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In the novel, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, isolation and companionship are a commonly mentioned. Isolation and companionship are two strong concepts that build and makes up a person. The three narrators of the story go through different journeys to discover their true joy in either being alone or accompanied by others.
The novel portrays the concept of isolationism and companionship as a win-lose situation. The characters go through a series of times where they must reflect themselves through periods of isolation. And in the times of companionship, some characters learn how important the need of others and their love is essential to that character’s well-being.
One of those characters included is Victor Frankenstein. He grew up
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in a household where love was in every nook and corner. After being hit by the death of his mother, Victor’s household soon became a swell of mourn. Victor, soon going on to college following his mother’s death, felt lonely. Using of his impressive intellect, Victor went on to make his very own companion. He goes on in saying while at university, “I, who had been surrounded by amiable companions, continually engaged in endeavoring to bestow mutual pleasure, I was now alone”. Alas, the birth of the creature came along. The creature became a substitute for the death of Victor’s lost love. But as much as Victor loved the companionship of others, he enjoys the thought of being isolated. He loved isolation from the fact it gives him a break from his “stressful” life and put him in a place of peace. Victor felt a temporary comfort from being alone. Robert Walton was additionally affected by the concepts of isolationism and companionship in the novel.
In the beginning of the novel, Walton tells Margaret, his sister, of his tales at sea. He mentions how lonely he is without the accompany of a friend. He tells her “I have no friend, Margaret; when I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success, there will be none to participate my joy; if I am assailed by disappointment, no one will endeavour to sustain me in dejection.” Walton loathes and despised the idea of not being connected with others. Walton becomes in love with the idea of having someone to a call a friend away from home. But eventually Walton finds trust in Victor and they quickly become the best of friends evident in the following quote, “I said in one of my letters, my dear Margaret, that I should find no friend on the wide ocean; yet I have found a man who, before his spirit had been broken by misery, I should have been happy to have possessed as the brother of my …show more content…
heart.” The creature’s journey through isolation and companionship was different compared to the other two narrators.
The creature was very naive, in fact, one could compare him to an infant. After Victor leaves the creature, he becomes increasingly lonely. An example of the creatures can be seen when he wakes up cold and alone, "It was dark when I awoke; I felt cold also, and half-frightened, as it were instinctively, finding myself so desolate. Before I had quitted your apartment, on a sensation of cold, I had covered myself with some clothes; but these were insufficient to secure me from the dews of night. I was a poor, helpless, miserable wretch; I knew, and could distinguish nothing; but feeling pain invade me on all sides, I sat down and
wept.” His obsession to find a companion is found on his discovery of the De Lacey family. The creature envisions himself being apart of their family. He envies the family and finds himself loving them as if the De Lacey were his own family. When he tries to find companionship in the De Lacey, he runs off due to their fear of him. Which in part only deepen his self-hatred and need for someone. To summarize, all three of the narrators experienced and reacted to isolation and companionship differently. These two concepts and the way a person reacts to it can make the difference in a person. The novel Frankenstein shows the extremities a need for a companion or being alone can be.
Isolation can be a somber subject. Whether it be self-inflicted or from the hands of others, isolation can be the make or break for anyone. In simpler terms, isolation could range anywhere from not fitting into being a complete outcast due to personal, physical, or environmental factors. It is not only introverted personalities or depression that can bring upon isolation. Extroverts and active individuals can develop it, but they tend to hide it around crowds of other people. In “Richard Cory,” “Miniver Cheevy,” The Minister’s Black Veil,” and “Not Waving but Drowning,” E.A. Robinson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Stevie Smith illustrate the diverse themes of isolation.
When Victor flees the creature, he becomes lonely and unhappy. He rejects his own works. If he stayed and taught him the creature would at least have a chance of happiness. When the monster flees to the cottagers he learns about human nature. He quotes “I continued for the remainder of the day in my hovel in a state of utter and stupid despair. My protector had departed and broken the only link that held me to th...
Human companionship is one of the most basic needs of humans that can be seen in the Creation story. It is tricky for any human to find the perfect companion especially if one is one of a kind. In Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein two characters exemplify this need. Dr. Victor Frankenstein and The Creature are in search of companionship, and they will go to great lengths to achieve it.
Isolation in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, has several themes imbedded in the text. One major theme is of isolation. Many of the characters experience some time of isolation. The decisions and actions of some of these characters are the root cause of their isolation. They make choices that isolate themselves from everyone else.
