How the Absence of Favorable Interpersonal Exchange Leads to Disorder in Frankenstein
Garden Variety Devastation:
Nearly all of the scholarly criticism regarding Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has dealt
with, to some degree, the relationships between its characters. Oftentimes, the characters’
relationships with, or to, one another are compared and contrasted in various ways, but rarely has
the nonspecific or universal role of relationships been analyzed in the context of the larger novel.
In other words, while the role of, for example, Walton with respect to Victor, is something
regularly discussed, the grander sense in which the interconnectedness of persons is important
and, I will argue, necessary (within the context of Frankenstein) seems peculiarly absent. In this
paper, I will investigate the remarkable nonexistence of healthy, active, interpersonal contact.
Though portions of my investigation will focus particularly on the role of friendship (or a lack
thereof), my scope is not limited to friendship; I will explore the apparent individual need for
any proper communication or meaningful exchange, be it between friends, strangers, siblings, or
the romantically involved. Beyond this, I will address a number of important potential
implications, as I see them, of such a narrative – that is, a narrative seemingly determined not to
allow any relationship that could be fairly deemed healthy or appropriate to blossom. Shelley’s
fictional world refuses to permit even a single genuine bond to transpire between individual
characters, and those few bonds of an otherwise hopeful nature are dramatically and unnaturally
corrupted or snuffed out. Such relationships contri...
... middle of paper ...
... in order to affect the world. Chaos becomes, by the end of the novel, nearly
synonymous with communion. And as Laura P. Claridge states neatly in a piece regarding the
absence of parental guidance in the novel and in which she explores the individual’s search for
communion brought on by that absence, “Shelley insists that man can live only through
communion with others; solitude, for her, represents death” (15).
Works Cited
Bentley, Colene . "Family, Humanity, Polity: Theorizing the Basis and Boundaries of Political
Community in "Frankenstein"." Criticism 47.3 (2005): 325-351. JSTOR. Web. 20 Apr.
2014.
Claridge, Laura P. "Parent-child Tensions in "Frankenstein: The Search for Communion"."
Studies in the Novel 17.1 (1985): 14-26. JSTOR. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2003. Print.
Often differences and similarities between people may be obvious but more often their relationships can be difficult to recognize. “The relationships of individuals to the societies in which they live vary widely with time and place”. (Blair Nelson from the syllabus for assignment Essay Exam 1).
Regardless of the form in which it exists- be it romantic, familial, or platonic- the love and many relationships which manifest between people functions as a defining factor in the development of all individuals in both an intrapersonal and interpersonal context.
This is why the complex relationships can influence a person’s change in perspectives and a change to their
The unwavering desire for knowledge may cause the decay of relationships. This idea is displayed as Victor Frankenstein, the protagonist, continually desires to create human life from inanimate materials, which leads to the destruction of many of his relationships. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, exhibits how the constant desire for information may cause the deterioration of relationships through the decayed relationships Victor has with himself, his family, and society.
In order to properly determine whether or not characters or parties in multiple works are “Human”, it is first necessary to attempt to define what it is to be “Human”. Humanity, or being human can be interpreted as many things, such as possessing empathy, like in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, or a characteristic found in the genes, as Oryx and Crake implies. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein suggests a more absolute definition, one where any deviation from the natural process of birth creates a being that is referred to as “monster” and “devil” - “human” is out of the question.(Shelley, 68) I argue, however, that humanity is best characterized by not what traits it has, but what traits it does not. Humanity, as a whole, is not immortal, it is not omnipotent or omniscient, and it cannot create life - certainly not sentience. Humanity could be described as a struggle toward obtaining these traits, in other words, being human separates us from animals in that we struggle to be greater than we are, whereas animals are content to simply survive. What happens when a human crosses this threshold, completes its struggle? Frankenstein, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, and Oryx and Crake all deal with this concept, and come to the same conclusion. When the struggle leads a human to create another with humanity by means other than reproduction, the creator and creature cannot coexist.
