Isolation In Frankenstein Research Paper

In the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley exemplifies the dangers of becoming isolated from society. Shelley employs characterization to show how Victor Frankenstein’s isolation turns to insanity, while the monster’s isolation becomes anger. Through the thorough and revealing development of her characters, Shelley demonstrates the detrimental effects isolation can have on one’s well being. Other literary devices that Shelley employs to further emphasize her point are allusion, imagery, and metaphors.

Victor Frankenstein, the protagonist of Shelley’s harrowing novel, decides to create a monster made from reanimated corpses, and the readers get to see his downward spiral into physical and mental illness. When he begins to create his monster, he

retreats into himself and his work. As he shuts everyone out he becomes “pale with study, and...emaciated with confinement” (Shelley 40). At first, Victor finds “consolation” in “deep, dark, deathlike solitude” (Shelley 77), because no one else shared the knowledge that troubled him, and therefore no one could understand him. But it begins to take a toll on him, and he becomes sick and his mental state deteriorates. Though this isolation was initiated by Victor himself, it makes everything worse for him. Victor withers away until his friend Henry comes to stay with him. Victor had lost himself until the “gentleness and affection” of Henry “warmed and opened [his] senses” (Shelley 57). Through the development of Victor, Shelley demonstrates the necessity company and friendship to one’s well being. It was not until Victor reached out to a friend that he got better. His sickness was caused by his isolation and it was cured by companionship.

Victor’s monster also suffers isolation from society, but not of his own accord.

His “alienation from human social relations begins at the moment of his birth” (Petsche 98), as Victor rejects him just after he has been made. This leaves the monster to fend for himself. When he awakes, he finds himself“half frightened...instinctively,” because of his “desolate” surroundings (Shelley 91). The monster has only just awoken, and yet he has fear of being alone. Shelley demonstrates the necessity of the company of others, and “suggests that the presence of others may be as natural and pressing a need for a newborn as food and warmth” (Yousef 197). Though the monster has no preconception of being in the company of others, he recognizes the loneliness of his position. Shelley presents the idea that we always need other people around us. Unfortunately for him, the monster’s alienation continues, and becomes worse. He gets rejected by everyone he comes across because of his grotesque looks. The monster becomes “irrevocably excluded,” and because of this he loses his “benevolent and happy”(87) demeanor. After the family of cottagers that he’d been admiring from afar reject him, the monster becomes hardened and angry. He realizes that“none among the myriads of men that existed who would pity or assist” him, and thus he decides that he should not “feel kindness towards [his] enemies”(125). Eventually this anger leads to the death of William and Henry and Elizabeth. Perhaps if the

monster had not been rejected, these tragedies could’ve been avoided. Shelley uses the monster’s characterization to show how isolation can hurt someone and cause them to do terrible things.
Other than characterization, Shelley employs allusion and diction to fully exemplify the effects of isolation and alienation.

The monster references Satan when musing about his situation. At first, he relates to Satan, stating that he considers Satan “as the fitter emblem of my condition, for often, like him, when I viewed the bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose within me”(119). But he then becomes upset, and notes that while “Satan had his companions,” the monster’s reality consists of being “solitary and abhorred” (119). Shelley uses allusion to demonstrate just how alienated and alone the monster he feels. He thinks that even Satan has a better position than him, and this makes him feel even worse. Shelley also uses diction to stress her purpose. The monster uses words like “despondency and solitude”(119) to describe his situation, showing that the alienation from society depresses him. Later, once the cottagers have rejected him, he has a much angrier vocabulary, with words like “bitterness and horror,”(129) “revenge and hatred,” and “injury and death”(127). The monster’s strong word choice illustrates how deeply the rejection has hurt him, and how bitter and angry it has made

him.
In conclusion, Shelley employs various literary devices to exemplify her theme of the harmful effects of isolation and alienation. The characterization of both Victor Frankenstein and his monster shows the ways alienation can hurt one’s state of mind, whether it causes them to become unhinged or full of rage. The diction Shelley selects and the allusion she includes further emphasize this point. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein serves as both a chilling story and a warning for alienating someone because of something they can’t help, or choosing to isolate yourself from society. This novel details the importance of having the companionship of others.