themes relevant to the current trends in society during that period. However, the novel has received criticism from numerous authors. This paper discusses Walter Scott’s critical analysis of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in his Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine Review of Frankenstein (1818).