Essay 2 Psychoanalysis is the method of psychological therapy originated by Sigmund Freud in which free association, dream interpretation, and analysis of resistance and transference are used to explore repressed or unconscious impulses, anxieties, and internal conflicts (“Psychoanalysis”). This transfers to analyzing writing in order to obtain a meaning behind the text. There are two types of people who read stories and articles. The first type attempts to understand the plot or topic while the second type reads to understand the meaning behind the text. Baldick is the second type who analyzes everything.
In Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s novel “Frankenstein”, the monster’s account of his life from the day of his “birth” is distinct to the audience. As the monster constructs a narrative of his life from the day of his “birth” throughout his development in the novel, he has a request for his creator, Victor Frankenstein, too—to create a female partner for him. Although Victor Frankenstein does not fulfill the task he was requested to do, the monster persuaded him to agree to and to fulfill the task of creating a female partner for him. The monster uses ethos, organic imagery, and tonal shift to persuade his creator, Victor Frankenstein, to fulfill the task.
Everyone had influenced by their surrounding. Your personal identities and choices in life are based on the role of the relationship you have with others. This helps you to realize who you are and what you need in the life. The combination of all you learns come together to give you a clear idea of what your needs, values, and belief in this life. Finally, it is clear that the role of relationship play an important role in the framework of our personal identities.
Human nature is not bound by the mind but is shown through the heart in friendship.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley portrays an individual in a unique situation trying to overcome daily interactions while being faced with inconceivable misfortunes. Created by Victor Frankenstein, who set out on a journey to bring life to scrapped pieces of waste, he was then abandoned and left to fend for himself in a world he was abruptly brought into. After being abandoned by his creator for his less than appealing looks, this then sparked his inevitable desire for revenge. Eventually leading to the destruction of those associated with his creator. Knowing that he will never fit in, the monster began to act out in hopes of getting back at his creator for what he did. His vulnerability due to missing guidance and parental figures in his beginning stages of life contributed to his behavior. The books and article Family Crisis and Children’s Therapy Groups written by Gianetti, Audoin, and Uzé, Victim Of Romance: The Life And Death Of Fanny Godwin by Maurice Hindle, and Social Behavior and Personality by Lubomir Lamy, Jacques Fishcher-Lokou, and Nicolas Gueguen support why the monster acts the way he does. The monster’s behavior stems from Victor’s actions at the beginning of his life and therefore is not to blame. The creature in Frankenstein is deserving of sympathy even though he committed those murders because the lack of parental guidance, lack of family, and lack of someone to love led him to that. All in all his actions were not malicious, but only retaliation for what he had been put through.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein reflects her real life; a life filled with loss. She lost her mother, and so did Victor Frankenstein. It would only make sense that the theme of the novel is human connection. Throughout the story, the monster searches for it, as well as Victor, and quite frankly everyone else.
As people grow, a variety of relationships develop over time. Relationships with family, friends, and romantic partners are such examples of these diverse ties. Friendships in particular are affected by the following: the level of interaction involved, how communication between two friends is established, and contact, if they exist, between multiple circles of friends through one person. Some examples of these are friendship expectations, the stages of childhood friendship, and the stages of adult friendship.
Object Relations Therapy is a psychodynamic theory that focuses on internal objects. This internal object is an emotional structure that is being formed when from an individual’s experience with their caretakers in earlier life. For example, their mother, father, extended family or community. Later in life, the individual’s personality tends to bare the trace of the earlier relationship. The internal object becomes an integral part of the individual. Moreover, the integral object also tends to be expressed in the form of interaction they have with others in their present life (Stiefel, Harris & Rohan, 1998). In a nut-shell, object relations therapy studies the individual’s relationships among people and how one’s early-life interpersonal relationships are brought forward from the past to the present through their behavior. Moreover, it also states that our lifelong relationship skills are strongly rooted in our early attachments with our parents, especially our mothers. There are four various categories under object relations ...
...; With the use of applying this theory to an episode as a demonstration, an application, and then an explanation, it is easy to see how the Social Exchange theory is related to everyday situations. Not only can the theory be applied to amorous relationships, but to that of friendships. The utility of the theory is seen in just about every type of interaction and is key to better understanding why relationships, friendships, or any mutual interaction, for that matter, turn out being costly or rewarding.
of trust can begin to shape. “We have to recognize that there cannot be relationships unless there is