Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Oliver Sharpe
22 November, 2017
Isolated
who in his creation of another living being, battles with significant emotional repercus-
sions. Both his emotional and anontomical creations equally cause havoc for both himself
and others around him, resulting in the deaths of both his brother and wife which ultimately
leaves him emotionally and mentally isolated. The above quotation conveys Victors physi-
which can be used to resemble the physical monster(Frankenstein 117) he creates in his
laboratory, as well as the one he has formed within his psyche. Both of these monsters are
the root of much of isolation in the novel, with the physical one being trapped by loneli-
ness, seeking suicide, and with the psychological one leaving Victor emotionally and men-
tally isolated. This essay will convey how physiological and emotional Isolation is portrayed
by Shelley through her characters, which allows the reader to take away a more significant
understanding of not just the plot, but their own psyche as well. This will be done by first
questioning what it means to be isolated, and then addressing how this concept is dis-
played as a catalyst for action in the novel, and thus how much of ones personality pivots
on their state of mind, in turn also making the novel a window of personal insight for the
reader.
What does it mean to be isolated? One may argue that isolation is simply when an
individual is without companionship, but this essay will show how it is equally a mindset.
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Throughout the novel the theme of isolation is portrayed mainly by Walton, Victor and the
monster(Frankenstein 117), characters who through great endurance and emotional tur-
moil, experience the latter. The theme of Isolation is introduced by Walton a character who
partially acts as the novels narrator. Walton has left his sister behind in London to venture
to the North Pole, seeking enterprise(Frankenstein 9), an egotistical value, thus display-
ing his yearning for self-fulfilment through discovery and glory, which leaves him not only
physically Isolated in his ship by the freezing ice around him, but also emotionally isolated
as he is transparently alone in thought. Walton most obviously makes this clear though his
expressive desire for a companion through the emphatic and biblical diction he uses in the
letters he sends to his sister; I now feel as a most severe evil. I have no
friend(Frankenstein 8), a quotation which immediately introduces the theme to the novel
as a most harrowing one. One can infer that this theme has only reached a resolution at
the end of the novel when Walton turns his ship around and heads for civilisation, deciding
not to endure a despairing and isolated fate, seeking a fresh start within the company of
humanity. Shelley can thus be viewed here as presenting a didactic message within the
novel; how one must wisely choose which ambition to follow, as if the wrong one is chased
after, it is likely that emotional and mental isolation will be the result.
Moreover, Victor and his creation share a relationship which sees them both be-
come Isolated, a mindset which leads them to commit equally despicable acts which drive
the course of the novel. Much like Walton, Victor isolates himself purposefully in order to
achieve his ambitions; to create life, leaving his family for 6 years to study abroad in Ingol-
stadt to do so. Also like Walton, Victor expresses companionship to be the source of his
survival, and how an escape from his isolated reality could only come through friendship.
He illustrates this through his comment how although he became very (mentally)
ill(Frankenstein 43) after the creation of the monster, only my friend could have re-
himself, holding that the only thing that could make his journey North bearable is compan-
ionship. Thus one can view Shelley here as channelling the view that partnership is more
desirable than any personal feat or glory, denouncing egotistical ambition over human re-
lationship.
Equally one can also see ambition become the cause of the malevolent downfall
of the monster, who after being rejected by his father figure Victor, seeks vengeance for
his abandonment and the Isolation which has followed, beginning with the murder of Vic-
tors youngest brother. The monster elucidates Isolation to be his motivation for such dark
acts through his plea to Victor for a companion as hideous as myself(Frankenstein 120),
conveying his tormented frame of mind to be only capable of repair through union, which
he believes is possible with another monster like himself. This is emphasised by his com-
ment that We shall be monsters cutoff from the world(Frankenstein 120), as through the
personal pronoun we, he displays the one solution to his isolation, partnership. This con-
cept is finally made clear when the monster declares his suicide in the closing chapter af-
ter Victors death, as through this act he nihilistically displays that a life of Isolation is not a
life worth living, and how even being in the company of an enemy is better than being left
in a state of solace. This again shows the wrong ambitions and isolation sharing a darkly
cohesive relationship, with the monsters ambition to seek revenge resulting with his inabil-
Upon taking a brief look at Shelleys own life, with one of her four children dying be-
fore she wrote Frankenstein, It would be unreasonable to say that Shelley did not experi-
enced much of her own mental and emotional isolation, as it is typical that through suffer-
ing comes mental and emotional solace. Thus it is more than likely that Shelley is
channelling her own sufferings through these characters, and reflecting her own real life
isolation in her writing, connecting with the real life Isolation experienced by many
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of her readers. Therefore the perhaps most significant effect the theme of
Isolation has is that on the reader, as well as how it can be used in context with modern
day issues. Feeling isolated is certainly a part of ones experience of life, and thus Victors
comment after creating the monster, breathless horror and disgust filled my heart(Frank-
enstein 39), could be used to display a didactic message; how we as the reader find our-
selves disgusted with the creatures we create within ourselves, leaving us emotionally
crippled and isolated. This is perhaps why the novel can appeal to the reader in such a
personal way, in turn allowing one to sympathise with Walton, Victor and the monster, as
like them, the majority of people have been mentally isolated by failing at their ambitions,
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor & Jones 1818