Frankenstein and the Effects of Isolation

Isolation is the separation from others and/or society whether it be physically or emotionally. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, I believe that a central theme is that the isolation from family and society, especially at a time when one is faced with difficulty, can have a negative effect on a person. The main characters in the story, Victor Frankenstein and the monster, both experience the same suffering of being alone in different ways. The negative consequences are the death of their loved one and eventually the end of their own. Frankenstein chooses to be isolated from society and his family on his own. He travels away from home for his desire to obtain more knowledge about natural philosophy. He fancied about creating something new, something no one has ever done before. “I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation” (42). So then he created the monster. As soon as the monster awoke, Frankenstein ran away in fear for he created something so hideous that he couldn’t bare to even look at it. “My heart palpitated in the sickness of fear; and I hurried on with irregular steps, not daring to look about me” (51). Frankenstein emotionally isolated himself and soon fell ill. He couldn’t speak about it to anyone because he was too ashamed of himself for creating the monster. Unlike Frankenstein, the monster was forced to live in a world of isolation physically because of his appearance. He did not look like a human with his yellow eyes and muscles showing through his barely there skin. His face was threatening and he didn’t fit in with society even though he longed for acceptance. "I possessed no money, no friends, no kind of property. I was, besides, endowed with a figure hideously deformed and loathsome I cannot describe to you the agony that these reflections inflicted upon me" (148). The monster wanted attention and the only way he knew how to get it was to kill anyone he