Similarities Between Frankenstein And The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

Solitude can quickly turn into desolation when separated from society. The loneliness spawns other feelings of despair and a lack of will to live. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, the setting and lamentations of Frankenstein’s monster and the ancient mariner reveal the woeful results of isolation.
The location of the creature and the mariner adds to the depression during the extreme cases of aloneness. The monster, rejected by society, is forced into a setting of isolation in the wilderness. He, residing in nature rather than the buildings of man, says that “the desert mountains and dreary glaciers are my refuge. I have wandered here many days; the caves of ice, which I only do

not fear, are a dwelling to me, and the only one which man does not grudge” (Shelley, 82). These harsh environments mirror the misery of the monster. The barren desert mountains correspond to the absence of any sympathizing being and the freezing, dreary glaciers match his bitterly cold attitude toward his solitude and society. He further relates his sorrow to his surroundings, recounting how “the cold stars shone in mockery, and the bare trees waved their branches above me” (Shelley, 116). He feels as if the unfriendly environment itself is mocking him in his desperate attempt to escape his rejection from society. Living in some of the only areas not inhabited by or in close proximity to people, the monster feels a natural resentment towards humans for leaving him to the bleak, hostile terrain. The mariner also suffers from being isolated far from civilization. He describes his situation as “Alone, alone, all, all alone, / Alone on a wide wide sea! / And never a saint took pity on / My soul in agony” (Coleridge, 233-236). Without the presence of another human being, the mariner is forced to endure the hardships of being stranded in the middle of the ocean on a boat that is “As idle as a painted ship / Upon a painted ocean” (Coleridge, 115-118). His loneliness is agonizing and slowly eats away at him. The setting of a vast and empty ocean parallels the mariner’s desolate soul, caused by the lack of companions to endure the hardships with.
The voiced sorrow of the two isolated characters show the connection to death that comes with solitude.

Bearing the pain of loneliness, he says that “I am content to suffer alone while my sufferings shall endure; when I die, I am well satisfied that abhorrence and opprobrium should load my memory” (Shelley, 196). The new sorrows of the creature are intertwined with his want of death, being a less painful option than being a reject. He self-loathingly exclaims "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?” (Shelley, 116). Born into solitude, the monster feels instant misery in existence and would rather be dead than to continue the despair that he was destined for. The mariner also laments over his voyage in the ocean. He tells the wedding guest of his trip and how “So lonely 'twas, that God himself / Scarce seemèd there to be” (Coleridge, 600-601). The pure misery that accompanied this isolation is comparable in the eyes of the mariner to that of hell, relating it to the afterlife. His lack of a will to live is also exemplified when he says that, “Seven days, seven nights, I saw that curse, / And yet I could not die” (Coleridge, 262-263). The mariner wishes that he could join his dead crewmates rather than be stuck for a week in the ocean isolated from civilization and

suffering.
Frankenstein’s monster and the ancient mariner reveal the effects of being separated from human society on the body and mind. The extreme cases of solitude are shown to be extremely detrimental to the health of the individual. Through the experiences of the characters, it is demonstrated that complete and utter isolation from human society creates suffering, desolation, and a lack of will to live.