The Role Of Alienation In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
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The work Frankenstein composed by Mary Shelley is one of the best representations for a theme or moral based book from the 1700s. Crafting the book around many central ideas allows for different readers to gain different aspects that other people might not grasp. Adroitfully, Mary Shelley intricately entwines both a sense of madness and alienation into the novel to further enhance its readability.
Throughout the book, Victor deals with this sense of being alone. Growing up in a rather sheltered home, he lacks a sense of independence that is crucial to his development as a character. Although his parents care for him deeply, he sort of alienates himself from them, forcefully trying to accomplish things on his own once he leaves for college.…show more content… He has this burning desire to rework the concept of impossible and create life from nothing, and eventually he does with the creation of the monster. Victor is rather shocked by his creation as a whole, and rejoices as he has finally done what no one has done before. Whether this is determination or a sense of insanity that fuels his inclination to further pursue the cause of life, Victor is what I would consider a “mad scientist”. Although the monster seems to be a success and at one point a good thing, as the story continues we learn that the monster himself is construed with madness and strives to ridicule and torture Victor until he no longer wishes to live. The combined notion of madness from these two characters alone is rather intriguing, as it makes me wonder if Mary Shelley might have been a little mad…show more content… Victor was alienated by his peers and his family as he grew up, but the monster, being brought to life with a full sense of morals and vocabulary and intellect, is alienated by Victor alone. Victor create his monster and initially shows him love and cares for him, but the monster roams off and begins causing harm. At this point, Victor takes no responsibility for his creation and allows him to run rampant all across Europe. The monster is left alone and has to fend for himself until he comes to Victor in search of a companion to live out his life with. Victor grants the monster his wish initially, only until he realizes that two monsters could lead to the possible production of more, in which the country would be in complete monstrosity. Once Victor destroys the female monster, the monster goes on his rampage killing both Elizabeth and Henry over the course of a few months. This is the driving force in both the monster’s alienation and