The Effects of Isolation in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

by Bo Jullpho

HON 350 - Fall 2021

Introduction

Aristotle, a famous Greek philosopher, once wrote in his book, Politics, Man is by nature a social animal . . . Anyone who either cannot lead the common life or is so self-sufficient as not to need to, and therefore does not partake of society, is either a beast or a god (Aristotle). This implies that human beings by themselves, unlike god, are not self-sufficient. In social psychology, psychologists study how individual feelings, thoughts, and behaviors are influenced by the presence of others. By investigating how people function as a group in the society, psychologists found that humans need social interaction with one another and need the company of other people in order to learn, grow and thrive. In Frankenstein, isolation is one of the major themes portrayed throughout the story. The author, Mary Shelley uses the two main characters, Victor Frankenstein and the Monster, to explore the ways in which isolation can affect the human psyche and behaviors, whether self-inflicted or not. The effects of isolation on these two characters are closely related to and can be compared with contemporary studies in psychology as well as in Greek mythological tales.

Self-inflicted Isolation and Victor Frankenstein

While Victor Frankenstein's isolation may, at first, appear to help him with his experiment in creating life, a closer look at the ways isolation impacts his work shows that it in fact results in the flaws and poor ethics that occurred as result of not collaborating with others. While beginning his experiment during his time at university, Victor states that, "I wished, as it were, to procrastinate all that related to my feelings of affection until the great object, which swallowed up every habit of my nature, should be completed" (Shelley 34). Here, Victor expressed that his obsession with his studies had taken control of all the aspects of his life. He has no desire to do anything else until his experiment is complete. At that point, nothing, not even his family, friends, or his social life, were as important as the experiment Victor was conducting. Victor believes that by putting everything else in his life aside and isolating himself in a solitary chamber (Shelley 52), he could get rid of all the distraction that will prevent him from completing his creation. Victor believes that being alone by himself will allow him to fully concentrate on his experiment and complete his task; however, the effect of isolation Victor forced upon himself took a large toll on him. According to the article, Perceived Social Isolation and Cognition, social isolation can result in poorer overall cognitive performance, faster cognitive decline, poorer executive functioning, increased negativity and depressive cognition (Cacioppo & Hawkly 1) . When a person is in isolation, it means that they are being cut off from contact with other human beings in the society. The person has no one to talk to, influence or support them with their actions or decisions. As a result, the person's decisions and actions would be solely based on their own judgement. In the case of Victor Frankenstein, it is clear that when Victor was alone in solitude and transfixed with his work, he had no one to talk to or ask for advice on his experiment. All his decisions and actions were based on his own judgement. Victor believes that he could go against nature and attempt to create life. Victor lost his sense of self identity and rationality believing that he could play god and achieve things any human has never done before. Without support, a second opinion, or guidance from anyone, Victor does not consider what could happen if his experiment did not go as planned, nor did he consider what the worst possible outcome could be. As a result, he made bad ethical choices and his creation, which he thought would be his greatest life achievement, turns out to be one of his deepest regrets. From all the evidence, it appears that the effect of isolation on Victor Frankenstein was not positive. Rather than helping him to achieve his goals, it results in irrationality and poor decision making. Had Victor not isolated himself from society and collaborated his ideas with other scientists or professors, his creation might not have turned out the way it did.

Forced Isolation and The Monster

The Monster experienced isolation as a victim of paternal abandonment. He developed aggression and hate for his creator as a result of the mental instability he went through following his abandonment. After completing his creation and as soon as the monster comes to life, Victor realizes that ...now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart (Shelley 35). After finishing his lifelong experiment, Victor instantly regrets what he has done, and is absolutely terrified by the appearance of his creation. Victor quickly rushed out of the chamber and left the Monster by himself. He does not want anything to do with the monster and wishes to forget what he has done. Upon coming to life, the Monster was immediately rejected by his creator and left to figure out his life on his own, and as a result, this drives him into isolation and to distance himself from humans and an unfamiliar society. The article The Role of Parental Acceptance‐Rejection in Emotional Instability During Adolescence supports the idea that, the lack of affection and communication . . . and a negative view of children . . . may bring about negative effects in the personal and socio‐emotional development of adolescents (Mendo‐Lázaro et al. 2) . Parents are characters who play one of the most important roles in the growth and development of children. In order for children to flourish later in life, it is very important that their childhood is filled with unconditional love and affection from their parents. With communication, love and affection, children tend to develop a strong sense of belonging and acceptance. On the other hand, according to Dennis Balcom in the article Absent Fathers: Effects on Abandoned Sons, children who are abandoned, rejected, and do not receive love and affection may sustain damage to their sense of worthiness throughout their lives (Balcom 4) . Being abandoned by parents can cause children to question their own values, and to develop a poor sense of self. These children do not know what love feels like and as a result, have difficulty comforting and loving themselves when no one else would. This weakened sense of self could manifest itself in emotional instability such as through anger and aggression, which, according to the article, The Role of Parental Acceptance‐Rejection in Emotional Instability during Adolescence, contributes towards a child's vulnerability . . . and exteriorization of emotional overreaction, together with certain lack of self—control (Mendo‐Lázaro et al. 2) . The Monster in Frankenstein is like a newborn child who has been abandoned and isolated by his parents. Instead of nurturing the Monster and providing unconditional love and affection, Victor despises his creation. His abandonment and failure to provide love and affection makes the Monster question his values; he is ashamed and scared to reveal himself to society. Due to the fact that the Monster never receives any love and affection from his creator, he tries his best to gain those feelings from strangers; however, his efforts turn out to be in vain, after getting rejected by everyone time after time. By not knowing how to cope with rejection, comfort or love, the Monster develops a sense of resentment toward those who make him feel that way. After being rejected by the cottagers who were horrified by his appearance, the Monster declares that, There was none among the myriads of men who existed who would pity or assist me; and should I feel kindness towards my enemies? No: from that moment I declared everlasting war against the species, and, more than all, against him who had formed me, and sent me forth to this insupportable misery (Shelley 84). The Monster blames Victor for creating him and bringing him to a miserable life. The feeling of rejection and inability to receive love and affection led the monster into an intense fit of rage within him. His emotional overreaction results in him declaring a war against the whole human species. His rage later drives him out of control, turning him from a compassionate being to an actual monster with the desire to seek revenge, cause harm, and murder. The isolation Monster experienced following his abandonment negatively impacted his mental state. Without paternal support, the Monster developed violent and destructive behaviors. Had the Monster been raised with love and not abandoned, he might have not acted out the way he did.

The Concept of Isolation and Abandonment in Frankenstein and Greek Mythology

The author of Frankenstein explores the effects and consequences of isolation and abandonment in a similar way as seen in Greek Mythology. According to Clyde Kluckhohn in Recurrent Themes in Myths and Mythmaking, the theme of father-seekers and father-slayers appears again and again (Kluckhohn 268) throughout Greek mythology in various instances. Sons are often rejected and abandoned by their fathers at birth or at a very early age. They are left to figure out a way of life on their own or die. In the story of Hercules by Euripides, for example, baby Hercules was kidnapped by Hades and not allowed to return to the kingdom of the heavens. He had to grow up in the common world away from the gods of paradise, and as a common mortal. In this story, Hercules was able to succeed in life despite the rejection from the gods and abandonment from his place of birth. He was offered to return back to Mount Olympus when he proved that he had what it took to be a god. The story of Oedipus by Sophocles; however, had a different setting and outcome. In this story, a prophet foresees that in the future, Oedipus is bound to kill his own father and marry his mother. His father sends him away and orders him to be killed, but the prophet takes pity on the baby, and lets him live. After growing up, Oedipus finds out about this prophecy, and flees to a distant land in hopes of preventing the prophecy from coming true. On his journey, he inadvertently kills a man that he enters an argument with and ends up marrying this man's wife. The man was his father, and the woman he married ended up being his mother, fulfilling the prophecy. This story has a similar outcome to that of Frankenstein. Oedipus only killed his father because he was abandoned and isolated. According to Hamish Canham, [Oedipus] does not have any models of truthfulness to help him in his plight (Canham 11) . Being isolated and abandoned, Oedipus was deprived from the truth. If he had been raised with his father, Oedipus would have known who to actually run away from. Similarly, had Victor Frankenstein actually cared for and raised the monster, the murder of Victor's wife and loved ones might have been prevented. By abandoning and forcing their child in isolation, both Frankenstein and Oedipus' fathers failed to provide what their son needed in their life. In the case of Oedipus, it was the truth, and for the Monster, it was love and affection. The isolation and abandonment from his parents that Oedipus had since a young age was what eventually led to his father's fate and the prophecy's fulfillment. Similarly, the Monster's isolation and abandonment from his creator was what eventually brought forth the destruction of Victor Frankenstein and the Monster.

Humans were inherently created to live with one another. It can be argued that no human that has lived was able to thrive alone while in complete solitude. Being with others is what drives self-love, confidence, decision making and cognitive rational abilities. On the other hand, isolation and abandonment have; in multiple instances, been a major cause for destructive behavior, impaired cognitive abilities, mental instability, and in more severe cases, murders or mass killings. Mary Shelley explores how the concept of isolation eventually led Victor Frankenstein to lose his way of life (secluded from others), his loved ones, and eventually the lives of his loved ones. The monster suffered from abandonment since his creation, and this led him from being a kind and compassionate being to losing self-esteem and sanity, which eventually caused the monster to kill Victor's wife and his loved ones. While abandonment and isolation are likely to lead to destruction, love, care, support and acceptance are fundamental aspects of a healthy upbringing.

Works Cited

Aristotle, Benjamin Jowett, and H W. C. Davis. Aristotle's Politics. Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, 1920. Print.

Balcom, Dennis A. "Absent Fathers: Effects on Abandoned Sons." Journal of Men's Studies, vol. 6, no. 3, 1998, pp. 283. ProQuest

Cacioppo, John T., and Louise C. Hawkley. "Perceived Social Isolation and Cognition." Trends in Cognitive Sciences, vol. 13, no. 10, 2009, pp. 447-454., doi:10.1016/j.tics.2009.06.005.

Canham, Hamish. "The Relevance of the Oedipus Myth to Fostered and Adopted Children." Journal of Child Psychotherapy, vol. 29, no. 1, 2003, pp. 5-19., doi:10.1080/0075417031000083623.

Kluckhohn, Clyde. "Recurrent Themes in Myths and Mythmaking." Daedalus, vol. 88, no. 2, The MIT Press, 1959, pp. 268-79, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20026495.

Mendo-Lázaro, Santiago, et al. "The Role of Parental Acceptance‐Rejection in Emotional Instability during Adolescence." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 16, no. 7, 2019, p. 1194., doi:10.3390/ijerph16071194.

Shelley, Mary W., Frankenstein. Global Grey, 1831.

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: exploring neuroscience, nature, and nurture in the novel and the films

Affiliation.

  • 1 Program in Social Sciences, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, 1531 Trinity Church Road, Concord, NC, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • PMID: 24041324
  • DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-444-63287-6.00009-9

The story of Victor Frankenstein's quest to conquer death produced a legacy that has endured for almost 200 years. Powerful in its condemnation of the scientist's quest to achieve knowledge at any cost, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is one of the most enduring novels of all time. It has never been out of print and has been translated to both stage and screen many times since its "birth." Numerous novels, short stories, and scripts have drawn upon Shelley's primary theme: the creation of a living organism from the dead, dying, and decaying body parts of human beings. Although Mary does not provide details of the animation process, particularly in her first edition, the process has been explored with a great deal of imagination and originality in the various cinematic portrayals of the story. Equally important as the theme of the scientist's quest for knowledge is the role that a creator plays in the life of its creation. Mary Shelley's novel pondered on how rejection would affect the offspring of such "unnatural" origins. In keeping with the "scientific" basis of the Creature's birth, cinematic portrayals attempted to provide a scientific rationale for the Creature's descent into madness and its evil behavior. From Robert Florey's initial script for the 1931 film directed by James Whale to the more recent films and television series, an abnormal brain is considered to be the cause of the madness and malignity of the Creature.

