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 …show more content…
The monster tells Victor of his feelings when he states, “You can blast my other passions, but revenge remains…I may die, but first you, my tyrant and tormentor, shall curse the sun that gazes on your misery.” (153) After months and months of the monster trying to connect with the world, he eventually realizes that the efforts are worthless and vows to do to his creator what his creator did to him. To make Victor isolated would give him the same curse the monster has suffered through for its entire new life. Later, the creature asks himself, “Why, in that instant, did I not extinguish the spark of existence which you had so wantonly bestowed?” The creature easily could kill Victor if that was his desire but its real desire was to make Victor suffer as the monster did. To make Victor experience the feeling isolation, the creature sets out to destroy what he hold most dear, Elizabeth. Victor describes his spouse as the “body of Elizabeth, my love, my wife, so lately living, so dear, so worthy.” Nowhere else in the novel does Victor come even close to describing another human in this manner. Once the monster escaped, Victor realized how important it was to be near people he loved, he had learned the terrors of isolation. The creature then uses this against him by killing the person who brought Victor out of isolation, pushing him back into an even deeper sense of isolation from which Victor can never
Most people know who Frankenstein is—or at least they think they do. Because of the way Mary Shelley’s brilliant 1818 novel has been adapted to f ilm, most Americans think that Frankenstein is a towering, scar-faced monster who brings terror wherever he goes. In Shelley’s novel, however, the real monster is Victor Frankenstein, the scientist who is the monster’s creator. In her story of how Victor Frankenstein creates the monster and what he does after the monster comes to life, Shelley conveys several timeless messages about the dangers of science, the dangers of isolation, and the importance of being a good parent.
Victor’s abandonment causes the monster to raise itself and question why people fear him, in addition this proves to turn Victor’s life into a
In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the author utilities traditional Gothic literary elements to create a semi-autobiographical, supernatural metaphor for her own experiences. Drawing from past tribulations as an outcast, Shelley tugs at the fabric of a classist society, unraveling the shroud of status to reveal a far darker plausibility- perhaps the development of an individual's character lies not solely on oneself, but rather, "individuality" evolves as a reaction to society. Through the manifestation of characterization, emotive diction, and select allusions, the author paints an insightful, poignant, multilayer -portrait of man's quest for righteousness, additionally illuminating the internal desire humanity possesses for acceptance.
Victor Frankenstein: From Fascination Passion to Unwinding Isolation Madness is defined as “the quality or state of being mad: such as a state of severe mental illness” or “behavior or thinking that is very foolish or dangerous: extreme folly an idea that is pure/sheer madness” (Merriam-Webster). It is also believed that madness also has varying forms and can be caused by feelings of isolation from society. A main part of being human or even most species on earth live with community. This definition of madness fits the stereotype media has placed on scientists and Victor Frankenstein is a prime example.
The creature felt resentment towards Victor because he had destroyed the female creature he was creating for him. According to the novel, the creature says, "My enemy is not impregnable; this death will carry despair to him, and a thousand other miseries shall destroy him." (Pg. 112). The creature killed William, Victor's brother, to make him and others feel miserably sad. This evidence shows that the creature had killed people just to make Victor and his family suffer and feel as miserable as the creature has one day
Frankenstein recalls his physical isolation “My cheek had grown pale with study and my person emaciated with confinement.” In his solitude, Frankenstein also becomes mentally isolated, often stating “no one
In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, many themes motifs and symbols appear throughout the duration of the novel including themes of isolation,rejection revenge and dark romanticism, motifs such as letters, abortion, and retrospection and symbols of the moon, light and fire and god. However the most important theme, isolation, seems to be the backbone behind it all. Isolation has a remarkable effect on the way both,Victor and the Monster act and participate in society. Frankenstein is a story full of murder, despair and tragedy, all of which follow a path back to the main characters lack of social interaction and skills to function normally in society due to isolation.
Isolation and its different types have conditional effects on an individual as portrayed by the different characters in the novel. One desires independence from the rest of the world such as Victor Frankenstein, or one could be miserable at the thought of not being recognized and understood such as the monster and Robert Walton. Isolation has different impacts to the type of person it is affecting and how being isolated could have positive or detrimental consequences. It can be argued that if the monster lived in a society where he was loved and treated with passion, then this would have halted his evil doings and murders. However, many argue as well that the monster is a monster and will show barbaric characteristics regardless of its lifestyle.
”(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).
We need isolation to give time for us to spend time alone. In Frankenstein, Victor wanted to leave his family because so much had gone through his mind specifically the death of his brother William. Upon Williams death, Victor was full of emotions and needed a place to go to clear his
In reality, he is disgusted by the sight of his creation so he abandons it leaving it all alone in the world without any guidance and runs away to the next room. Victor himself suffered from being a social outcast and now he bestowed the same feeling onto the creature by abandoning him. By treating the creature as an outcast, “he will become wicked … divide him, a social being, from society, and you impose upon him the irresistible obligations—malevolence and selfishness” (Caldwell). Not only is Victor selfish for abandoning his creature but he is shallow as well. Instead of realizing that he achieved his goal of bringing life to an inanimate body he runs way because of how hideous it is.
They want to be loved, but when they are pushed away , they feel miserable and will do anything to feel accepted. The monster acts out in hurtful ways because he is miserable, and doesn’t want to be seen as a horrible figure in the eyes of others. He feels inferior to others such as Elizabeth, and Victor's brother, and fear that nobody will ever accept him because of his appearance. Victor's separation from his friends and family is an example of how exile can cause you to be distant. Although Victor left his town for scientific purposes, he regrets leaving the life he had before .
Dangerous Minds- Rough Draft 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. Victor is a brilliant scientist who figures out a way to create life from death using galvanism, or electricity.
When Victor realizes that the human-like creature he created was an absolute monster, he abandoned it which led to the monster’s ultimate revenge. " Cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live? Why, in that instant, did I not extinguish the spark of existence which you had so wantonly bestowed? I know not; despair had not yet taken possession of me; my feelings were those of rage and revenge.”
Isolation and abandonment can cause many different reactions from people. In the words of William A. Sadler Jr., a sociology professor, “We often do not know how to cope. It can make us confused, distraught, depressed, frightened, and even outraged” (Sadler 105). In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, several of these effects are presented in Victor Frankenstein and his creation. They both suffer from being isolated from their creator, society, and family units.