The Monster And Exile In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

It is quite telling that the most severe punishment in our society other than the death penalty or torture is solitary confinement. Although, isolation is in itself a form of torture, it can drive someone to the brink of insanity. Although published nearly 200 years ago, Mary Shelley clearly understood the potential detrimental effects of isolation, as demonstrated in her famous novel, Frankenstein, where both main characters, Victor Frankenstein and his creation, suffer from and cause isolation for the other. Mary Shelley directs the reader to believe that isolation is the true evil, not the monster, Victor or any emotion inside of them. At the beginning of the novel, Victor is isolated from other people, causing to forget his scientific

In the book Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the creature is an outcast in society, without a friend in the who world is thrust away by humanity due to his appearance. The creature devolves due to a series of events feeling different emotions for the first time in his life. These experiences due to the fact his creator, Victor Frankenstein turns his back on the creature leaving him to his own instincts on learning how to survive and integrate into society. devices to learn how to survive. becoming helpless, discouraged leading into leading into retaliation of anger and violence.

The novel Frankenstein brings to light many problems and situations that shed light on the faults of mankind. Cruelty was a huge factor in the novel; throughout Frankenstein is cruel to his body and to his creation. When he first makes the creature he runs from it, leaving the creature to fend for himself; even when reuniting with the creature he continues displays cruelty. The creature, in turn exhibits Victor cruelty right back. Within Frankenstein cruelty can be attributed, often affecting both Victor and the creature; serving as a crucial motivator and revealing their anger, pain, frustration till eventually both die.

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. Why? Because society always judges one thing: appearance.

The Creature appears when Victor is found dead in his chambers. Immediately the Creature sobs at the sight of his dead creator. He is deeply saddened by the death of Victor however, he is enraged by the thought that it was his fault. The Creature expresses to Walton his feelings of remorse towards all his previous murders as well as Victor’s death. He also speaks on his feelings of abandonment and exile from all humans throughout his life. The irony is in the fact that the Creature once only thought of a dream to have normal relationships with humans but, now his thoughts of murder and revenge. He cannot believe that the creature he is today is the same as “the creature whose thoughts were filled with sublime and transcendent visions of beauty” (Shelly 97). One day, he thought, he would be amongst other people but because of his crimes he is alone. His thoughts are ironic because he was the cause of his dream of being normal never to happen. It is ironic that he went from being a kindhearted innocent creature to a dangerous

The Chilean poet Pablo Neruda once described the emotional suffering that can be caused by the absence of someone in our lives,“Absence is a place so vast that you will pass through its walls and hang pictures in the air.” In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, abandonment plays a large role in affecting the creature created by Victor Frankenstein. Victor has an unending thirst for knowledge that leads him to animate a creature made of dead body parts, when the creature is brought to life Victor is immediately disgusted and leaves his creation. The creature who is left on his own eventually kills all of Victor’s family and his friend. The creature’s violent behavior is due to the anger he feels from the lack of nurture he receives from his creator, however one could argue that the cause was his innate evil.

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.

that he is exposed to causes him to turn his back on Victor, his maker. He then lets out built up anger and heartbreak on others through revenge. The creature displays himself as a part of a tragic story, similar to Satans, this is shown when the creature claims that he considered Satan “as the fitter emblem of my condition, for like him, when I viewed the bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose within me.”

Frankenstein shows many examples of how easily too much power leads to destruction. Victor Frankenstein and his creature struggle for power the most. Frankenstein begins to realize the consequences of playing God when the monster he creates demands to gain dominance over him by committing acts of hate and murder. Frankenstein’s loved ones. Nature does not allow Frankenstein or his creation to live an easy life after the natural cycle of life is thrown off course.

Knowledge has the capability to be used for both good and evil. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, there is a consistent message throughout the novel showing the dangerous and destructive power that knowledge can have. Two key characters, Victor Frankenstein and his monster, are shaped through their obsessions with knowledge and the power and responsibility that it brings. Ultimately, Victor’s downfall is a result of his uncontrollable thirst for knowledge, and is brought about through the monster which is the embodiment of his obsession.

In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein creates an intelligent monster with no name. The creature is thrust into the world to fend for itself when Victor leaves it alone in his lab. The creature has childlike tendencies because he has recently been “born”. If the creature is viewed as a child, then Victor is essentially his father. There are many times in the book where the author elluded to Victor and the creature being like father and son.

he author of Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw, and the author of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley, both integrate the theme of creation into their novels. Henry Higgins the creator in, Pygmalion, and Dr. Frankenstein the creator in, Frankenstein, utilize new and innovative techniques to transform their victims into a new creations. They attempt to play the role of divine creator by making breakthroughs that are immoral and unprecedented. In the process they neglect the needs of their victims and focus on self-interest. The Monster in the novel, Frankenstein, and Eliza Doolittle in the novel, Pygmalion, are similar in the way that they both regret their creation and feel rejected by their creators; however, Eliza is able to be integrated into society

Power, the one thing everybody desires, plays a major role in the lives of the characters of Frankenstein. Throughout the story, Shelley frequently emphasizes the theme of power and the constant struggle that the characters face to gain power over themselves and others. The two main characters, Victor Frankenstein and The Creature, show the most struggle for power throughout the story, both internally and over each other. They look to gain power of knowledge, power of themselves and power over one another. This struggle for power creates a constantly shifting dynamic amongst characters.

With more broadcasting of evil each day, the question; “what makes a monster” is often asked. Monstrosity is the state or fact of being monstrous. Monstrous by definition can mean having a frightening opinion, extremely large, or a person who is outrageously evil. Many artists and journalist have tried to tackle the question, though two authors in particular stand out. In Frankenstein Mary Shelley uses the hideous looks of the monster along with the average looks of Victor to show her readers that monstrosity comes from within. In The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde uses the beauty of Dorian to communicate appearance is meaningless when it comes to monstrosity.

What differentiates man from monster? The physical being or the heart and soul? In the case of the novel Frankenstein, the author Mary Shelley appears to be promoting that it is in fact the heart and soul that is distinguishable between the two. Shelly offers much insight on the reactions of society and tells the reader that judgement is not always the truth. The creature originally stands as a mental and physical being with feelings and good intentions whether for himself or for others. However, society does not see the good in him, they only see the outside and react to his misleading appearance. While the persona of the creature is looked at as the “monster” in Frankenstein, the character’s personality, psychology, and nature well define him as a human being that deserves compassion and love as opposed to the hatred and fear that society provides.