Keywords: Hammer films; James Whale; John William Polidori; Kenneth Branagh; Luigi Galvani; Naturphilosophen; Robert Florey; Universal Studios.

© 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Publication types

  • Historical Article
  • History, 18th Century
  • History, 19th Century
  • Literature / history*
  • Motion Pictures / history*
  • Neurosciences / history*

Personal name as subject

  • Mary Shelley

The Ethical Interest of Frankenstein; Or, the Modern Prometheus : A Literature Review 200 Years After Its Publication

  • Original Research/Scholarship
  • Published: 12 June 2020
  • Volume 26 , pages 2791–2808, ( 2020 )

Cite this article

  • Irene Cambra-Badii   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1233-3243 1 , 2 ,
  • Elena Guardiola   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8002-1415 3 &
  • Josep-E. Baños   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8202-6893 1 , 3  

2981 Accesses

3 Citations

1 Altmetric

Explore all metrics

Two hundred years after it was first published, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, the modern Prometheus remains relevant. This novel has endured because of its literary merits and because its themes lend themselves to analysis from multiple viewpoints. Scholars from many disciplines have examined this work in relation to controversial scientific research. In this paper, we review the academic literature where Frankenstein is used to discuss ethics, bioethics, science, technology and medicine. We searched the academic literature and carried out a content analysis of articles discussing the novel and films derived from it, analyzing the findings qualitatively and quantitatively. We recorded the following variables: year and language of publication, whether it referred to the novel or to a film, the academic discipline in which it was published, and the topics addressed in the analysis. Our findings indicate that the scientific literature on Frankenstein focuses mainly on science and the personality of the scientist rather than on the creature the scientist created or ethical aspects of his research. The scientist’s responsibility is central to the ethical interest of Frankenstein; this issue entails both the motivation underlying the scientist’s acts and the consequences of these acts.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA) Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Rent this article via DeepDyve

Institutional subscriptions

frankenstein research paper isolation

Scheme based on: Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG, The PRISMA Group. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement. PLoS Med 2009;7:e1000097. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed1000097

frankenstein research paper isolation

Banerjee, S. (2011). Home is where mamma is: Reframing the science question in Frankenstein. Women's Studies . https://doi.org/10.1080/00497878.2011.527783 .

Article   Google Scholar  

Barns, I. (1990). Monstrous nature or technology?: Cinematic resolutions of the “Frankenstein Problem”. Science as Culture . https://doi.org/10.1080/09505439009526278 .

Bell, R., & Lederman, N. (2003). Understandings of the nature of science and decision making on science and technology based issues. Science Education . https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.10063 .

Bishop, M. (1994). The “making” and re-making of man: 1. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and transplant surgery. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 87 (12), 749–751.

Google Scholar  

Brem, S., & Anijar, K. (2003). The bioethics of fiction: The chimera in film and print. American Journal of Bioethics . https://doi.org/10.1162/15265160360706787 .

Burgess, M. (2014). Transporting Frankenstein: Mary Shelley's mobile figures. European Romantic Review . https://doi.org/10.1080/10509585.2014.902902 .

Campbell, C. (2003). Biotechnology and the fear of Frankenstein. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics . https://doi.org/10.1017/S0963180103124048 .

Chambers, T. (2018). On cute monkeys and repulsive monsters. Hastings Center Report . https://doi.org/10.1002/hast.930 .

Childress, J. F., & Beauchamp, T. L. (2001). Principles of biomedical ethics . New York: Oxford University Press.

Cohen, J. (2018). How a horror story haunts science. Science . https://doi.org/10.1126/science.359.6372.148 .

Davies, H. (2004). Can Mary Shelley's Frankenstein be read as an early research ethics text? Medical Humanities . https://doi.org/10.1136/jmh.2003.000153 .

de La Rocque, L., & Texeira, L. A. (2001). Frankenstein, de Mary Shelley, e Drácula, de Bram Stoker: gênero e ciência na Literature. História, Ciências, Saúde—Manguinhos . https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-59702001000200001 .

Djerassi, C. (1998). Ethical discourse by science-in-fiction. Nature . https://doi.org/10.1038/31088 .

Doherty, S. (2003). The 'medicine' of Shelley and Frankenstein. Emergency Medicine . https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1442-2026.2003.00483.x .

Fairclough, M. (2018). Frankenstein and the “Spark of Being”: Electricity, animation, and adaptation. European Romantic Review . https://doi.org/10.1080/10509585.2018.1465701 .

Finfgeld-Connett, D. (2014). Use of content analysis to conduct knowledge-building and theory-generating qualitative systematic reviews. Qualitative Research . https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794113481790 .

Fischer, J. (2014). What kind of ethics?—How understanding the field affects the role of empirical research on morality for ethics. In M. Christen, C. van Schaik, J. Fischer, M. Huppenbauer, & C. Tanner (Eds.), Empirically informed ethics: Morality between facts and norms. Library of ethics and applied philosophy (Vol. 32). New York: Springer.

Gaylin, W. (1977). The Frankenstein Factor. The New England Journal of Medicine, 297 , 665–667.

Genís Mas, D. (2016). The sleep of (scientific) reason produces (literary) monsters or, how science and literature shake hands. Mètode, 6 , 14–20.

Ginn, S. (2013). Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: Exploring neuroscience, nature, and nurture in the novel and the films. Progress in Brain Research . https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-63287-6.00009-9 .

Goswami, D. (2018). “Filthy creation”: The problem of parenting in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities . https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v10n2.20 .

Goulding, C. (2002). The real Doctor Frankenstein? Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine . https://doi.org/10.1177/014107680209500514 .

Graneheim, U. H., Lindgren, B.-M., & Lundman, B. (2017). Methodological challenges in qualitative content analysis: A discussion paper. Nurse Education Today . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2017.06.002 .

Greenshields, W. (2018). Frames, vanishing points and blindness: Frankenstein and the field of vision. Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities . https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v10n2.18 .

Hammond, K. (2004). Monsters of modernity: Frankenstein and modern environmentalism. Cultural Geographies . https://doi.org/10.1191/14744744004eu301oa .

Harrison, G., & Gannon, W. (2014). Victor Frankenstein's Institutional Review Board Proposal, 1790. Science and Engineering Ethics . https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-014-9588-y .

Haste, H. (1997). Myths, monsters, and morality: Understanding 'antiscience' and the media message. Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, 22 (2), 114–120.

Haynes, R. (2003). From alchemy to artificial intelligence: Stereotypes of the scientist in western literature. Public Understanding of Science . https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662503123003 .

Haynes, R. (2014). Whatever happened to the “mad, bad” scientist? Overturning the stereotype. Public Understanding of Science . https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662514535689 .

Hellsten, I. (2000). Dolly: Scientific breakthrough or Frankenstein's Monster? Journalistic and Scientific Metaphors of Cloning. Metaphor and Symbol . https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327868MS1504_3 .

Holmes, R. (2016). Science fiction: The science that fed Frankenstein. Nature . https://doi.org/10.1038/535490a .

Jochemsen, H. (2006). Normative practices as an intermediate between theoretical ethics and morality. Philosophia Reformata . https://doi.org/10.1163/22116117-90000377 .

Kakoudaki, D. (2018). Unmaking people: The politics of negation in Frankenstein and Ex Machina. Science Fiction Studies . https://doi.org/10.5621/sciefictstud.45.2.0289 .

Koepke, Y. (2018). Lessons from Frankenstein: narrative myth as ethical model. Medical Humanities . https://doi.org/10.1136/medhum-2017-011376 .

Koren, P., & Bar, V. (2009). Science and it’s images—Promise and threat: From classic literature to contemporary students’ images of science and “the Scientist”. Interchange . https://doi.org/10.1007/s10780-009-9088-1 .

Krippendorff, K. (2013). Content analysis. An introduction to its methodology . London: Sage.

Lacefield, K. (2016). Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the Guillotine, and Modern Ontological Anxiety. Text Matters . https://doi.org/10.1515/texmat-2016-0003 .

Laplace-Sinatra, M. (1998). Science, gender and otherness in Shelley's Frankenstein and Kenneth Branagh's film adaptation. European Romantic Review . https://doi.org/10.1080/10509589808570051 .

Lederman, N. (1992). Students' and teachers' conceptions of the nature of science: A review of the research. Journal of research in science teaching . https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.3660290404 .

Mackowiak, P. (2014). President's address: Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, and the dark side of medical science. Transactions of the American Clinical and Climatological Association, 125 , 1–13.

Mccurdy, H. (2006). Vision and leadership: The view from science fiction. Public Integrity, 8 (3), 257–270.

Mellor, A. (2001). Frankenstein, racial science, and the yellow peril. Ninet Century Contexts . https://doi.org/10.1080/08905490108583531 .

Micheletti, S. (2018). Hybrids of the romantic: Frankenstein, olimpia, and artificial life. Berichte zur Wissenschaftsgeschichte . https://doi.org/10.1002/bewi.201801888 .

Miller, G., & McFarlane, A. (2016). Science fiction and the medical humanities. Medical Humanities . https://doi.org/10.1136/medhum-2016-011144 .

Mitra, Z. (2011). A science fiction in a gothic scaffold: A reading of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, 3 (1), 52–59.

Moreno, J. (2018). From Frankenstein to Hawking: Which is the real face of science? The American Journal of Bioethics . https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2018.1461468 .

Nagy, P., Wylie, R., Eschrich, J., & Finn, E. (2018a). Why Frankenstein is a stigma among scientists. Science and Engineering Ethics . https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-017-9936-9 .

Nagy, P., Wylie, R., Eschrich, J., & Finn, E. (2018b). The enduring influence of a dangerous narrative: How scientists can mitigate the Frankenstein myth. The Journal of Bioethical Inquiry . https://doi.org/10.1007/s11673-018-9846-9 .

Nowlin, C. (2018). 200 years after Frankenstein. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine . https://doi.org/10.1353/pbm.2018.0054 .

Oakes, E. (2013). Lab life: Vitalism, Promethean Science, and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, 16 (4), 56–77.

O'Neill, R. (2006). “Frankenstein to futurism”: Representations of organ donation and transplantation in popular culture. Transplantation Reviews . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trre.2006.09.002 .

Pheasant-Kelly, F. (2018). Reflections of Science and Medicine in Two Frankenstein Adaptations: Frankenstein (Whale 1931) and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (Branagh 1994). Literature and Medicine . https://doi.org/10.1353/lm.2018.0016 .

Prinz, J. J. (2014). Where do morals come from?—A plea for a cultural approach. In M. Christen, C. van Schaik, J. Fischer, M. Huppenbauer, & C. Tanner (Eds.), Empirically informed ethics: Morality between facts and norms. Library of ethics and applied philosophy (Vol. 32). New York: Springer.

Pulido Tirado, G. (2012). Vida artificial y literatura: Mito, leyendas y ciencia en el Frankenstein de Mary Shelley. Tonos digital: Revista electrónica de estudios filológicos, 23 , 1–17.

Reginato, V., Claramonte Gallian, D. M., & Marra, S. (2018). A Literature na formação de futuros cientistas: Lição de Frankenstein. Educacao e Pesquisa . https://doi.org/10.1590/S1517-9702201610157176 .

Reich, W. T. (1978). Encyclopedia of bioethics . New York: Free Press.

Robert, J. S. (2018). Rereading Frankenstein : What if Victor Frankenstein had actually been evil? Hastings Center Report . https://doi.org/10.1002/hast.933 .

Sariols Persson, D. (2011). L'enfant monstre, le monstre enfant. Enfances et Psy . https://doi.org/10.3917/ep.051.0025 .

Schreier, M. (2012). Qualitative content analysis in practice . London: Sage.

Schroll, M., & Greenword, S. (2011). Worldviews in collision/worldviews in metamorphosis: Toward a multistate paradigm. Anthropology of Consciousness . https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1556-3537.2011.01037.x .

Severino, S., & Morrison, N. (2013). Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's Frankenstein, or the modern Prometheus: A psychological study of unrepaired shame. Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling: Advancing Theory and Professional Practice through Scholarly and Reflective Publications . https://doi.org/10.1177/154230501306700405 .

