The Abandonment In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Frankenstein throughout his whole time in the book is suffering from depression and behavioral disorders. In a peer-reviewed article Ronal Britton states “in his first speech we could say he was in the paranoid schizoid position; in the second, he was in the depressive position” (Britton 9). Britton is pointing out how Frankenstein is mentally ill. He confirms that Frankenstein in not in a great mental by pointing out that he possesses depressive behaviors. He is constantly struggling with his self-esteem and longing to belong. Frankenstein depression and behavioral disorders stem from the abandonment from his creator, Victor. Abandonment has great effects on a person, as mention by Wang that there is “strong evidence reveals that left-behind

Frankenstein was abandoned by his creator Victor, he yells to him “yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me, thy creature, to whom thou art bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us. You purpose to kill me” (Shelley 90). Frankenstein speaks on how he was created and left by the one person who should have been there for him. This abandonment cause Frankenstein to view himself as a monster who can never belong. Frankenstein when looking at his reflections says “at first I started back, unable to believe that it was indeed who was reflected in the mirror; and when I became fully convinced that I was in reality the monster that I am, I was filled with the bitterest sensations of despondence and mortification.” (Shelley 103). He does not want to be a monster he feels hopeless that he will never belong. He yearns for belonging and companionship. In the novel, he watches a family through a window and longs to belong. He teaches himself how to talk so that he could communicate with them. Through this communication he can become part of their family and be

This concept of belonging can be tied into Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow created a pyramid that describe what needs must be met for a person so that they can become psychologically sound. If these needs are not met then a person will suffer from psychological issues. According to Taormina and Goa scholar article they reveal that “Baumeister and Leary (1995) concluded that the belongingness needs are innate, that they are universal (because they are found in every human society), that interpersonal bonds are very easy to develop for most people, and that the deprivation of satisfying these needs can have negative consequences for the individual” (Taormina and Gao 158). Frankenstein wants to belong and when he cannot fit in he become depressed and enraged. From this engagement of never belonging he acts out contributing to his behavioral disorders. After he is rejected by society over and over again he turns to revenge against Victor. Frankenstein has a behavioral disorder which can be characterized by having angry outburst and aggression. We can see this acting out of Frankenstein when he encounters William, Victors