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. They make
choices that isolate themselves from everyone else. However, other
characters are forced into isolation for reasons that are not in their
control. The actions of another cause them to experience loneliness.
The story begins with Robert Walton writing to his sister, Margaret,
about his voyage to an undiscovered place. In these letters, as the
voyage gets underway, he writes of his loneliness. Letter II states,
?I have no friend ?? (Hunter 16; ch 1). He describes how his
?enthusiasm of success? will be experienced alone and also how he must
suffer his disappointments alone. He states, ?I desire the company of
a man? (Hunter 10; ch. 1 ). In another letter, Walton is telling his
sister about a conversation he had with Frankenstein about
friendship. Frankenstein tells Walton, ?I once had a friend ??
(Hunter 16? ch. 1), implying that he no longer has any friends.
Isolation is evident from the very beginning.
Robert Walton chooses his isolation. He chooses to take this voyage.
Walton has planned this trip for six years. He states in his first
letter, ?I am required not only to raise the spirits of others, but
sometimes to sustain my own?? (Hunter 9; ch. 1). He understands exactly
what he is getting into and he chooses to continue anyway. George Levine
states in his critical essay, ?Frankenstein and the Tradition of Realism,?
that Walton is ?isolated from the rest of mankind by his ambition ?? (...
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...t is to come before he forces himself and his crew to
experience this isolation and eventual death.
Bibliography
Hunter, J. Paul. ed. Frankenstein: Contexts, nineteenth century
responses, criticism. By Mary Shelley. Norton Critical Edition. New
York: New York. 1996.
Levine, George. ?Frankenstein and the Tradition of Realism?. A Forum
on Fiction, Vol. 7, no. 1 (1973): 17-23. Rpt. in Frankenstein:
Contexts, nineteenth century responses, criticism. By Mary Shelley.
Ed. J. Paul Hunter. Norton Critical Edition. New York: New York.
1996. 208-14.
Poovey, Mary. ?My Hideous Progeny: The Lady And the Monster.? The
Proper Lady and the Woman Writer. Chicago: U of Chicago P. (1984):
121-31. Rpt. in Frankenstein: Contexts, nineteenth century responses,
criticism. By Mary Shelley. Ed. J. Paul Hunter. Norton Critical
Edition. New York: New York. 1996. 251-61.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein: the original 1818 text. 2nd ed. Ed. D.L. Macdonald and Kathleen Scherf. Peterborough: Broadview, 1999.
Walton reiterates his loneliness; even though he is surrounded by people on his ship, he “[has] no friend” (Shelley 7-8). Contributing to this feeling of isolation, Walton uses a tone of depression in his letters, a recurring feeling he experiences. He hints in nearly every letter clues indicating his fear of death. He wants his sister to “remember [him] with affection; should [she] never hear from [him] again” (Shelley 10). By constantly mentioning the possibility of his own death in his letters, Shelley stresses Walton’s overvalued worry of dying. Walton longs to see his sister; his mental condition leads him to even consider himself abandoned. Walton admits that success during this mission will lead to “many, many months, perhaps years” before they would meet again; however, failure results in either quick departure for home, or death (Shelley 6). Whether he succeeds or fails, he will have negative results. These constant recurrences emphasize the validity of his mental illness. As he develops the mental disease, Walton creates a world that makes sense in his mind, and his mind alone; he “[lives] in a Paradise of [his] own creation” with characters whom spawn from his own psyche (Shelley 5).
Examine the Concept of Monsters and the Monstrous in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Miss Hutton “Frankenstein” has a variety of monsters and monstrous things/incidents within it, however I am jus going to focus on some main aspects of the monsters and monstrous. Shelley got the idea for “Frankenstein” whilst she was on holiday. AS well as being challenged by Lord Byron to produce a horror novel, she was also influenced death many times; she was abandoned and had a literacy upbringing. Shelley relates her story to fears which were carried by many humans at that time.
In the novels Grendel and Frankenstein, two characters are presented as one of, or the, isolated and alienated main character. Both experience rejection by the hands of man, and are pushed into roles by the actions of man. Their relation to man, or their state as man’s, “otherkin” magnifies their rejection, but again their status as being “other” justifies their rejection in spite of the harshly negative results. Their status in these novels reflects much of how contemporary authors write about monsters. Out of ignorance, humans rejected their otherkin, Grendel, and the creature from Frankenstein, and as a result the rejected became violent and wreaked retribution on humanity.
The most prevalent theme in Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” is that of obsession. Throughout the novel there are constant reminders of the struggles that Victor Frankenstein and his monster have endured. Many of their problems are brought upon by themselves by an obsessive drive for knowledge, secrecy, fear, and ultimately revenge.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. Edited with an Introduction and notes by Maurice Hindle. Penguin books, 1992
In the novel Frankenstein, the author, Mary Shelley writes about a scientist named Victor Frankenstein who brings to life a human- like creature. Viewing this book through a psychoanalytic lens uncovers the many layers that make up this text and the characters. The psychoanalytic theory deals with a person’s underlying desire, most famously, the oedipal complex. The oedipal complex is the belief that all people possess the desire to partake in affectionate relations with a parent of the opposite sex. In Frankenstein, Shelley uses Victors conscious and subconscious to suggest that Victor possesses the oedipal complex, and that he feels intense guilt for the monster that he has brought to life.
Works Cited for: Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein: A Norton Critical Edition. ed. a. a. a. a. a J. Paul Hunter. New York: W. W. Norton, 1996.
Turner Sharp, Michele. If It Be a Monster Birth: Reading and Literary Property in Mary
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. The 1818 Text. New York: Oxford UP, 1998.
Mary Shelly wrote Frankenstein in a time of wonder. A main wonder was whether you could put life back into the dead. Close to the topic of bringing life back into the dead was whether you could create your own being, like selective breeding however with more power. Perhaps she chose to write this story opposing to one of a Ghost as she felt it was more relevant to her era and wanted to voice her own opinions and concerns to what the future may hold.
...the downfall of Frankenstein and the monster. Frankenstein found the secret to life, though he applies his gained knowledge and ambition to his own selfish goals, which wind up destroying him and those closest to him. Walton has something in common with Frankenstein; his ambition to achieve something that no man has ever accomplished before. The difference between Victor and Walton is tat Walton decides to turn back. The monster on the other hand never wanted any fame or glory; his ambition was motivated by the thirst for revenge. Ultimately even Frankenstein, on his deathbed, realized the harsh consequences of his actions. Victor states, "Seek happiness in tranquility, and avoid ambition..." (Shelley 229).
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein: A Norton Critical Edition. ed. J. Paul Hunter. New York: W. W. Norton, 1996.
...ry. The loneliness of Frankenstein and the monster drove them miserable for most their lives, and in the end, to death. Walton on the other had, turns back to civilization, perhaps learning something from the story of Victor Frankenstein. In the book Frankenstein, there were many moments of glory for Victor Frankenstein, but in the end he only ending up destroying many of his family, himself, and the monster after suffering through loneliness and grief for a big part of his life.
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).