Stern, M. (2006). Dystopian anxieties versus utopian ideals: Medicine from Frankenstein to the visible human project and body worlds. Science as Culture . https://doi.org/10.1080/09505430500529748 .

Syrdal, D. S., Nomura, T., Hirai, H., & Dautenhahn, K. (2011). Examining the Frankenstein Syndrome. In B. Mutlu, C. Bartneck, J. Ham, V. Evers, & T. Kanda (Eds.), Social robotics. ICSR 2011. Lecture notes in computer science (Vol. 7072). Berlin: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-25504-5_13 .

Szollosy, M. (2017). Freud, Frankenstein and our fear of robots: Projection in our cultural perception of technology. AI and Society . https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-016-0654-7 .

Trichet, Y., & Marion, E. (2014). Le corps, son image et le désir du scientifique dans la fiction cinématographique. Cliniques Mediterraneennes . https://doi.org/10.3917/cm.090.0255 .

Turney, J. (1998). Frankenstein’s footsteps: Science, genetics, and popular culture . New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

van den Belt, H. (2009). Playing God in Frankenstein’s footsteps: Synthetic biology and the meaning of life. Nanoethics . https://doi.org/10.1007/s11569-009-0079-6 .

van den Belt, H. (2018). Frankenstein lives on. Science . https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aas9167 .

Villacañas, B. (2001). De doctores y monstruos: la ciencia como transgresión en Dr. Faustus, Frankestein y Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Asclepio, 5 , 10. https://doi.org/10.3989/asclepio.2001.v53.i1.177 .

Weber, R. P. (1990). Basic content analysis . Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Book   Google Scholar  

Westra, L. (1992). Response: Dr. Frankenstein and today's professional biotechnologist: a failed analogy? Between Species, 8 (4), 216–223.

Williams, C. (2001). “Inhumanly brought back to life and misery”: Mary Wollstonecraft, Frankenstein, and the Royal Humane Society. Women’s Writing . https://doi.org/10.1080/09699080100200190 .

Download references

The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain

Irene Cambra-Badii & Josep-E. Baños

Bioethics Chair, Universitat de Vic–Universitat Central de Catalunya, Vic, Spain

Irene Cambra-Badii

School of Medicine, Universitat de Vic–Universitat Central de Catalunya, Casa de Convalescència, Dr. Junyent 1, 08500, Vic, Spain

Elena Guardiola & Josep-E. Baños

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Josep-E. Baños .

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest.

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Research involving human participants and/or animals

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

Publisher's note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cambra-Badii, I., Guardiola, E. & Baños, JE. The Ethical Interest of Frankenstein; Or, the Modern Prometheus : A Literature Review 200 Years After Its Publication. Sci Eng Ethics 26 , 2791–2808 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-020-00229-x

Download citation

Received : 14 October 2019

Accepted : 30 May 2020

Published : 12 June 2020

Issue Date : October 2020

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-020-00229-x

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

  • Frankenstein
  • Literature analysis
  • Feature films
  • Find a journal
  • Publish with us
  • Track your research

frankenstein research paper isolation

Frankenstein

Mary shelley, everything you need for every book you read..

Family, Society, Isolation Theme Icon

In its preface, Frankenstein claims to be a novel that gives a flattering depiction of "domestic affection." That seems a strange claim in a novel full of murder, tragedy, and despair. But, in fact, all that tragedy, murder, and despair occur because of a lack of connection to either family or society. Put another way, the true evil in Frankenstein is not Victor or the monster , but isolation. When Victor becomes lost in his studies he removes himself from human society, and therefore loses sight of his responsibilities and the consequences of his actions. The monster turns vengeful not because it's evil, but because its isolation fills it with overwhelming hate and anger. And what is the monster's vengeance? To make Victor as isolated as it. Add it all up, and it becomes clear that Frankenstein sees isolation from family and society as the worst imaginable fate, and the cause of hatred, violence, and revenge.

Family, Society, Isolation ThemeTracker

Frankenstein PDF

Family, Society, Isolation Quotes in Frankenstein

Ambition and Fallibility Theme Icon

Loneliness & Isolation in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Essay

Introduction.

The main character of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley was sure regarding his uniqueness: “A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me” (42). The reason is that Viktor Frankenstein was a young scientist obsessed with the idea of creating a unique living creature by referring to science and alchemy.

Still, he cannot love this monstrous human being, and this fact leads to disastrous consequences (Cengage Learning 7; Seal 84-86). This novel represents the key characteristics of Romanticism through accentuating isolation from society, the focus on exploring nature, and the freedom of desires and feelings (Chase 165-166; Varner 137-138). Viktor, a Romantic character, chooses alienation as his path in the world that leads him to misery, and he develops as an irresponsible scientist who does not realize his duty.

Alienation in Shelley’s Novel

In Frankenstein, alienation is discussed through the perspective of sorrow and despair for the main characters. Although Viktor was brought up by loving parents, he always wanted to isolate himself from other people to focus on science (Gottlieb 127-129). Viktor states: “I must absent myself from all I loved while thus employed” (Shelley 117).

These words accentuate Viktor’s focus on himself and his desires that later determine his path, leading to more obsession with science and creating a new living being, as well as to more alienation while being locked in his laboratory and conducting experiments. Viktor’s alienation further leads him to despair because of creating the monster, but Frankenstein’s creature also suffers from isolation because he cannot be opened to society and accepted by it (Nesvet 348).

His first experience of interacting with people is described the following way: “The whole village was roused; some fled, some attacked me” (Shelley 83). The creature that wants to be loved faces the cruelty of the world that makes him become even more alienated and concentrated on revenge.

Responsibility in Frankenstein

In addition to making him and his creature be isolated, Viktor does not accept the idea of duty and responsibility for his actions because of his inability to understand what it means to be responsible for the creation. Being focused on a scientific aspect of creating, Viktor ignores his duty as a creator and a “father” (Bloom 22; Halpern et al. 50; Nair 78). As a result, the creature is forced to ask: “How dare you sport thus with life? Do your duty towards me, and I will do mine towards you and the rest of mankind” (Shelley 78). In this context, Viktor understands his duty only after his creature’s words.

However, he still does not accept his responsibility as a “father” because he cannot love his “child.” Thus, the creature states, “Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me, thy creature, to whom thou art bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us” (Shelley 78). From this perspective, it is possible to note that Viktor is unable to take responsibility for his actions and perform his duties as both a scientist and a creator despite his ambition.

Alienation and the lack of responsibility regarding the scientist’s actions for society can be viewed as partially related to the modern world. On the one hand, the isolation of a scientist today cannot lead him to impressive results, but this characteristic is typical of Romanticism. On the other hand, modern scientists change the world, and they need to be responsible for their actions. Therefore, the ideas stated by Shelley in the novel should be reconsidered from the perspective of the modern world.

Works Cited

Bloom, Harold. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Infobase Learning, 2013.

Cengage Learning. A Study Guide for Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s “Frankenstein”. Gale/Cengage Learning, 2015.

Chase, Cynthia. Romanticism. Routledge, 2014.

Gottlieb, Evan, editor. Global Romanticism: Origins, Orientations, and Engagements, 1760–1820. Bucknell University Press, 2014.

Halpern, Megan K., et al. “Stitching Together Creativity and Responsibility: Interpreting Frankenstein across Disciplines.” Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, vol. 36, no. 1, 2016, pp. 49-57.

Nair, Lekshmi R. “Playing God: Robin Cook’s ‘Mutation’ as a Reworking of the Frankenstein Theme of the Creator Pitted against the Creation.” Writers Editors Critics, vol. 6, no. 2, 2016, pp. 77-82.

Nesvet, Rebecca. “Review: Frankenstein: Text and Mythos.” Science Fiction Studies, vol. 45, no. 2, 2018, pp. 347-351.

Seal, Jon. GCSE English Literature for AQA Frankenstein Student Book. Cambridge University Press, 2015.

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Diversion Books, 2015.

Varner, Paul. Historical Dictionary of Romanticism in Literature. Rowman & Littlefield, 2014.

  • Plot Summary
  • Summary & Analysis
  • Literary Devices & Symbols
  • Essay Samples
  • Essay Topics
  • Questions & Answers
  • Mary Shelley: Biography
  • Chicago (A-D)
  • Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2022, August 21). Loneliness & Isolation in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. https://ivypanda.com/essays/loneliness-isolation-in-mary-shelleys-frankenstein/

"Loneliness & Isolation in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein." IvyPanda , 21 Aug. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/loneliness-isolation-in-mary-shelleys-frankenstein/.

IvyPanda . (2022) 'Loneliness & Isolation in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein'. 21 August.

IvyPanda . 2022. "Loneliness & Isolation in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein." August 21, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/loneliness-isolation-in-mary-shelleys-frankenstein/.

1. IvyPanda . "Loneliness & Isolation in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein." August 21, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/loneliness-isolation-in-mary-shelleys-frankenstein/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Loneliness & Isolation in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein." August 21, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/loneliness-isolation-in-mary-shelleys-frankenstein/.

  • Viktor Bout: Career in Illegal Arms Trafficking
  • The Novel “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley
  • Comparison of Jean-Paul Sartre's and Viktor Frankl's Theories
  • "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl
  • Political Protest for Change
  • Fashion as the Avatar of an Avant-garde
  • The Effects of 1917 Russian Revolution on the 20th Century Music
  • Ethics as a Theme in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
  • "Pictures at an Exhibition" by Modest Mussorgsky
  • Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Critical Analysis
  • Frankenstein: The Theme of Birth
  • Frankenstein & the Context of Enlightenment
  • Frankenstein: Novel & Movie Comparison
  • Homosexuality in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
  • Responsibility as a Theme in Frankenstein

Academic Master

130x50px HD Logo

  • Free Essays
  • Latest Essays
  • Pricing Plans

130x50px HD Logo

Frankenstein: Theme of Isolation by Mary Shelley

  • Author: arsalan
  • Posted on: 24 May 2018
  • Paper Type: Free Essay
  • Subject: English
  • Wordcount: 1378 words
  • Published: 24th May 2018

This is a novel written by Mary Shelley. The novel title refers to a scientist known as Victor Frankenstein, who learns to treat life and creates a being in the image and likeness of man but more powerful and average (Fleck 250). However, the idea of depicting man as God is wrong. This novel starts with Robert Walton, who sought for a new way through Russia to the Pacific Ocean via the Arctic Ocean. Shelly defines several themes in the novel which are tied to actions performed by characters associated with them.

The themes in the Frankenstein novel are developed through the characters’ actions and personalities, which help in giving insight into the full understanding of the concepts anticipated by Shelley. The novel is full of terror and agony which has made it qualify as science fiction. The book story is written in a concise manner where Shelley allows the main characters to speak as the narrator to pass the main themes to her audience. The theme of isolation is outlined and carried on throughout the context, mainly through Victor.

In Shelley’s gothic novel, isolation is a significant theme attributed to Victor. Family bonding is essential for breaking emotional isolation, and since Victor lacks that family bond, he ends up being alone and devastated.  Victor lived in “his world” with no people to bond with; as his father stated, “once Victor accepts himself and considers them as a family, he will think about the affection of the family and hear from him regularly.” Victor excluded himself from his family while also ignoring their letters, and he rarely responded since he was only focused on his project as he once said: “ he could not tear my thought from my employment.” Victor’s mind was only concentrated on creating another being and did not focus on interactions with family or forming bonds with friends.

In the novel, the theme of isolation is developed around the main character in which victor is portrayed as isolated (Pollin and Burton 100). He has no one to tell about his inventions and creations because he has no one to express his emotions to. This is due to the loss of his lover, friends, and family. Isolation in this context is far more described by portraying characters’ loneliness and the acts that are attributed to the isolated nature of the specific character developed in the setting of the book. The inability to express emotions leads to the growth of hatred, which is channeled and expressed in inappropriate ways and results in harming society, as described in the book.

