The Theme of Solitude and Lonliness in Mary Shelley’s Frankestein Essay Example

But the fresh air and bright sun seldom failed to restore me to some degree of composure”.

Victor Frankenstein’s desire for isolation causes him to separate himself from those he was close to in society as well as members of his family. He narrates, “I shunned the face of man; all sound of joy or complacency was torture to me; solitude was my only consolation – deep, dark, death-like solitude”, indicating to the reader that solitude was his refuge in hard times.In the beginning of the novel, Frankenstein desires this solitude so that he may study the secrets of nature and during this time of isolation which he experiences, he discovers a desire to pursue ideas involving that of creating life. Readers get the distinct feeling that Victor's inquisitive nature causes him emotional and physical peril because he cannot balance his intellectual and social interactions. For instance, when he leaves home to attend the University of Ingolstadt, he immerses himself in his experiment and forgets about the family who lovingly supported him throughout his childhood.

The monster, Frankenstein’s creation, experiences unwanted solitude. The monster states in a conversation with Victor Frankenstein “I am alone and miserable; man will not associate with me”. The creature desires a companion to end his loneliness and life of solitude. He says to Frankenstein, “Believe me, Frankenstein: I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity: but am I not alone, miserably alone? ” These words indicate to the reader just how much the creature has changed as a result of his solitude.

The words, “my soul glowed with love and humanity” show that the creature once possessed compassion, but this has

changed since his rejection by those of the human race. The initial feelings of abandonment after the Creature's conception are described by Shelley: "It was dark when I awoke; I felt cold also, and half-frightened as it were instinctively, finding myself so desolate". The main reason for its rejection is the Creature's grotesque features.The rejection by humans in general and specifically by its creator only fuels the Creature's feelings of loneliness, emotional abandonment and, as a result, anger. The creature’s rejection by the De Lacey family is one particular catalyst to the creature’s emotional deterioration. The creature describes his own desire for a family when he states, “The more I saw of them, the greater became my desire to claim their protection and kindness; my heart yearns to be known and loved by these amiable creatures: to see their sweet looks directed towards me with affection, was the utmost limit of my ambition”.

However, the rejection from this family is the precipitating event which leads to it seeking revenge against its creator. The Creature reflects on its loneliness: "Satan had his companions" (88), "I was alone. I remembered Adam's supplication to his Creator; but where was mine? He had abandoned me, and, in the bitterness of my heart, I cursed him" (88) and "I am an outcast in the world forever" (90). The loneliness of the Creature leads it to unbelievable acts of violence, the first one being the killing f Frankenstein's youngest brother William.

The Creature describes its horrible sin in detail and states, "I gazed on my victim, and my heart swelled with exultation and hellish triumph: clapping my hands, I exclaimed, 'I too can

create desolation; my enemy is not impregnable; this death will carry despair to him, and a thousand other miseries shall torment and destroy him'" (97). Captain Robert Walton's loneliness originates from being a failed poet who wants deeply desires something great to occur to him.Walton's loneliness is augmented by the letters he sends to his sister, Margaret Saville, and it becomes clear that Walton is the first lonely person the novel introduces. Walton actually explains to his sister that he desires a friend to share his anticipated discoveries and disappointments with. This is evident when Walton writes "I shall commit my thoughts to paper, it is true; but that is a poor medium for the communication of feeling.

I desire the company of a man who could sympathize with me, whose eyes would reply to mine. You may deem me romantic, my dear sister, but I bitterly feel the want of a friend".Writing and reading letters are much lonelier activities then telling a story in person. By employing an epistolary narrative writing style and by having Walton realize that letters or journals are not satisfying enough to communicate his emotions, Shelley increases the sense of loneliness in her novel. In conclusion, Mary Shelley hasincorporated the themes of loneliness and solitude into her novel, through using characters such as Robert Walton, the creature and Victor Frankenstein himself.