Isolation In Frankenstein Essay

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a romantic piece of literature in which a creator and his creature are victims of society. Even though majority of movies portray the creature as a monster archetype, the authentic monster is society. Many additionally believe the term “Frankenstein” refers to the monster, but genuinely, it refers to the creator- Victor Frankenstein. It is visible throughout the novel that isolation leading to loss of innocence is an assiduous theme. Victor engenders a living being because of his pride and ambition, later on forsaking it which isolates the creature and tarnishes its innocence. Guilted by what he has done, Victor separates himself from his friends and family. This isolation experienced by both of them eventually

leads to the self-destruction of both their lives. Isolation’s corruption of innocence is visible when the monster yearns for revenge after being rejected by his own creator and then a family that he forms an attachment to.
As an adolescent man, Victor leaves for university with high hopes and ambitions.

He was raised peacefully which can be seen when he says, “No human being could have passed a happier childhood than myself. My parents were possessed by the very spirit of kindness and indulgence” (Shelley, 32). However, he abandons his family to explore unknown powers and teach all of humanity about the deepest mysteries of life, but his pride as well as his arrogance bring an end to his innocence. When Victor makes the creature, he disregards all ethics and his morals. Victor’s zeal to create a living being commences a cycle that ends up destroying himself, his family, and his creature. Only when the creature wakes does Victor have regrets. He says,

“I
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had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room….” (Shelley, 56) He rejects and forsakes the creature, who, like a newly born child, must learn to survive in a world that abhors him because of how he appears. This quote shows how Victor, before even endeavoring to communicate with the creature, judges and flees from it because of its appearance. This reaction has a negative emotional impact on the creature; his own parent figure leaves him.
However, the creature’s isolation is not only due to Victor, but because of a variety of other people as well. The creature is also abandoned and rejected by people who he lives near after being thrown out by Victor. He thought they would understand his situation, being refugees from the law, but they eventually do the same thing as Victor. This corrupts the creature’s innocence. When the creature is first introduced to the world, all he knows is the comeliness of the world around him. The creature describes his experience in discovering fire- “‘One day, when I was oppressed by cold, I found a fire which had been left by some wandering beggars, and was overcome with delight at the warmth I experienced from it. In my jubilance I thrust my hand into the live embers, but expeditiously drew it out again with a cry of pain. How peculiar, I mentally conceived, that the same cause should engender such antithesis effects’” (Shelley, 120). This demonstrates how the creature is at first virtuous and wholesome; he is fascinated by the world and doesn’t understand any of its hazards. As he learns language through the adjacent De Lacey family, he grows affixed to them and aims to make his presence known to them. He even

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brings them firewood when they are sleeping and avails to sustain them. He only wishes for love and companionship. He is aware that humans find his appearance repulsive, but takes the risk
anyway. When he makes himself known to the De Laceys, he is thrown out and they flee as as soon as they see him. This exasperates and upsets the creature greatly, causing his quest for vengeance.
The only person who accepted the creature for what he was, was Mr.

De Lacy, and he was blind. De Lacy listened to the creature's heart-breaking story of being completely alone. De Lacy comforted the creature, telling him that he did not seem to deserve a life like this and that it would be a "pleasure to be in any serviceable to a human creature."(Shelley, 128) This was the happiest moment in the creature's life, since he did not feel rejected and alone. Unfortunately, this moment ended horribly when De Lacy's family returned and Felix chased the creature away and hit him "violently with a stick."(Shelley, 129) This was a moment of realization for the creature that he would be hated by everyone who saw him. "I possessed no money, no friends, no kind of property. I was, besides, endowed with a figure hideously deformed and loathsome I cannot describe to you the agony that these reflections inflicted upon me."(Shelley, 148) This realization gave the creature an even greater craving for attention. He felt that he could only get the attention of Victor by killing the ones closest to

him.
This book is a dark tragedy that shows how isolation’s impact leads to the loss of innocence and corruption of people. People are born to appreciate the beautiful and comely things in life, but sometimes forget to show kindness toward something that is different. Understanding this theme in the novel and how it relates to modern times shows that this book
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should be greatly appreciated. As a romanticist, Mary Shelley was skeptical of where science was taking us and what the ethics of it were. We can see how she does not blame the creature for
acting out and killing all those people; she blames Victor for creating something that he had no intention of caring for. She convinces the reader to feel sympathy for the creature and understand why he acted the way he did.