In the preface, Frankenstein is a novel that provides a clear depiction of isolation. Cases of murder, despair, and tragedy occur due to a lack of connection to society or family. In the novel, Shelley tries to define isolation as being the separation from other people, whether physically or emotionally, leading to the self-destruction of Victor and the creature he had created. This shows that the real evil in Frankenstein is not the monster nor Victor but isolation. The novel is characterized by passion and a tale of deep sorrow as well as misfortunes. Shelley explores the theme of loneliness in different ways and presents it to the readers, accompanied by its reputation. Shelley effectively describes this theme through Victor by examining his actions and how depressed he is.

Victor experiences isolation from society and his family during his studies. He, therefore, faces the worst imaginable fate, and where he views violence, revenge, and hatred as caused by isolation. According to Victor, the monster turns vengeful not because he is evil but because isolation fills it with anger and hatred. The devastation experienced by Victor leads to imprecise and poor judgment and thus ends up with unbearable decisions. As described by Victor, isolation from society leads to emotional disorder, which is implicated through social evils committed by him. The message portrayed by Shelley that isolation is considerably associated with the way people live their lives and also how people interact with each other in society of not limited only to emotional relationships and bonds.

In the Frankenstein novel, the victor is described as the one who brings isolation to himself. Throughout most of his life, Victor had isolated and grounded himself in his chambers trying to solve the math and create a creature (Cole and David 69). Victor had excluded himself from society, and that resulted in implicit implications for the community since, by creating the creature, he unleashed a monster. The misfortune brought about by isolation keeps the book’s ideas alive by making the readers want to know what each action resulted in. To cope with loneliness, Victor finds a way of expressing his emotions through the creature he created. Although isolation is viewed to have negative impacts, Victor found it as an essential factor in his work since he did not experience disruption during his project. This implies that isolation can result in something good if used in the right manner since, through it, the victor was able to achieve his dream and create a powerful being as he had anticipated.

In conclusion, isolation, as portrayed by Shelley, is a dangerous factor in one’s life. Isolation is destructive and makes the affected characters suffer adverse consequences from it. As observed, Victor was aspired by isolation to create a monster whom he could not take responsibility for and whom he could not control and hence led to the self-destruction of Victor’s life. Additionally, by Victor excluding himself from everyone, he ended up losing family affection and bond, and also, the love for his work cost him a family relationship.

Cole, David. “Teaching Frankenstein and Wide Sargasso Sea Using Affective Literacy.”  English in Australia  42.2 (2007): 69.

Fleck, P. D. “Mary Shelley’s Notes to Shelley’s Poems and” Frankenstein.”  Studies in Romanticism  (1967): 226-254.

Pollin, Burton R. “Philosophical and Literary Sources of Frankenstein.”  Comparative Literature  17.2 (1965): 97-108.

Top-right-side-AD-min

  • 100% custom written college papers
  • Writers with Masters and PhD degrees
  • Any citation style available
  • Any subject, any difficulty
  • 24/7 service available
  • Privacy guaranteed
  • Free amendments if required
  • Satisfaction guarantee

frankenstein research paper isolation

Calculate Your Order

Standard price, save on your first order, you may also like, is it ethical to target uninformed consumers.

Companies out in the market try different pitches or tactics to lure new customers into buying their products or services. While doing so, the marketing

Position Paper for or against the building of roads in rainforests

Based on your research and evaluation, you will write a position paper expressing whether you are for or against the building of roads in rainforests.

Social and Emotional Development of Students

Introduction Social and emotional development in adolescents is a process of learning how to interact with other people, learn about themselves, and make choices that

frankenstein research paper isolation

Cover for Latest Issue

Latest Issue

AI explodes

Taking the pulse of artificial intelligence in medicine

Recent Issues

  • Health on a planet in crisis
  • Real-world health How social factors make or break us
  • Molecules of life Understanding the world within us
  • The most mysterious organ Unlocking the secrets of the brain
  • Closing the gap Addressing racial inequity in medicine
  • All Articles
  • The spice sellers’ secret
  • ‘And yet, you try’
  • Making sense of smell
  • Before I go
  • My favorite molecule
  • View all Editors’ Picks
  • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
  • Infectious Diseases
  • View All Articles

Why Frankenstein matters

Frontiers in science, technology and medicine

By Audrey Shafer, MD

Illustration by Michael Waraksa

w18 Illustration for story on why Frankenstein still matters

“Clear!” At some point during medical education and practice, every physician has heard or given this command. One person — such as a closely supervised medical student — pushes a button to deliver an electric shock and the patient’s body jerks. The code team, in complex choreography, works to restore both the patient’s cardiac rhythm and a pulse strong enough to perfuse vital organs. 

After a successful defibrillation effort, team members do not have time to dwell on the line crossed from death to life. It is even difficult to focus on the ultimate goal: to enable the patient to leave the hospital intact, perhaps to grasp a grandchild’s — or grandparent’s — hand while crossing the street to the park.

Despite these dramatic hospital scenes, many scientists, doctors and patients balk at any mention of the words Frankenstein and medicine in the same breath. Because, unlike the Victor Frankenstein of Mary Shelley’s novel, the reanimators at a hospital code have not toiled alone in a garret; assembled body parts from slaughterhouses, dissecting rooms and charnel houses; or created an entirely new being. Nonetheless, in this bicentennial commemorative year of the book’s publication, it is not only germane, but important to consider the impact of this story, including our reactions to it, on the state of scientific research today.

Shelley’s Frankenstein has captured the imaginations of generations, even for those who have never read the tale written by a brilliant 18-year-old woman while on holiday with Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Dr. John Polidori amid extensive storms induced by volcanic ash during the so-called year without a summer. Mary Shelley (her name was Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin at the time) was intrigued by stories of science such as galvanism, which she would have heard through her father’s scientist (then called natural philosopher) friends.

With Frankenstein , Shelley wrote the first novel to forefront science as a means to create life, and as such, she wrote the first major work in the science fiction genre. Frankenstein, a flawed, obsessed student, feverishly reads extensive tomes and refines his experiments. After he succeeds in his labors, Frankenstein rejects his creation: He is revulsed by the sight of the “monster,” whom he describes as hideous. This rejection of the monster leads to a cascade of calamities. The subtitle of the book, The Modern Prometheus , primes the reader for the theme of the dire consequences of “playing God.”

Mary Shelley photo and photo of Frankenstein novel

A framework for examining morality and ethics

Frankenstein  is not only the first creation story to use scientific experimentation as its method, but it also presents a framework for narratively examining the morality and ethics of the experiment and experimenter. While artistic derivations, such as films and performances, and literary references have germinated from the book for the past 200 years, the current explosion of references to  Frankenstein  in relation to ethics, science and technology deserves scrutiny.

Science is, by its very nature, an exploration of new frontiers, a means to discover and test new ideas, and an impetus for paradigm shifts. Science is equated with progress and with advances in knowledge and understanding of our world and ourselves. Although a basic tenet of science is to question, there is an underlying belief, embedded in words like “advances” and “progress,” that science will better our lives.

Safeguards, protocols and institution approvals by committees educated in the horrible and numerous examples of unethical experiments done in the name of science are used to prevent a lone wolf like Victor Frankenstein from undertaking his garret experiments. Indeed, it is amusing to think of a mock Institutional Review Board approval process for a proposal he might put forward.

But these protections can go only so far. It is impossible to predict all of the consequences of our current and future scientific and technologic advances. We do not even need to speculate on the potential repercussions of, for example, the creation of a laboratory-designed self-replicating species, as we can look to unintended consequences of therapies such as the drug thalidomide, and controversies over certain gene therapies. This tension, this acknowledgment that unintended consequences occur, is unsettling.

Illustration of what researcher Luigi Galvani called animal electricity.

Science and technology have led to impressive improvements in health and health care. People I love are alive today because of cancer treatments unknown decades ago. We are incredibly grateful to the medical scientists who envisioned these drugs and who did the experiments to prove their effectiveness.

As an anesthesiologist, I care for patients at vulnerable times in their lives; I use science and technology to render them unconscious — and to enable them to emerge from an anesthetized state.

But, as the frontiers are pushed further and further, the unintended consequences of how science and technology are used could affect who we are as humans, the viability of our planet and how society evolves. In terms of health, medicine and bioengineering, Frankenstein resonates far beyond defibrillation. These resonances include genetic engineering, tissue engineering, transplantation, transfusion, artificial intelligence, robotics, bioelectronics, virtual reality, cryonics, synthetic biology and neural networks. These fields are fascinating, worthy areas of exploration.

‘Frankenstein’ is not only the first creation story to use scientific experimentation as its method, but it also presents a framework for narratively examining the morality and ethics of the experiment and experimenter.

We, as physicians, health care providers, scientists and people who deeply value what life and health mean, cannot shy away from discussions of the potential implications of science, technology and the social contexts which give new capabilities and interventions even greater complexity. Not much is clear, but that makes the discussion more imperative.

Even the call “Clear!” and the ritual removal of physical contact with a patient just about to receive a shock is not so “clear,” as researchers scrutinize whether interruptions to chest compressions are necessary for occupational safety — that is, it may be deemed safe in the future for shocks and manual compressions to occur simultaneously.

We need to discuss the big questions surrounding what is human, and the implications of those questions. What do we think about the possibility of sentient nonhumans, enhanced beyond our limits, more sapient than Homo sapiens? Who or what will our great-grandchildren be competing against to gain entrance to medical school?

Studying and discussing works of art and imagination such as Frankenstein , and exchanging ideas and perspectives with those whose expertise lies outside the clinic and laboratory, such as artists, humanists and social scientists, can contribute not just to an awareness of our histories and cultures, but also can help us probe, examine and discover our understanding of what it means to be human. That much is clear.

Audrey Shafer, MD

Audrey Shafer, MD, is a Stanford professor of anesthesiology, perioperative and pain medicine, the director of the Medicine and the Muse program and the co-director of the Biomedical Ethics and Medical Humanities Scholarly Concentration. She is an anesthesiologist at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System.

Email the author

Isolation In Frankenstein Research Paper

frankenstein research paper isolation

Show More Isolation in Frankenstein In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein book isolation is one of the main themes. The monster and Victor Frankenstein go through great depths of isolation throughout the book. Living alone and experiencing isolation can make any man go crazy. Both the creature and his creator experience isolation mentally, physically, and emotionally. This is created in everyday life in society now. In todays time society is very harsh, and makes many people feel rejected about being themselves. Victor has become extremely paranoid about his creation that he refrains from telling anyone, “… although I loved him with a mixture of affection and reverence that knew no bounds, yet I could never persuade myself to confide to him that event …show more content… Early in the story Victor mother passes away and is one of the closest people to him, he expresses it when she passes from pneumonia. As Victor states early on, “I, who had ever been surrounded by amiable companions, continually engaged in endeavoring to bestow mutual pleasure- I was alone” (Pg.44) .She passes right before Victor goes off to college to leave his family. He delays his trip to the university, because he is in extreme physical pain. When victor arrives at the university his studies keep him up from sun up to sun down. These studies keep him isolated from the outside world for weeks on end and even states he forgets what season it is. Victor says, “Every night I was oppressed by a slow fever, and I became nervous to a most painful degree; the fall of a leaf startled me, and I shunned my fellow creatures as if I had been guilty of a crime" (Pg.55). As he is creating his creature he gets so obsessed with his experiment that he cuts off all ties with everyone. At the university Victor goes into a deep physical isolation because he is going insane, and no one is there to see the insanity he is going through. Scientist have made history for years. Most of these men dedicated their lives to the work they were doing just like Victor, and probably drove themselves insane. This relates to both parties by being dedicated to their work more than their personal

Related Documents

Theme of isolation in victor frankenstein.

