Frankenstein by Mary Shelly is many things. It is horror, romantic and well, science fiction. The story dwells into the ugly of not only science but of man, monster and loneliness, as well. The novel is a classic, adored by many and an inspiration to modern culture, all forms of media and so much more. The novel mainly centers on Victor Frankenstein [the young student scientist] and his 'monster’ creation.
Mary Shelley, in her book, Frankenstein, has a reoccurring theme of isolation, in which she isolates the main character, Victor Frankenstein, from the rest of society in order to create a creature. Likewise, the creature that is created is also isolated from the rest of society as he is rejected from his creator as to his appearance. The theme is present throughout the novel as it reinforces Victor’s downfall from a normal boy to a grown man intrigued with creating life as he slowly becomes a madman that everyone soon fears. Isolation causes a loss of humanity as it affects the mind and body. Isolation from society does not teach social interaction, causes regret about oneself, provides one with negative feelings, and causes regretful actions.
The creature toughly discovers the world on his own and declares war on humanity. Frankenstein’s act as God conducts his life and his creation’s into a series of terrific events. As the novel progresses, Victor and his monster vie for the role or protagonist. At simple site, readers think the monster and Victor are two completely different people, but in fact they share the same desires. The creature ironically becomes Victor’s doppelganger by both wanting affection, their miseries and hate for each other.
Frankenstein, written and published in 1818 by Mary Shelley, is a well known science fiction novel wherein a scientist creates life through unnatural means. Victor Frankenstein, the story’s protagonist, goes through a series of emotions in his attempts to create life. In isolating himself from the outside world Victor becomes arrogant and ultimately creates a Godlike image of himself.
Victor occupies the role of God in creating life. In contrast, the creature shows weaknesses though he is referred to as a ‘monster’ committing murder. The reader has the impression that for both it is important to have someone beside them. For Victor, it is his family, while the creature has no family and can only relate to his creator. Furthermore, both can be seen as wrongdoers as both cross socially established boundaries.
In conclusion, Mary Shelly uses her great words and flow of her sentences to show how Victor has changed throughout the book. Victor at first seems happy and has a love of nature. In contrast, when the monster completes his revenge Victor is isolated from society and this causes him to have loneliness. Mary Shelly compares Victor to a romantic hero. He has some specific traits that apply both to the romantic hero and himself.
”(Millhauser). This violent rejection is a repetition of Victor’s lack of acceptance for the monster and attention to his family. Victor knows that the monster will never be able to live within society and that his ability to create life is the only hope the monster has of achieving companionship. Victor's own aversion to companionship surfaces as he, “ fails to give him the human companionship, the Eve, the female creature, that he needs to achieve some sort of a normal life.” (Mellor).
Victor created a monstrous and deformed being that was feared and rejected by the society; this made the society to shun away from the creature leaving him all alone. Both the creature and his creator were outcasts and lived in isolation from the rest of the
The Monster and Exile Every person in life is created with a strong sense of belonging. Whether the belonging is to a person, a place, or a moment in time, they still feel connected and influenced by it. Exile is an action that separates a person from this connected belonging, and can suffer great consequences, but can also enrich their lifestyle. In Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the creature creaked by Victor Frankenstein is forced, from the very beginning of his existence, away from his creator and society as a whole. This type of exile turned the creature into what he is, shaping his ideas and mentalities.
Simultaneously, Victor failing to take responsibility for his own creation leads the creature down a path of destruction that manufactures his status as a societal outcast. The creature's dissolution from society, his search for someone to share his life with, the familiarity with intense anguish, his thirst for retribution, each of these traits coincide with Victor as he is depicted throughout the novel. Victor unknowingly induces his own undoing through his rejection of the creature. Shelley foreshadows his downfall by stating that “the monster still protested his innate goodness, blaming Victor’s rejection and man’s unkindness as the source of his evil” (Shelley 62) The creature essentially places Victor at fault for the creature becoming an outcast of society, by expressing this Shelley constructs a very austere portrayal of man’s contact with outsiders.
Victor Frankenstein is a Romantic and Gothic protagonist, because he has an interest with the past. He revels in the works of famous natural philosophers, who drive him to pursue the sciences, and his use of knowledge results in the birth of the Creature, which has large and unfortunate
How does Mary Shelley’s construction of the secondary characters reflect upon the protagonist? Throughout Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, character parallels and analogies between Victor Frankenstein and the creature are strongly emphasized. More evidently, the character doubles between the creator, Victor, and his creature are presented through their demeanor, their desires, and their demands. Shelley emphasizes parallelisms of nature, alienation and vengeance to underscore their similarities, leading some readers to interpret Victor and his creature being so similar that indeed, they are the same person. Both lonely and outcasts in the world, Victor and his creation live forlorn and dreary lives, hungry for the love of another, desperate for
Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, is one of the most important and popular novels in the Romantic genre to this day. The novel was originally controversial because it touched on many fragile subjects such as the human anatomy and the development of science. The structure of Frankenstein begins as an epistolary, narrative story told by Robert Walton to his sister in England. Walton’s letters tell us that he is exploring, searching for what lies beyond the North Pole, and he eventually connects with Frankenstein. Shelley creates the protagonist, Dr. Victor Frankenstein, who has a fascination with life and death.
Throughout this novel, we learn the views of the creature that Victor Frankenstein created. His views on society, justice, and injustice. When he is first created, he seeks to be accepted by society despite his appearance. However, the events he experiences shape his views. Victor Frankenstein, the DeLacey family, and the father and daughter he meets throughout his journey do not accept him.
It is my belief that society is the true ‘monster’ in the novel, and that it is through our experiences and interactions with society that shapes us into the person that we become. Because of the creatures experiences with abandonment, abuse, rejection, and lack of nurture, the creature turns from an innocent soul into a murderous monster. Society plays a huge role in the destruction of both the creature and Victor. When Victor first leaves for ignostalt he believes that “he will be unfit for the company of man.”