Victor, at first sight of the Creature, abandons and leaves him to survive on his own. This is insignificant to the creature at the time, but later causes the Creature to have bitter feelings towards Victor. After the Creature discovers Victor’s notes, he becomes enraged, and incriminates Victor for the victimization that he faces; hence accusing him as a perpetrator of cruelty. Through the accusation of Victor one can see that the Creature believes that Victor should be held responsible, and owes the Creature a favor. Additionally, Victor double-crosses the Creature after obliging to create a mate for the Creature. These actions of betrayal demonstrate how Victor is a perpetrator of cruelty and how the Creature is his victim. Victor’s unintentional cruelty reveals how he only wanted what was best for himself and human kind. Victor’s betrayal is seen as an action of cruelty by the Creature, and consequently delivers the final blow that instigates the retaliation of the
After killing his younger brother, Elizabeth , and his best friend, Victor after having no family left wanted to put an end to it all so he ended up chasing his creation and dying before catching it. After bringing the creature into this world and leaving it behind to fend for itself the creature endured lots of agony and pain from society which drove its rage to Victor and his family and he ended up kill this younger brother and soon to be wife. Both were isolated from society, Victor brought isolation upon himself through locking himself up to create the creature and ignoring everything around him as stated in the article, “The summer months passed while I was thus engaged, heart and soul, in one pursuit. It was a most beautiful season; never did the fields bestow a more plentiful harvest, or the vines yield a more luxuriant vintage: but my eyes were insensible to the charms of nature. And the same feelings which made me neglect the scenes around me caused me also to forget those friends who were so many miles absent, and whom I had not seen for so long a time. I knew my silence disquieted them; and I well-remembered the words of my father: "I know that while you are pleased with yourself, you will think of us with affection, and we shall hear regularly from you. You must pardon me if I regard any interruption in your correspondence as a proof that your other duties are equally neglected.” As
Isolation is one of the major motifs that resonates throughout Frankenstein. Tying into the romantic style of the novel, Shelley uses this element all the way through the work to show a repetition of isolation, an aspect that is present in almost every character in the novel and expressed primarily in Victor and the monster. But even some other minor characters such as Justine, Caroline, and Walton deal with isolation in one way or another.
Three of the main characters in Mary Shelley 's 1818 novel Frankenstein have commonalities that may not be immediately recognized but are significant in terms of theme. Robert Walton, a man who sets out to seek new land, Victor Frankenstein, a man who sets out to create new life, and the Creature, who sets out to become accepted, are all different in their own ways but tragically the same. Though the first use of the word "isolation" did not occur until 1833 (Merriam-Webster), Frankenstein is replete with instances in which the three central characters must confront their alienation from others. Understanding a mariner, a mad man, and a monster may seem like a difficult task to accomplish, yet with Shelley’s use of isolation as a theme it
There are so many types of friendship that can be developed intentionally or unintentionally by all humans. It's hard to accept that sometimes because we might need the help of someone who if it wasn't for the current need we would be happy not to even speak a word to him or her. All of us at some time or another we make conscious decisions on who our friends are. Frankenstein didn't have such luxury. He didn't have a circle of friends to choose from. He only had those who wanted to use him for their own convenience and it is in this way that he learned that friendship could be that. An exchange of favors by people he really didn't trust.
In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the main theme revolves around the internal and external consequences of being isolated from others. Being isolated from the world could result in a character losing his/her mental state and eventually causing harm to themselves or others. Because both Victor Frankenstein and the creature are isolated from family and society, they experienced depression, prejudice, and revenge.
Isolation is often a result of choosing to seek refuge in solitude, however, in many cases, it is a result of brutality from a surrounding environment. In Mary Shelley’s Gothic novel, Frankenstein,a gruesome and painful story serves as a cautionary tale in order to prevent another from a similar downfall. Although Victor Frankenstein is the narrator for the majority of the novel, the audience learns of the destruction that has followed his decisions as well as the forced estrangement upon those he has encountered. In Frankenstein, Shelley uses relatable characters that reflect the harsh superficial aspects of society.
Each character in Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein';, has their own unique perspective on how they value friendship. Victor Frankenstein prospers from the ability to rely on his friends during tragic times. Walton needs a companion that he can express his feelings to and relate to on many subjects. The monster greatly appreciates the ability to learn from a friend and wants someone so he can be freed from isolation. Together, all three men can love humanity when with companions but can also be crazy when isolated.
The first character that we are introduced to is R. Walton. He is on a ship with many deck hands and crewmembers, but in his letter to Margaret, his sister, he states, "I have no friend. Even when I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success, there will be none to participate my joy; if I am assailed by disappointment, no one will endeavor to sustain to me dejection." Although Walton has a boat full of men, he still feels lonely and friendless, and wishes he had a male companion to sympathize with him. Perhaps the reason that he feels this way is that he is looking for a different type of friend than what these tough sailors can offer. "I spoke of my (Walton) desire of finding a friend, of my thirst for a more intimate sympathy with a fellow mind than had ever fallen to my lot."
In the beginning of the novel, Walton is writing letters to his sister Margaret Saville to tell her what he has been doing and asks her to, “Continue for the present to write to me by every opportunity: I may receive your letters on some occasions when I need them most to support my spirits” (Shelley 8). Walton asks for letters but does not receive any throughout the book demonstrating how he is unable to connect with his sister because he would rather go to the North Pole than speak to her in person. Also, the lieutenant appears to be a good friend for Walton but because he is more educated their friendship cannot develop. After Walton has written to his sister the story of his captain he replies to her, “‘What a noble fellow!’ you will exclaim. He is so; but then he is wholly educated: he is as silent as a Turk, and kind of ignorant carelessness attends him…” (7). Walton is an educated man that will not tolerate a friend like his lieutenant who thinks carelessly. This deprives him of making any friends with his crew because they are not as educated therefore causing him to become alienated. Simultaneously, the stranger Victor Frankenstein that was rescued becomes good friends with
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein provides us a myriad of interesting ideas that characters throughout the story suffer and embraced together. And among those, the story introduces us to the horrors of solitude. The interpretation of just how far solitude can manifest itself and what the characters suffer through, is of course based differently from person to person. And so to fully understand just how horrific solitude is, a new perspective should be shed upon; especially to the ones who revolved upon this despair the most. Hence, throughout the novel Frankenstein, solitude was highly emphasized as the upbringing of a dangerous emotional spike that brings nothing but calamity.