They both make attempts to bond with others but fail due to an extensive amount of seclusion. When Victor runs into his old friend, Henry Clerval, he decides to introduce him to professors at his university. Since creating the Creature, Victor cannot be in a room with science equipment without feeling uneasy. Victor states, “When I was otherwise quite restored to health, the sight of a chemical instrument would renew all the agony of my nervous symptoms” (Shelley 67). Victor is no longer capable of comfortably interacting in the world of science which he once devoted his life to.…

Asch's Theory Of Human Cognition

It is speculated that his parents were abusive and did not want to take care of an infant any longer. They assumed that Victor would die, but after years of living in the woods he was discovered by the police and was taken to get evaluated. After living in isolation for majority of his life, he walked on all fours and did not speak any verbal language. He had no social skills at all. He grew up in a “world” where there was no structure or rules to society.…

We Have Always Lived In The Castle Literary Analysis

The novel We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson is the dark story of a girl named Mary Katherine Blackwood. Her family is mysteriously poisoned at a family dinner, but Mary, her sister Constance, and their Uncle Julian lives are spared. This book belongs in the gothic unit of the English curriculum because it features gothic elements such as isolation, family secrets, and death. The whole Blackwood family is isolated from the rest of society.…

The Allusions To Paradise Lost In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

“No father had watched my infant days, no mother had blessed me with smiles and caresses; or if they had, all my past life was now a blot,a blind vacancy in which I distinguished nothing”(Pg.109) The theme found throughout Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein is the dark, isolated,and dangerous feeling of being abandoned. Whether it be when Victor 's father disowns him, when his mother 's dies so he doesn’t have anyone to talk to, or when he decides to dedicate his life to something with no human contact only focusing on work which takes a huge mental toll on Victor to something that he immediately abandons. That creation also has noticeable complications when he is abandoned eventually going on a murderous rampage which is caused by abandonment.…

Isolation In Frankenstein And A Christmas Carol

Isolation: The Gothic Implications and Enhancement of Character Perception Isolation plays a major part in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol. The theme of isolation is very important to understand the individual characters and the pain that they suffer from in each of the novels. Although each novel has unique implications of isolation in their individual plots, there can also be seen a clear connection between the two. The connection between the novels can be seen in how isolation is used to enhance the gothic elements of the narrative as well as better educate the reader of the main characters and how they turned out to be the hardened souls that they are introduced as.…

Fatalism In Frankenstein

DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS original The role of victor is subverting the mythological customs in Frankenstein. Generally the maker is well thought-out higher and ideal in his traits though, in this tale, the creator himself is imperfect he fails to possess his very own formation. On the absolute contrast, Mary Shelley depicts the individual to be a lonely being who survive his whole life wishing a partner and acquaintance. The individual is so abandoned by the social order, so deserted by Victor and the public he came across, that he turned out to be packed with revulsion towards everybody, mainly for the one who positioned him in these awful situations in the first place – Victor.…

Theme Of Illness In Frankenstein

As it is commonly known, people have a tendency to seclude themselves whenever they are in need of a mental break from their stressful life or harsh realities by laying down or staying indoors. Victor in the book Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, is no exception to this, however, he subconsciously uses the feeling of being ill to help cope with events in his life. He uses his time of illnesses not only to escape the troubles responsibility but to hide from society as well. Throughout the book there are multiple traumatic events that give Victor the reason that he sought for to retreat into his ailment that acted as a placebo to comfort him.…

Comparing Frankenstein And Milton's Monstrous Myth

Nevertheless, Victor Frankenstein also chooses his isolation. He becomes so caught up in his studies and in the creation of the monster that he becomes unpleasant from confinement. In the novel Frankenstein, the monster is always by himself and he is never with anyone. The monster wants attention and someone he could love.…

Isolation In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Analysis Paper Forward thinking people have always seemed to function on a level that is above that of the average person, but what if those whom society saw as advanced or unusual longed to be a part of the group? In Mary Shelley's Gothic, fiction novel Frankenstein, Shelley addresses the impact that isolation from society has on the psyche of those who are isolated. Drawing from her experiences as a woman author in the Romantic period, Shelley presents the idea that no matter how one experiences isolation - whether the isolation is self-inflicted or a result of the judgment of others - it can prevent one from living in harmony with the society around them.…

Examples Of Alienation In Frankenstein

Society’s Alienation of the Monster As stated by Roland Barthes, “There is only one way left to escape the alienation of present day society: to retreat ahead of it.” No matter what time period you’re in, society will always choose someone or something to alienate based on what they do or what they look like. In the novel Frankenstein, it was the monster that was alienated, because he was different than everyone else. The Monster in Frankenstein suffered through constant alienation from society, because of the way he looked, the way he acted, he also suffered parent abandonment from Victor, and how the alienate affected the well-being of the creature.…

Victor Alienation In Frankenstein

Six years prior to his brothers death he left his hometown to attend university and study in Ingolstadt. Victor was alone with no one around to talk with other than fellow students, and professors. He was isolated from his family and this helped in the cause of his loss of sanity. He slowly went crazy trying to discover a way to create a new form of life from an inanimate object. He says: “The summer months passed while I was thus engaged, heart and soul, in one pursuit.…

Frankenstein And Sorrows Of The Young Werther Character Analysis

Victor distances himself from all of society and “summer months pass while [he] was thus engaged, heart and soul, in one pursuit” (83). Due to his obsession, he decides to seclude himself from society. His seclusion from the world is the initial step that Victor takes in the direction of insanity. He ostracizes himself from all human connections to pursue the “horrors of [his] secret toil” (82). His isolation leads to his mental breakdown because he ceases to participate in any form of human interaction for prolonged periods of time.…

Romanticism In Frankenstein Research Paper

The Philosophy of Romanticism in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Science, and scientific ambition is a central theme that is explored in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Mary Shelley demonstrates through her story that scientific advancement often comes at a cost to both society and more specifically to the personal lives of those affected by scientific achievement. This can also be reflected in the time period that she lived in, and the rise of the ideology of romanticism. In the novel, Shelley uses her characters to embody the clashing ideologies of the time. She was born in 1797, which was right in the middle of the European industrial revolution.…

Analysis Of Frankenstein By Mary Shelley

Frankenstein, a novel written by Mary Shelley, depicts a young man, Victor Frankenstein who creates a monster, only to realize he doesn’t like the look of the creature, therefore rejecting, and cursing it. This leads The Monster, who is considered to be of the male gender to begin to murder and hurt the individuals closest to Victor Frankenstein. Due to isolation, neglect, lack of intimacy and social rejection, Frankenstein’s creature, The Monster, was inspired to murder most of Frankenstein’s loved ones; giving Frankenstein a taste of the neglect, isolation and lack of intimacy, Frankenstein deprived him of by rejecting him and refusing to create a wife for him. These psychological analyses will be tied to the author, Mary Shelley and how the novel is connected to her life experiences.…

The Role Of Narcissism In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Victor believes that because he knows how to create life and no one else does, that then no one can relate to the misery that he endures. He is the creator of the monster who killed people close to him and believes that no one can understand how he is the cause of…

Ready To Get Started?

  • Create Flashcards
  • Mobile apps
  •   Facebook
  •   Twitter
  • Cookie Settings

ipl-logo

Isolation And Loneliness In Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein'

Emma Wales Mrs Schroder English III 13 January 23’ Frankenstein In the novel Frankenstein, the creature’s experiences with society cause feelings of isolation and loneliness which lead him to desire love and revenge. Once the creature is created by his master, he spends his time traveling trying to make connections with people. He feels a deep loneliness in his heart and is pushed away by everyone around him. Unfortunately, humans reject him for what he is and how he looks. When his dreams of finding love or living normally are shut down, things quickly escalate and Victor realizes he has created a monster. Frankenstein’s monster first experiences isolation at birth by his own creator, Victor. For example Victor exclaims, “unable …show more content…

The creature begins to understand the reason behind Victor’s rejection as he reads more of the journal. Here the creature states,“I sickened as I read.” (Creature,Ch16). The creature starts to feel self disgust and wonders why Victor ever created such a hideous monster in the beginning. The creature grieves, “Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust?”(creature,cp16). The creature feels he can not socialize or live a normal life becuase of the way he was made by Victor, hideous and not …show more content…

Victor refuses to create another, saying, “I do refuse it,” I replied; “and no torture shall ever extort a consent from me.” (Victor,cp17). Although after contemplating, Victor feels it is his responsibility to rid the creature of his loneliness. The creature leaves Victor to finish this new work, but Victor destroys his second experiment in fear that it might cause more chaos. Then the creature is angered and seeks revenge against Victor and the ones he loves once again. He ends up killing life long best friend, Henry Clerval. The creature also hunts down Victor and his new wife, Elizabeth, on their wedding night. The creature warned them, “I will be with you on your wedding night.” (creature, ch21). Then, out of jealousy of their love relationship, the creature kills Elizebeth. As shown the creature's rampage does not solve his problems of loneliness and

Click here to unlock this and over one million essays

Societal Isolation In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein '

Society Made Monsters Societal isolation is not talked about as much as it should, it creeps into a person’s mind and fills them with apathy towards their fellow man. No quote better emulates this than in Chapter Seventeen of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, “I am malicious because I am miserable. Am I not shunned and hated by all of mankind?” The Creature is beseeching Victor Frankenstein to end his loneliness by providing him with a woman like him.

Rejection In Frankenstein Essay

In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the creature is consistently rejected, causing him to harm others. First, Victor abandons the creature, and he is left roaming the world alone with no one to guide him. Then, society rejects the creature, leading him into isolation. Society views the creature as an ugly wretch. Therefore, he has a hatred for Victor: his creator.

Victor Frankenstein Rejection Quotes

Despite the creature's remorse, Victor denies its plea for a companion, pushing it to seek revenge (Shelley, Chapter 17). Victor's refusal to grant the creature's request for companionship reflects his ongoing cruelty and lack of empathy. His rejection perpetuates the creature's feelings of worthlessness, intensifying its resentment towards humanity. Victor's denial of companionship mirrors society's rejection of the creature, reinforcing the notion that it is a product of its circumstances. This rejection strengthens the creature's belief that it can only find solace in vengeance against its callous creator.

Victor Frankenstein Sympathy Essay

Within the heart of Victor Frankenstein, there was an insatiable thirst for scientific fame. His quest for scientific greatness birthed a creature that yearned for connection, only to be met with a chilling void where compassion should have resided. As the novel unfolds, the absence of sympathy becomes a repeating theme. Although the creature was seen as a monster, Victor Frankenstein was the true monster that lacked sympathy for the creature, making Victor less sympathetic than the creature. This was evident when considering Victor was motivated by selfish ambition and pride to create life, Victor abandoned his creation out of disgust and fear, and Victor refused to acknowledge the creature's humanity.

Frankenstein Abandonment Essay

The creature expresses his sadness to Victor as he abandons the creature, and the creature cannot make contact with other humans because of his deformities. He also conveys his anger toward Victor from the human's treatment of him. Shelley describes that: “I am the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on. Even now my blood boils at the recollection of this injustice” (Shelley 224). Victor’s negligence heavily influences the creature’s emotions.

Isolation In Frankenstein Essay

Noah Lenz Mrs. Schroeder English IV 10 January 2022 Themes of Isolation in Frankenstein Throughout the story of Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, we see many important and realistic themes shown throughout the story. With many different characters we see the themes of isolation and what causes it, as well as what are the results of isolation and its effects on people who experience it. Isolation in “Frankenstein” is a result of someone being ostracized or outcasted from society as a result of being different or against the norm.

Isolation In Frankenstein

Selam Teshome G. Bryan Pre-AP English 10 27 January 2023 Frankenstein: The Real Monster Isolation can cause the deaths of those closest to you. Isolation plays a significant part in the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. There are many important themes within Frankenstein, such as ambition, isolation, and vengeance. The author applies loneliness and isolation as well as the lack of a parental figure to convey the various feelings the Creature and Frankenstein both have throughout the story because of how similar their experiences are. The Creature faces isolation because of Victor's irresponsibility, inevitably making Victor the monster.

Troy Patterson Schroder English IV 12 January 2023 Isolation in Frankenstein Mary Shelley's novel dives into the action of Victor Frankenstein, an up-and-coming scientist that embarks on a journey to create life. Victor goes through trials and tribulations as he goes into isolation to create a monster. The monster will also go through trials and isolation as it will be reintroduced to a world that becomes cruel to him. Throughout the story, Shelley will express what isolation can do to a person's soul and life.

