Society and social norms play a big role in Edward’s and the monster’s lives. In Edward Scissorhands, society couldn’t handle and accept Edward, and he in turn wasn’t able to pretend to be normal. SInce he couldn’t follow the given norms and patterns of behaviours he was forced to choose exile over life in a community.
can taint an innocent spirit
alienation
he becomes filled with hatred towards everyone, particularly for the one who placed him into this terrible state in the first place – Victor.
Abandonment issues
The complete isolation he felt was what drove him to commit acts such as murdering William and later, Elizabeth and Clerval. Here, the figure of the outcast is not only longing for feelings of acceptance but is also a person who begins to despise the people who don’t include it. The Creature begins to demonstrate the consequences of not getting the acceptance and embarks on a different route: to conflict pain on others, particularly Victor.
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Their creators of the monster and Edward have shaped many of their perspectives.
Firstly, Victor abandoned him- which isolated the monster from his ‘father’ and created the first rift in his relations with humans. Adding onto that, because of the monster’s physical appearance, he was naturally isolated from society as well.
That being said, the Monster thrived in isolation. He learnt to survive on his own and became stronger. Another example of how isolation was good for the Monster was his request to be isolated when he confronted Frankenstein. While complete isolation couldn’t be achieved - he would’ve be with the female monster if she’d come to life - he was still removing himself from society in exchange for a companion, a mate. The Monster relishes isolation given what he learned previously from
it. Outward appearance is the main restriction for both the monster and Edward Scissorhands, and it doesn’t allow them to build normal relationships within society. In Frankenstein, there was an immediate negative reaction towards the creature from the community, but in Edward Scissorhands he was not immediately judged. The character of the creatures were both initially innocent, but only Edward held onto his innocence in the end. This shows how the creatures are treated differently depending on the society, but in the end people always jump to judging and blaming. In the end of the film, Edward is blamed for violence when he was in fact only barely able to defend himself. The people immediately turn on him even though he has been nothing but innocent. They form a mob that goes up to the castle to either arrest him or ensure his death. In Frankenstein Victor hunts the creature down in order to kill him and relieve society from the creature. The fact that society comes together to wipe out all of those who are different and appear to be a threat at the slightest mishap shows the turmoil and mistreatment the creatures must endure. The main similarities between these two stories were the notions of creation where a monster was created and then isolated from the rest of society. When the monsters were finally introduced into the society, they disrupted the community, and were rejected by the people. For Edward and the monster, rejection was familiar to them, as both their creators had abandoned them. Because of previous rejection they both longed for acceptance and companionship. Both Edward and Frankenstein’s monster attempted to form a relationship which failed due to their inability to fit in an ordinary society due to their mechanical body parts in which makes them different to the rest of the population. Although Edward Scissorhands develops a love relationship with Kim Boggs, they are separated due to his inability to fit in amongst the rest of society. This rejection causes them to go back into isolation as they find themselves alienated among the other members in the community
To begin, the monster longed for human connection so badly, he even begged Victor to create his wife: “You must create a female for me with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being. This you alone can do, and I demand it of you as my right which you must not refuse to concede,” (174). In this quote, the monster asks Victor to make him a companion, which Victor blatantly denies. This eventually leads to
and had no one as his friend. This caused the monster to murder Victor’s family out of
Being isolated and separated from other people for a prolonged amount of time, can gradually make a person miserable. In Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein is a martyr for Shelley’s view that a lack of human connections leads to misery. Victor being from a highly respected and distinguished
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’s lack of compassion and sympathy towards the monster causes him to become angry instead of guilty. His cruelness to his creation made the monster kill and hurt the people he did but “when [he] reflected on [the monster’s] crimes and malice, [Victor’s] hatred and revenge burst all bounds of moderation,”(Shelley 325). Without compassion Victor thinks that the only way to stop the monster is to get revenge on him, instead of just giving him the empathy and kindness that monster craved. Victor realizes that "if he were vanquished, [he] should be a free man...balanced by those horrors of remorse and guilt which would pursue [him] until death. ”(Shelley 731).
...ou, Clerval, my friend, my benefactor—’” (Shelley 129). Victor feels guilty for the actions of his creation but is too much of a coward to confess to anyone about what he has done. His selfishness and secrecy cause his friends to suffer and also make him a tragic hero within the novel.
