Theme Of Isolation In Frankenstein

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“Too much self-centered attitude, you see, brings, you see, isolation. Result: loneliness, fear, anger. The extreme self-centered attitude is the source of suffering” said Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama of the Gelug School. Throughout Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, there is the ever present theme of isolation, whether it be forced upon a character or chosen by him or her. During the book, the reader sees as Frankenstein and his monster both become isolated from society. However, while Frankenstein and his monster choose to become isolated in some situations, and benefit from it, when they are forced into isolation, they do not gain anything except for a loss of humanity. Being forced to do something, and choosing to do it yourself, …show more content…
Upon being created by Victor Frankenstein, the monster is immediately met with isolation, as his own creator abandons him at the sight of what he created (Shelley 57-58). Similar to this, throughout the remainder of the book, the monster is constantly met with nothing but frightened faces, from children as well as adults. Now while some may say that being isolated from the start benefited him in that he learned how to fend for himself, if Victor had stayed around, then he could have learned everything he needed from him, without feeling as though he did not belong. Due to this, as it did benefit him, it benefited him more negatively than positively. Along with this, once Victor had taken away the monster’s chances to have a companion, and the monster took away Victor’s loved ones, Victor turned to anger in his isolation and started hunting down his creation (Shelley 214-231). In both of these situations when the monster, or Victor, were introduced to the idea of eternal isolation, they wanted revenge, which in the end did not benefit anyone because the monster did not get a companion, and Victor ended up dying in pursuit of his foe (Shelley 231). This is very similar to what happened in Germany after the events of World War 1, the Germans felt isolated with the extreme amount of debt that they alone had to pay off, which sparked revolutions throughout the country, which in turn led to the rise of leaders like Hitler. Being forced into isolation creates the feeling of loneliness, which is what the monster, and Victor, both wanted to get away from, no matter what it
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