Victor And His Creature In Frankenstein By Mary Shelley

As Victor starts to feel as miserable as his creature, their relationship grows with hate. As the novel goes on, the creature and Victor become strangers to

Frankenstein Research Paper

The creature's desire for revenge against his creator is understandable, given the way he has been mistreated. However, his relationship with Victor is more complex than a simple desire for revenge. The creature sees Victor as his father, and he longs for his love and acceptance. He is deeply hurt by Victor's rejection, and he is unable to understand why his creator would create him and then abandon him.

Frankenstein: The Creature's Attempt At Humanization

Victor agrees at first, but his conscience tells him to stop because he knows making another creature will only make matters worse. Another article by Ben Florman says that by doing this, “Victor has eliminated the possibility of companionship and love in the Monster's life once and for all: in consequence, revenge becomes the Monster's only motivating desire” (Florman "Frankenstein Characters: The Monster"). Victor refusing to make the Creature a mate not only rejects the Creature, but also rejects any possibility the Creature has of being accepted, even if the odds were against him in the first place. This shows the Creature that even though Victor created him, he was no better than the rest of society that loathed his very

Frankenstein Women Essay

When Victor finally creates the creature he is so scared of it that he abandons it. The creature then goes out into the world not knowing anything, and feeling lonely. Creature asks Victor to create a female but Victor refuses saying women are too emotional and that all she would want is children which would cause more awful creatures. Creature then makes it his mission to kill everyone close to Victor so he will feel the kind of lonelyness that he feels. When the creature kills Elizabeth, Victor realizes he has lost everything, his best friend, his siblings, and his only love.

Loneliness In Frankenstein

The Novel “Frankenstein” is a devastating story of events of a scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who gave life to the dead. There are a multitude of themes taught in this story, but one of the recurring ones is loneliness. Not only do the main protagonist and antagonist, Victor Frankenstein and the creation, face loneliness, but minor characters like Robert Walton, William Frankenstein, and Justine Moritz experience this emotion as well. In Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”, the novel starts with a series of letters written by Robert Walton to his sister.

Examples Of Misunderstood Monster In Frankenstein

Joseph Aharoni Period 6, 10/2/14 Frankenstein: Misunderstood Monster Throughout the course of Frankenstein, Victor’s creation struggles to find a purpose and his own self definition. Tossed into the world with absolutely no guidance, hated by every living being he encounters, and remorseful of his own wicked deeds, the Creature shapes one of the most contradictory and enigmatic characters experienced in literature. The way that Victor and the Creature view each other, as well as themselves, shifts drastically throughout the course of the story, and ultimately the decision of whose beliefs are more correct is arbitrary to each reader. I find more truth in the Creature’s view of himself as opposed to Victor’s.

Empathy In Frankenstein

”(Millhauser). This violent rejection is a repetition of Victor’s lack of acceptance for the monster and attention to his family. Victor knows that the monster will never be able to live within society and that his ability to create life is the only hope the monster has of achieving companionship. Victor's own aversion to companionship surfaces as he, “ fails to give him the human companionship, the Eve, the female creature, that he needs to achieve some sort of a normal life.” (Mellor).

More about Isolation And Loneliness In Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein'

Study Guide: Killer of the Flower Moon

Suggestions

  • Animal Farm
  • As You Like It
  • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
  • The Outsiders

Please wait while we process your payment

Reset Password

Your password reset email should arrive shortly..

If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.

Something went wrong

Log in or create account.

  •   Be between 8-15 characters.
  •   Contain at least one capital letter.
  •   Contain at least one number.
  •   Be different from your email address.

By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy .

Don’t have an account? Subscribe now

Create Your Account

Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial

  • Ad-free experience
  • Note-taking
  • Flashcards & Quizzes
  • AP® English Test Prep
  • Plus much more

Already have an account? Log in

Choose Your Plan

Group Discount

$4.99 /month + tax

$24.99 /year + tax

Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan!

Purchasing SparkNotes PLUS for a group?

Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more!

$24.99 $18.74   / subscription + tax

Subtotal $37.48 + tax

Save 25% on 2-49 accounts

Save 30% on 50-99 accounts

Want 100 or more? Contact us for a customized plan.

Payment Details

Payment Summary

SparkNotes Plus

 Change

You'll be billed after your free trial ends.

7-Day Free Trial

Not Applicable

Renews March 1, 2024 February 23, 2024

Discounts (applied to next billing)

SNPLUSROCKS20  |  20% Discount

This is not a valid promo code.

Discount Code (one code per order)

SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan - Group Discount

SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at [email protected] . Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Free trial is available to new customers only.

For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more!

You’ve successfully purchased a group discount. Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. You'll also receive an email with the link.

Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership.

Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Continue to start your free trial.

Your PLUS subscription has expired

  • We’d love to have you back! Renew your subscription to regain access to all of our exclusive, ad-free study tools.
  • Go ad-free AND get instant access to grade-boosting study tools!
  • Start the school year strong with SparkNotes PLUS!
  • Start the school year strong with PLUS!

Frankenstein

  • Study Guide
  • Mastery Quizzes
  • Infographic

Mary Shelley

Unlock your free sparknotes plus trial, unlock your free trial.

  • Ad-Free experience
  • Easy-to-access study notes
  • AP® English test prep

A+ Student Essay: The Impact of the Monster's Eloquence

The monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein lurches into life as big as a man but as ignorant as a newborn. He can’t read, speak, or understand the rudiments of human interaction. When he stumbles upon the cottagers, however, he picks up language by observing them and studying their speech. It is this acquisition of language, along with the eloquence it brings, that turns the monster from a mysterious nightmare into a sympathetic and tragic figure. By showing how language transforms the monster, and by contrasting the well-spoken monster with his equally articulate creator, Shelley argues that verbal communication—rather than action or appearance—is the only way through which people can truly understand one another.

Before the monster learns to express himself, his actions are no less than terrifying. His escape from Victor’s workshop seems sinister and his murder of William apparently confirms the notion that he is a powerful, malignant beast capable of unmotivated violence. His shocking appearance does not help matters. Victor assumes, and Shelley invites us to assume along with him, that this being, with his patched-together body, his yellow skin, and his black lips, must have a soul that matches his hideous appearance.

When the monster speaks, however, he throws his actions into a different light. He explains that Victor’s desertion left him alone and frightened. He conveys how hurt he was when he realized that his appearance scares normal people. His stories about sympathizing with and secretly helping the cottagers show that he has an empathetic nature, and his tale of rescuing a young girl and getting a bullet for his trouble demonstrates his instinct to help those weaker than himself, sparking our outrage at society’s unwarranted cruelty toward him. Even the monster’s description of William’s murder makes the convincing case that fury at Victor drove the monster to violence—not an excuse, by any means, but certainly an explanation that is understandable and psychologically credible. By giving the monster the power of oratory, Shelley forces us to consider his behavior from an entirely different angle and to sympathize with his plight.

Shelley bolsters our sympathy for the monster by comparing his words to Victor’s. Frankenstein is Victor’s story; he has countless opportunities to argue his case and cast himself as the tragic hero of the tale. Despite his earnest—and long-winded—attempts to put himself in the right, however, Victor’s words only alienate us as they pile up. He feels little besides relief when the monster escapes; he lets Justine go to her death rather than risk his reputation by telling the truth; he whines and prevaricates; he heartlessly abandons and scorns his own creation. Ironically, Victor would be more appealing were he to lose the power of speech. Unlike his monster, he is no murderer. By themselves, his actions might seem reasonable. But because he bares his soul by communicating verbally to us, the readers, he reveals the unappealing motivations behind those reasonable actions and loses our trust and sympathy.

The monster’s eloquent words do not have the effect he intends: They fail to win Victor’s approval or gain his affection. They do have an effect he cannot foresee, however. By explicating himself and his actions, the monster gains our favor and turns himself into the hero of Victor Frankenstein’s narrative. And by pulling off this neat reversal, Shelley demonstrates the overwhelming importance of language in shaping individuals’ identities—as well as the perception of those identities by others.

Frankenstein SparkNotes Literature Guide

Ace your assignments with our guide to Frankenstein ! 

Popular pages: Frankenstein

Full book analysis summary, character list characters, victor frankenstein characters, themes literary devices, important quotes explained quotes, ambition quotes, full book quick quizzes, take a study break.

frankenstein research paper isolation

QUIZ: Is This a Taylor Swift Lyric or a Quote by Edgar Allan Poe?

frankenstein research paper isolation

The 7 Most Embarrassing Proposals in Literature

frankenstein research paper isolation

The 6 Best and Worst TV Show Adaptations of Books

frankenstein research paper isolation

QUIZ: Which Greek God Are You?

preview

Isolation In Frankenstein Research Paper

Isolation: The Deterioration of the Mind Science concludes that all species have certain adaptations that are crucial to survival. A rhinoceros, for instance, uses its horn to defend themselves against predators and thick skin to protect itself from sharp grass in their habitat. The features a rhino possesses keeps the species alive in the food chain, but indifference in a species may also cause death. The albino rhino possesses the same qualities as any other except that the different skin tone makes it easier to be spotted and attacked by other predators. Due to the vulnerability the albino rhino holds, it is isolated from other rhinos and is left for dead. Without animals being nurtured and guided, they are never taught essential habits …show more content…

“The monster's alienation from human social relations begins at the moment of his birth. As he is brought to life, Victor becomes revolted, and then terrified, by his own creation” (Petsche). Abandoning his experiment pressures the idea to the Creature that he is not tolerated before he even experiences life in the near future. Without Frankenstein leading the Creature into the right direction of life, the latter begins to realize that he is not truly accepted anywhere and must rely on inherent aptitude. “A growing body of research shows that children who suffer severe neglect and social isolation have cognitive and social impairments as adults” (Boston’s Children Hospital). Being neglected by his “father figure” as a new creation, he discovers that the outside world takes his appearance as a threat and try to harm him, which furthers his reclusiveness. By the time the Creature reaches the adolescence stage of his life, it is understood that his hideous approach to people gives him a monster like demeanor which strips away the chances of developing any new relationships with people. Not being able to cope with society and how it treats him as an outsider, he turns his frustration into unnecessary outbursts of …show more content…

When learning the history of Felix and Safie, he takes the lessons he learns as a mentality and emotional process of the real world he is secluded from. “From this hovel, which seems like a physical manifestation of his outsider status, he peers in on a world which he aches to join but which we know is forever beyond his reach” (McCulloch). Knowing he will continually be rejected, he grasps idea to be socially accepted from De Lacey because of his blindness, knowing that De Lacey cannot see his hideous physical appearance. Though it is unsuccessful, it furthers the isolation once again, when he returns back to the hovel to see that the family has fled. This action turned the Creature’s desire to be included in a form of rage once he burns down the cottage they lived in. He develops the mentality that the world is cruelty (or another form of hell) and his disadvantage is a punishment from his creator (McCulloch). This mentality drives the Creature to find his creator to make a companion like Felix and Safie, that will be secluded with him, so the Creature will not feel the need to be destructive towards humanity in its entirety (Shelley

Click here to unlock this and over one million essays

The Monster In Frankenstein's Cruelty

From the very beginning of the creatures life he has always felt ugly, unapproved of, and like an outcast because of how society treats him for his appearance; which already puts him in a depressed state of mind. Soon after

Frankenstein Belonging Quotes

Due to Victor’s unwillingness to accept him, the creature was unable to conform to societal norms. From the creature’s very first moments, he is feared by others - the instant his eyes open, his creator cries out in terror and runs to his quarters. If only Victor had stayed and attempted to nurture his creation, instead of having “turned from [him] in disgust” (93), the creature may have enjoyed a gentle, upbringing in which he

Essay on Frankenstein and the Tyger Comparison

He longs for a companion who will understand him and who will not mistreat him. The last moments of compassion dies within the creature when his creator destroys the companion he promised to create, and the revenge continues from there. Even though the creature commits awful crimes, he also commits acts of kindness.

