Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: Isolation

Name Instructor Course Date Literary Analysis Theme: Isolation The fictional story Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, begins with Robert Walton writing various letters to Margaret Walton his sister after he went on a sea voyage from St. Petersburg, Russia to the North Pole. The place was isolated that Walton felt lonely and befriends a stranger, who revealed he was Victor Frankenstein a Swiss chemist who then narrated his story. Victor Frankenstein made a monster, which then had no companions, and sought revenge against his creator as the story unfolded. Isolation is a precursor to evil in the story, but when there are strong human connections it is less likely that people will despair and be destructive (Brannon 10). Shelley focuses on the theme isolation and rejection, which is also linked to lack of communication and alienation. There are three interrelated conflicts with Victor ashamed of his invention that he distanced himself from the Monster because he was afraid of his creation. The Monster was also in conflict with man and especially Victor that he sought revenge and killed some of his family members. The other conflict is between man and nature, since man manipulates nature with terrible consequences, which results in the creature being created. As the creature was isolated and lonely the creature killed Victor’s friend and wife in revenge, and this is the climax of the story. Frankenstein died after telling his story to Walton, and the story was resolved when the Monster sought to pay last respect to his creator and the Monster then jumped off the ship and Walton made his journey back to England. Victor Frankenstein created the monster as he thought of himself as smart and he isolated himself from those around him. Frankenstein read about Cornelius Agrippa and sought to understand the nature of God, but, instead, Victor isolated himself from God and his loved ones (21). The ideas of creation and isolation are explored in various chapters of the novel. The Frankenstein family adopted Elizabeth Lavenza who later became Victor’s wife. In his quest to create a human like human-like being, Victor isolated himself from his wife and their son and friend Clerval as the household has no friendship or warmth because Victor’s obsessiveness meant that he abandoned his family. Lack of communication in the novel created distance among friends and family and affect the monster’s ability to relate with anyone or anything. “If such lovely creatures were miserable, it was less strange that I, an imperfect and solitary being, should be wretched. Yet why were these gentle beings unhappy” (Shelley 79). In the passage, the monster had realized that when people spoke they expressed their feelings from pain to happiness and even sadness. However, there was nothing else like the monster, and as it could not communicate with human beings, it isolated itself. In the letters that Watson wrote to Elizabeth revealed that he desired to have a confidant even as he went to voyage in isolated location, and he was frustrated that there was no one close to him who would communicate regularly. Rejection is also closely intertwined with loneliness as the monster isolated itself be...