If Victor had stayed around and showed the monster the real world, he might have not have went on to perform violent actions. This portrays Victor as a selfish character and gives more of an insight on his personal life. As a child, Victor is only interested in furthering his own knowledge and not worried about anyone else. He spent much of his time “drawing the picture of [his] early days... when [he] would account to [himself] for the birth of that passion which afterwards ruled [his] destiny” (Shelley 34), or otherwise a magnificent creation that would change his future. When constructing the Monster, he put all of his relatives in the back of his mind, and only focused on his own success and victory. This further explains the theme of being selfless and only doing certain things that will benefit
By the time of their death, both Victor and the creature has committed repugnant acts: Victor created a being out of corpses and then abandoned it and let it wreak havoc on the people he loved, the creature directly killed three people. But Victor tells Walton that, “During these last days I have been occupied in examining my past conduct; nor do I find it blamable […] nor do I know where this thirst for vengeance may end” (269). Victor is not able to see past the metaphorical clouds that seem to shroud his mind from seeing the truth. Furthermore, Victor is not able to let go of his hate for the creature. In contrast, the creature admits, “But it is true that I am a wretch. I have murdered the lovely and the helpless” (275). The creature is able to recognize that he has made mistakes and as a result he loathes himself. He tells Walton that, “You hate me, but your abhorrence cannot equal that with which I regard myself” (275). Although no amount of regret or sorrow can bring back the people that he has killed, the creature does acknowledge the evil of his actions, which in turn allow him to make come to peace. He is able to reconcile his vengeful feelings towards his creator and praises Victor by calling him, “worthy of love and admiration among men” (275). Both Victor and the creature have done committed actions against each
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
Rather, it is others who alienate it because of its grotesque appearance. The monster is quite literally ‘born’ into perpetual isolation beginning with Victor’s abandonment of it. He denies it domestic safety when he flees to his bedchamber. Victor disregards the monster’s utterance of “inarticulate sounds while a grin wrinkled his cheeks,” then escapes its outstretched hand “seemingly to detain [him]” [Shelley 49]. Examining the monster’s body language as though an impressionable infant, its actions can be read as a child-like plea for its father though the absence of speech not yet learned. Instead, its unattractive appearance causes Victor to run, leaving the creature alone with no information about himself or his surroundings. Therefore, Victor’s abandonment is a crucial justification of the monster’s negative experiences with society and nature and actions in desiring community. The monster’s alienation from family is the missing first school of human nature, and the first lesson where he learns he does not belong. The creature leaves into the wilderness to learn about the world and himself on it own, only to understand his interactions are
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, there are many themes present. One prominent and reoccurring theme in the novel is isolation and the effect it has on the characters. Through the thoughts and feelings of both Victor and his monster, Frankenstein reveals the negative effects of isolation from society. The negative effects that Victor faces are becoming obsessed with building a monster and becoming sick. The monster faces effects such as confusion about life and his identity, wanting companionship, and wanting to seek revenge on Victor. Victor and the monster are both negatively affected by the isolation they face.
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.
transgression and his vulgar presumption that he can emulate its force. What drives Victor to do
Both internal and external consequences were the cause of being isolated from society. Frankenstein began to feel depressed after the creation of the monster and decided to isolate himself from his friends and family. Frankenstein kept his creation a secret from everyone because he was afraid of the consequences. Ironically, Frankenstein was the main problem for all of his sufferings. He thought that he could keep everyone safe if he were to not tell them about the monster, however, everyone died because he wanted to keep everyone from the truth. The creature also suffered many consequences from being isolated. He wanted to be part of a family, and feel loved, but everyone judged him based on his monstrous appearance. The creature suffered through every encounter he had with people and he began to hate mankind. Both Frankenstein and the creature ultimately sought for revenge. They both suffered tremendously due to their isolation and thus resulted in their
After Elizabeth’s death in the novel Victor has had everyone he cares about taken from him by the monster, this leads him to a dehumanized mental state. Victor now believes he has been at fault for the deaths of his friends and family, simply because of his creation of the monster. After experiencing each death Victor becomes increasingly dehumanized, adding until the climax of Elizabeth's death. The dehumanization...