Argumentative Essay On Frankenstein

Not only is he left alone but he also must learn and adapt to the cruelty of the human world. The monster is left to figure out what feelings are, what fire is, what hunger is, etc. He approaches humans and they fully reject him in horror. They throw rocks and fire and he is forced to be alone, scavenging nuts and berries and hiding in the woods, only traveling when he cannot be seen. Every experience he has had with human beings has been awful and incredibly discouraging. As time progresses he stumbles across a cottage in the woods and he begins to watch a family of three: father, son, and sister (and eventually another woman). It is here that the creature learns what goodness is, what love and family is. He learns to speak English and he reads many novels such as Milton’s Paradise Lost to gain knowledge about his world, a similarity he has with his creator . But he also hears hears stories of the horrible things humans can do and he does not quite understand why or how at this point. From here he develops the feeling of loneliness and just wants to be a part of a family. “The more I saw of them the greater my desire to claim their protection and kindness; my heart yearned to be known and loved by these amiable creatures…” (Shelley 145). He wants someone to love and care for, he wishes for that love and care in return. He does not want to be cold in the woods rejected by any who sees

Isolation In Frankenstein

Perhaps the most important takeaway from Frankenstein is the causes of the evil actions of the characters, specifically Dr. Frankenstein and his creature. When isolated or rejected, each character resorts to violence and acts of ill-intention. Isolation and rejection are painful states of being, and even sub-human creations react to them poorly. Victor Frankenstein frequently projects his feelings as a result of the isolation he feels in quotes such as this: “…the shades of my murdered friends heard and approved my devotion; but the furies possessed me as I concluded, and rage choked my utterance.” (Shelley 218). He explains that his mind shifts to thought of evil when he ponders how he lost his friends and family, proving Shelley’s opinion on the harms of isolation. Victors creature falls victim to violence in response to isolation as well. Following William’s rejection of the monster, declaring him a “…monster! Ugly wretch!” and an “ogre,” the monster strangles him (150). Both Victor and his creation experience moments

Essay about Frankenstein

The creature learns how to speak and the belief of morality and virtue through observation of the De Lacey family. This gain of language enlarges his intellectual capacities. He also reads their library, which includes both

Solitary Confinement In Frankenstein

As the novel continues Frankenstein decides to create a monster and the process of this creation physically as well as mentally isolates him from his new community. Frankenstein admits that "Every night [he] was oppressed by a slow fever, and [he] became nervous to a most painful degree; the fall of a leaf startled [him], and [he] shunned [his] fellow creatures as if [he] had been utility of a crime" (Frankenstein Page 55). Once again the reader can sympathize and empathize with the pain the Frankenstein is going through from this isolation. The reader can see Frankenstein 's start of mental deterioration, generating affectionate feeling towards him. However, differently than before the reader can observe

Examples Of Isolation In Frankenstein

Although Victor grows up in a loving family, he becomes more seperated and isolates himself from others throughout the novel Frankenstein. Although Victor is isolating himself all through the novel, he is also setting a scene for others to be isolated from him, because of his lack of communication with everyone. Victor had not been in contact with friends or family. Some examples of this are shown throughout the early chapters of the novel.

Isolation In Frankenstein Essay

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein she delves into the effects that Isolation and disconnect from society has and how it leads us to lose focus on our goals. Although the monster Frankenstein seems to be the antagonist of the novel the true villain is Isolation. The theme of Isolation quickly becomes very clear early on in the novel through the letters that are written by Walton where he describes his journey through the arctic and his boat being stuck in the ice. Eventually finding Victor on a floating piece of ice alone shows us early on how Victor will end up. It also shows us the monster traversing alone in the arctic alone which also quickly shows us the first comparison between these two characters.Isolation or the rejection from society

Isolation In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

His isolation and freakish appearances cause him to realize his contrasting aspects to a human being. Even after coming to this realization, he continues to try having a connection with humankind by entering the cottage of the De Lacys and having a small conversation with the old man. As a result, he is greeted by Felix with pain and torment out of human’s insufficient conclusions about the creature. The monster’s “search of identity and social niche” was dangled in front of him only to be crushed before his eyes (Bernatchez 207). Feelings of misery overtook his mind by developing a hatred for a family only minutes ago he was in awe of.

Victor Frankenstein Research Paper

Plagued by loneliness during the critical period of childhood, he is forced to fend for himself. Forsaken, the Creature constantly questions his history but receives no answers. He views the De Laceys as his surrogate family yet is never truly integrated into a social environment. Detached from society despite ardently yearning to join it, the Creature is doomed. He learns his morals from books, particularly that of justice.

How Does Frankenstein Create Evil

He begins to create evil and destruction where ever he goes because of being neglected, hated, and abused. The monster craves love and eventually realizes that his is not just a victim but has become evil “Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition; for often, like him, when I viewed the bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose in me.” (92) He begins to accept his “daemon” self and becomes an active participant in his destructive

Theme Of Allusion In Frankenstein

As the creature skims through a novel he discovers, he notices how upon Earth, mankind has always been blessed with the love of God. With that, he starts to question on why he hasn’t been endowed with this affection and why his creator abandoned him. Likewise, Mary Shelley displays allusion due to the indirect comparison to Paradise Lost. Using an allusion greatly impacts on how miserable the creature was to be left without any guidance whatsoever; however, this could’ve been prevented if someone were to show a little human kindness. Consequently, since the creature grew up lonely and hated, he no longer desired to be apart of their kind and becomes vengeful. A theme to describe this situation is that parents should always be responsible for

Theme Of Isolation In Frankenstein

Within these novels these characters are rejected from society due to their appearance,and labeled outsiders. The Creature from the novel Frankenstein is abandoned by his creator Victor Frankenstein due to his deformities, because of this he is forced to navigate himself through a completely new world. Because of this, he is forced to live in isolation and his self hate grows as he reads the poem “Paradise Lost”,”Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust?” (Cross 119). As shown above The Creature is deeply affected from the isolation he experiences and commences to understand the reason he is rejected from society. This understanding further augmentation his self-hate and the feeling of

Related Topics

Hamburger menu

  • Free Essays
  • Citation Generator

Preview

Isolation In Frankenstein Research Paper

frankenstein research paper isolation

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

Frankenstein: synopsis.

Despite the fact that after being treated the way he was by others, the monster seeks revenge for Victor’s abandonment and for making him an unbearable scene to be seen by mankind. Throughout the novel, the creature seeks revenge by killing Victor’s love ones one by one. In Chapter 11 when the monster is telling his tale to Victor he states, “… but I had hardly placed my foot within the door, before the children shrieked, and one of the women fainted…and fearfully took refuge in a low hovel...” Yet, after seeing the dark side of the monster Victor is still un-human for his abandonment of his creation. It’s a horrible thing to abandon one’s creation and very cruel to leave a defenseless thing roams about by itself in the world and hoping that it will die soon. Victor was wrong to abandon his creation because of its appearances; he didn’t bother to get to know the poor monster. The author did a great job making the reader feel more sorrow for the monster than for Victor. The monster has been attacked and hurt for doing either nothing at all or helping others.…

Symbolism In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Another example of isolation is when Victor’s mother died; Victor was just getting ready to go off to college to begin his studies when she passed. This made it difficult for Victor to decide if he should stay at home to be with his family, or go off to college. His family eventually persuades him to go to Geneva to begin his studies, because “we had still duties which we ought to perform” (26). As Victor is away for those 2 years he becomes isolated from both his friends and…

The Role Of Isolation In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Then a short way into the novel, he admits his drive to learn became abnormal. When Victor decides to build a human, he completely isolates himself from his family, friends, and teachers. He toils for hours without sleep or human contact. He often refers to his living quarters as a cell or asylum. When describing how he felt while making his creation, he says, “Every night I was oppressed by a slow fever, and I became nervous to a most painful degree; the fall of a leaf startled me, and I shunned my fellow creatures as if I had been guilty of a crime" (Shelley 49). By demonstrating both physical sickness and paranoia, it is clear that the seclusion was extremely unhealthy. As well, Victor is aware of this fact when he looks back upon his story, as he frequently mentions that if he could have seen himself at the time he would have, “looked upon it as the ravings of insanity." (Shelley: 71). After Victor has isolated himself and made himself mad, finishing his creation only makes things worse. He immediately loses the creature, and is then driven wilder when it kills his brother William,…

The Importance Of Isolation In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Victor brings the isolation he experiences upon himself. Victor has two of the most loving and caring parents. Because of the loving and care he received from his parents, Alphonse Frankenstein and Caroline Beaufort, Victor found himself unable to function around a new group of people. "I, who had ever been surrounded by amiable companions, continually engaged in endeavoring to bestow mutual pleasure. I was now alone. In the university whither I was going I must form my own friends and be my own protector." (26). The isolated Victor is different in many ways including his manner, and the way he goes about his education, now much more focused and almost obsessive. He has no one to comfort him and this leads to the madness of creating the monster. Victor has had supportive people around him since birth; however now that he is at the university he has nobody to help keep him level headed. "Every night I was oppressed by a slow fever, and I became nervous to a most painful degree; the fall of a leaf startled me, and I shunned my fellow creatures as if I had been guilty of a crime" (35). The isolation being portrayed by Victor is now moving from not only psychological but physical as well. Countless hours that Victor has spent creating this monster has caused him to become ill, malnourished, and deprived of sleep. Obsessiveness has driven Victor into this state of mind which then pulls him…

Similarities Between The Monster And Victor Frankenstein

Victor talks about how he thinks that the parents of someone have a large impact on how the rest of their life turns out and says “the innocent and helpless creature bestowed on them by heaven, whom to bring up to good, and whose future lot it was in their hands to direct to happiness or misery, according as they fulfilled their duties towards me.”(6) Victor lost his mother at an early age and it has impacted his life greatly. Victor's loss of his mother and abandonment has caused many of the issues in his life but, these actions cause the monster to suffer in the same way. The monster was abandoned so it had no mother or parent to show it the way. He needed his creator to guide him. The monster needed to be taught the ways of the world so that he could fit into society. The monster got pushed into the world all by himself with nobody to lead the way. Victor and his creation both needed a mother to help take care of them. Victor needed one when he became isolated and the monster needed someone to help it understand the world. Even Victor says how he believes that the parents have a huge part in how the life of their child will turn out. The fear and disgust that Victor felt from the monster kept him from being that person that the monster needed. Someone not letting the monster know right from wrong caused him to commit the murder of the boy because he did not know the proper way to interact with…

Victor Frankenstein Analysis

Victor’s desire to obtain the impossible ultimately leads to the death of those close to him including his brother William. By going to see the sight of his brothers murder Victor attempted to get a sense of closer and instead he got the opposite:” A flash of lightning illuminated the object, and discovered its shape plainly to me; its gigantic stature, and the deformity of its aspects, more hideous than belongs to humanity, instantly informed…

Isolation In Frankenstein

Throughout the novel Frankenstein, many people view the creation as the monster, which on the surface is what we are seeing by reading this text. However, as pointed out by writer Josh Traynelis, by reading into the text and digging out the small details provided in the reading, people begin to believe that maybe the creator is in fact the one that deserves to be called the monster. As pointed out in “Who’s the Real Monster?” by Traynelis, “Instead it was the extreme misconceptions of humans, resulting in extreme isolation of the creature, that caused him to become a monster,” where the isolation of the creature mainly draws back to the rejection of the creator and mankind (Traynelis, 1). The creator seemed to be disappointed with his creation,…

Isolation and Resentment in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, deals with two very distinct individuals: the young-but-foolish Victor Frankenstein and his creation, the “Monster”. Victor is the main focus of the novel for the beginning chapters, while the rest of the work focuses more on the development and actions of the Monster. The characters of Victor and the Monster are first brought together during the Monster’s creation in Chapter 4 (34). It was Victor’s isolation from both his family and his peers that ultimately lead to his creation of the Monster, and it was the Monster’s feelings of isolation and resentment towards Victor that lead to his violent episodes. While these feelings are evident in both characters’ actions throughout the majority of the novel, it was during the Monster’s statements to Captain Robert Walton towards the end of the story that drives home the fact that the Monster’s actions were products of his repeated rejections when he attempted to be accepted by society and as such are not indicative of his inherent nature. It was these feelings of loneliness and resentment that drove both Victor and the Monster to their actions, and it is safe to assume that some of Shelley’s personal feelings of abandonment and resentment towards her mother bled through into her characters. These feelings are made evident by way of the diction of the characters, both elements of and deviations from the Gothic stereotype, the development of the characters throughout the story and the lack of any definite closure to the text.…

