The Importance Of Human Connections In Frankenstein By Mary Shelley

In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the author’s view concerning the role that human connections play is that humans need others in their lives in order to function correctly. As conveyed by Shelley, isolation and separation from any other beings leads to misery. Not having companions around also leads to a lack of the ability to behave constructively. Shelley’s views are conveyed throughout the novel through the decaying well being of certain characters.

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

family, his life is quite nice.

As he goes off to college, interested in the science behind life and death, he ends up going his own way and attempts to create a living being. Victor “had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body” (Shelley 43). The being Victor has created does not by any means sit well with him. As victor is away from his family and for six years, he is neglectful to them, which only adds to his sorrow and misery. Victor’s isolation is brought upon him because of himself, however his creation, or “the monster”, is isolated from any connections with humans against his will. To start out, the monster would have had Victor there with him, but Victor is ashamed of what he has created, and abandons the monster. The monster is a very hideous being, which sadly is a contributing factor to his isolation. With nobody to talk to at any time, naturally this will be condescending and frustrating. Although the monster is able to

fight off his misery for some time, he is still engulfed with rage and hatred. Angry at all of mankind, the monster states, “‘my feelings were those of rage and revenge”’ (Shelley 125), this is his entrance to a life of misery. The monster is simply misunderstood by many, and as a result lives “‘a miserable life”’ (Shelley 130). Had either Victor or the monster had connections to other humans, perhaps their lives would have been lived with significantly less misery.
Along with misery , so much time alone has left both these characters without reason to behave constructively.

With nobody to reason with, Victor makes senseless decisions while he is alone. Victor begins this with his process of creating the monster. Nobody in the right mind would ever dig up graves, but that is just what victor goes and does. Once this creation is finally given life, which Victor has spent two years striving for, Victor foolishly abandons it. Victor comes to his senses to some degree after he brings life to the monster as he states, “‘now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream had vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelley 43). Had there been companions around Victor during this creation time, perhaps someone would have been able to guide Victor away from creating the “wretch” (Shelley 43) he so hopelessly conceived. As for the monster, he makes fairly good decisions even without guidance from anyone, including Victor, his creator. The monster has the desire to learn and gain knowledge as a genuine individual. As the monster is continuously rejected and shunned by mankind, his natural benevolence turns to malevolence. In his loneliness, the monster wrongly decides to declare “‘everlasting war against the species, and more than all, against him who had formed me and sent me forth to this insupportable misery’” (Shelley 126). Say the monster was able to have comrades of some kind around him, he would not have turned to this

malignant state of mind. As for both Victor and the monster, lack of human connections inevitably lead to both of them having nothing in life. Their soul purpose becomes destroying the other with no remorse.
Humans are genetically built to have connections to others in order to live happily and to make reasonable decisions. Shelley clearly demonstrates her take on what happens when humans are cut off and isolated from any communication to others. Isolation for extended periods of time can make people miserable, along with losing the ability to make reasonable decisions and behave constructively. The reader is shown through Victor’s and the monster’s experiences what the absence of human connections would be like.