Theme Of Solitude In Frankenstein

Victor begins his life as an only child constantly being doted on by his parents. He connects this solitude to a sense of power that develops into antisocial behavior in which he indulges in by concentrating solely on his studies and consequently the…

"Influence of 'Family' in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein"

Family in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein demonstrates a myriad of roles, influencing Victor Frankenstein and his creation. Victor's childhood establishes a connection between the reader and Victor, building his character. The monster is influenced by the various episodes with the family of cottagers…

The Importance Of Literary Elements In Frankenstein'

The literary element of characterization plays a big role in conveying the feeling of loneliness in Frankenstein. When Victor first sees the monster he’s created he says:…

How Does Isolation Play a Big Role in the Novel Frankenstein

Victor brought Isolation upon himself, throughout his life. Victor was deprived of “rest and health” and worked hard for nearly two years, while he isolated himself in his chamber creating the creature. After creating the creature Victor went into emotional isolation coping with the fact of creating the monster. Isolation became a unhealthy issue for victor, where nothing didn’t seems’ important to him at the point where he became more obsessed of this idea of creating this creature. Victor lived in his own world, where he ignored everything around him, not evening responding to the letters that was sent by his family…” I know that why you are pleased with yourself you will think of us with affection, and we shall hear fron you regularly. You must pardon me if I regard any interruption in your correspondence is proof that your other duties are equally neglected. Victor family felt ignored by him and wanted him to understand that what he was dong affected them all . Victor ignored his father’s wish and isolate himself from his family since “ He could not tear my thought for my employment.…

Loss of Companionship in Frankenstein

The first example of the lack of friendship is portrayed when Robert Walton is writing a letter to his sister and he says "I have no friend, Margaret: when I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success, there will be none to participate my joy; if I am assailed by disappointment, no one will endeavor to sustain me in dejection" (4). Robert feels totally alone and while he is secluded in the northern oceans there are not many people that he can make friends with. However, like some sort of miracle a man floats up beside his ice-wedged vessel and inquires about their current destination. After he boards, they learn that he is Doctor Frankenstein and Robert proceeds to write down his life story, or his biography. During this writing process, which took several weeks, Robert becomes very intimate with Victor 's life and gains a friend. The actual loss of this friendship does not occur until much later in the story after Robert continues the narration. Shortly before Victors death, Robert questions "Must I lose this admirable being? I have longed for a friend... but, I fear, I have gained him only to know his value, and lose him" (157). This friendship is an excellent example because it covers the entirety of the book from the first chapter to the last and even though Robert only knew Victor for a few…

Isolation in Frankenstein

Certain people seem to have something in their genetic make up which makes them more social than others. These people seem to interact with crowds at ease and, as the social butterflies within their peers, tend to avoid isolation. Victor Frankenstein is not one of these people. It is not necessarily a fault of Victor, but merely a reality. As he would explain, it simply “was my temper to avoid a crowd, and to attach myself fervently to a few (19).” This personality trait contributed to the increasing isolation Victor became subject to. The few he so fervently attached himself to exclusively included his own family and Clerval, all of whom stayed behind upon his departure to Ingolstadt. Victor explained, “I was indifferent...to my schoolfellows in general (19).” So, once he was away at school, for the first time feeling the absence of his “familiar faces”, he felt alone and “totally unfitted for the company of strangers (25).” Victor’s struggle with his natural “repugnance to new countenances (25)” led to him feeling truly alone for the first time in his life. Ultimately, the natural ways of Victor combined with his comfortable and domestic upbringing had left him sheltered and timid. This reality made the culture shock of leaving home a lonely one.…

Theme Of Isolation In Frankenstein

This summer reading assignment on Frankenstein by Mary Shelly showed a theme of isolation following two characters Victor the protagonist and the monster he created the antagonist. In the novel Victor Frankenstein leaves his home and family in Geneva to obtain a broader view of what life has to offer he attends the University of Ingolstadt. Leaving his family, friends, and loved forces Victor into a state of loneliness, in the mean-time, he creates this monster. Forcing him and the monster into a state of loneliness. Leading to the theme of tracing Victor’s isolation throughout the novel, as well as the monsters, and also, how the monster isolates Victor in the novel.…

Related Topics

  • Frankenstein
  • Mary Shelley

IMAGES

  1. Frankenstein and the Effects of Isolation

    frankenstein research paper isolation

  2. Isolation in "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley. The perception of being

    frankenstein research paper isolation

  3. Isolation in "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley. The perception of being

    frankenstein research paper isolation

  4. (DOC) Research Paper on Frankenstein

    frankenstein research paper isolation

  5. Frankenstein Science and Technology Research Paper and Rubric

    frankenstein research paper isolation

  6. Isolation in frankenstein essay. Frankenstein Isolation And Isolation

    frankenstein research paper isolation

VIDEO

  1. Frankenstein

  2. Frankenstein

COMMENTS

  1. (PDF) THE CONCEPTS OF ISOLATION, LONELINESS, AND ...

    ... Regarding loneliness, Gothic Literature and Dark Romanticism often represent their monsters, such as Frankenstein's monster, as isolated. Moreover, they frequently deal with emotions of...

  2. Isolation and Revenge: Where Victor Frankenstein Went Wrong

    The creature in Frankenstein was abandoned as soon as he was created, causing him to live a life of isolation. Isolation and revenge is seen throughout the novel, which eventually leads to the destruction of Victor Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein, filled with instant regret at discovering what that he had made, decided to abandon his creation.

  3. Isolation and Frankenstein

    According to the article, Perceived Social Isolation and Cognition, social isolation can result in poorer overall cognitive performance, faster cognitive decline, poorer executive functioning, increased negativity and depressive cognition (Cacioppo & Hawkly 1).

  4. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: exploring neuroscience, nature, and

    PMID: 24041324 DOI: 10.1016/B978--444-63287-6.00009-9 The story of Victor Frankenstein's quest to conquer death produced a legacy that has endured for almost 200 years. Powerful in its condemnation of the scientist's quest to achieve knowledge at any cost, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is one of the most enduring novels of all time.

  5. PDF The Concepts of Isolation, Loneliness, and Otherness in ...

    beings, especially Frankenstein. 1.3 THE CONCEPT OF ISOLATION, LONELINESS AND OTHERNESS IN BRANAGH'S FRANKENSTEIN (1994) Ideas of monstrosity have proven to be remarkably attractive in film as well as literature. Indeed, the subject of monstrosity and the sense of the uncanny were not only articulated in literature but also became essential

  6. The Ethical Interest of Frankenstein; Or, the Modern Prometheus

    Two hundred years after it was first published, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; or, the modern Prometheus remains relevant. This novel has endured because of its literary merits and because its themes lend themselves to analysis from multiple viewpoints. Scholars from many disciplines have examined this work in relation to controversial scientific research. In this paper, we review the academic ...

  7. Probing the Psychological Mystery of <em>Frankenstein</em>

    Frankenstein is, in fact, autobiography told in the language of dreams. It expresses the unresolved contradictions of Mary Shelley's life. Until rela tively recently, critics virtually ignored the psychological aspects of the novel and the import of its having been inspired by a nightmarish vision. 1.

  8. The Theme of Isolation in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    The concept of isolation has been an important issue in human history whether the person wants isolation or the one who has been isolated by other people around. Being isolated from society is described as one of the worst feelings that one can experience by some authors. In some literary works there can be found the theme of isolation in many different ways. However, Mary Shelley's ...

  9. Family, Society, Isolation Theme in Frankenstein

    Summary & Analysis Themes Quotes Characters Symbols Lit Devices Quizzes Theme Viz Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Frankenstein makes teaching easy. Everything you need for every book you read. "Sooo much more helpful than SparkNotes. The way the content is organized and presented is seamlessly smooth, innovative, and comprehensive."

  10. Isolation in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

    The theme of isolation is at the root of the tragedies that take place in Frankenstein.A motif is a recurring idea that occurs throughout a novel to create symbolic significance. Loneliness is one ...

  11. What is the theme of isolation in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein?

    Expert Answers. Isolation is one of the most important themes of Frankenstein. Walton isolates himself from all companionship when he embarks upon his expedition to the frozen wastes of the north ...

  12. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: Essay & Research Paper Samples ...

    1,891 Welcome to Frankenstein Essay Samples page prepared by our editorial team! Here you'll find a number of great ideas for your Frankenstein essay! Absolutely free essays & research papers on Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Examples of all topics and paper genres. We will write a custom essay specifically for you for only 11.00 9.35/page

  13. Loneliness & Isolation in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Essay

    Loneliness & Isolation in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Essay Exclusively available on IvyPanda Introduction The main character of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley was sure regarding his uniqueness: "A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me" (42).

  14. Isolation In Frankenstein

    For Victor, isolation has a very negative effect. The Monster, on the other hand, is isolated for two reasons. First, Victor abandons him- this creates an isolation from the Monster's "father ...

  15. The Art of Gothic Literature: An Analysis of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    Abstract. This article examines Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as an example of Gothic literature. The author analyzes the novel's themes, characters, and literary devices to explore how Shelley uses ...

  16. Isolation In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a novel that dives into the intricacies of human nature and the concept of humanity. The book explores the rejection and isolation of the monster created by Victor Frankenstein, as all the characters view the monster as an inhuman creature. Although the monster throughout the story pleads to be seen as a human ...

  17. Frankenstein: Theme of Isolation by Mary Shelley

    Subject: English. Wordcount: 997 words. Published: 24th May 2018. This is a novel written by Mary Shelley. The novel title refers to a scientist known as Victor Frankenstein, who learns to treat life and creates a being in the image and likeness of man but more powerful and average (Fleck 250). However, the idea of depicting man as God is wrong.

  18. Why issues raised in Frankenstein still matter 200 years later

    Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, left, was influenced by scientific theories of the author's time, including galvanism — the idea that electricity could reanimate dead tissue. An illustration from the novel's 1831 edition, right, shows the monster coming to life. (Photos from Richard Rothwell, GL Archive/Alamy, left; and Theodore von Holst ...

  19. Isolation In Frankenstein Research Paper

    Isolation In Frankenstein Research Paper Isolation In Frankenstein Research Paper Improved Essays 927 Words 4 Pages Open Document Essay Sample Check Writing Quality Show More Isolation in Frankenstein In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein book isolation is one of the main themes.

  20. Isolation And Loneliness In Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein'

    In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the creature is consistently rejected, causing him to harm others. First, Victor abandons the creature, and he is left roaming the world alone with no one to guide him. Then, society rejects the creature, leading him into isolation. Society views the creature as an ugly wretch.

  21. Frankenstein: A+ Student Essay: The Impact of the Monster's Eloquence

    A+ Student Essay: The Impact of the Monster's Eloquence. The monster in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein lurches into life as big as a man but as ignorant as a newborn. He can't read, speak, or understand the rudiments of human interaction. When he stumbles upon the cottagers, however, he picks up language by observing them and studying their ...

  22. PDF 'Frankenstein' protocol for nuclei isolation from fresh and frozen tissue

    'Frankenstein' protocol for nuclei isolation from fresh and frozen tissue Customer Developed Protocol COMMUNITY.10XGENOMICS.COM References This protocol is the result of the combination of various nuclei isolation protocols for single cell RNA-seq experiments using droplet-based methods, hence the name Frankenstein. Developed to prepare ...

  23. Isolation In Frankenstein Research Paper

    Isolation: The Deterioration of the Mind Science concludes that all species have certain adaptations that are crucial to survival. A rhinoceros, for instance, uses its horn to defend themselves against predators and thick skin to protect itself from sharp grass in their habitat.

  24. Isolation In Frankenstein Research Paper

    Isolation In Frankenstein Research Paper View Writing Issues File Edit Tools Settings Filter Results The theme of isolation is the one theme that is most developed thoroughly throughout Mary Shelley's novel. From the beginning of the novel someone has felt isolated from someone else.