Abandonment In Frankenstein

The fiend in Frankenstein suffers from abandonment and depression; however, the debate of nature versus nurture is one that applies to the monster. Because the monster is a product of an unfortunate environment, he makes tragic life choices. He murders and impairs others to gain the attention of his creator, who left him alone and defenseless. As a young child, he was not nurtured and quickly became inept at dealing with his emotions. University of Saskatchewan's Colleen Miller states, “… these [dysfunctional] attitudes qualify as possible determinants of depressive vulnerability rather than as correlates or consequences of the depressive episode itself.” This description is complementary to the monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Abandonment …show more content…
Victor, the creator, did not seek to find his creation when he realized he was gone. Most mothers and fathers would seek diligently for their missing child as would a mother bear for her missing cub. The monster, however, did not have a caring, loving creator. Victor abandoned the monster knowing he did not have the life skills to successfully survive in society; he knowingly left him alone to starve and kill. The murders in Frankenstein may have been physically committed by the monster, but Victor is not blameless. The real monster is Victor; he avoids his fatherly responsibilities and, therefore, creates a being void of love. No one could refer to the monster in any other way because he is never given a name; hurt, he blames himself which is typical for many abandoned children. Abandonment does not end with emotional burden; it affects children intellectually. According to Nelson’s report, The Anguish of the Abandoned Child, abandoned children who have lived in orphanages have IQ’s that drop tremendously by 20 points. Furthermore, it is vastly known that many foster children or abandoned children grow up to learn hate; these adolescents learn to cope with the anxiety and fear of never being loved in negative ways, and they soon develop bad habits. Some abuse drugs and use sex to cope whereas others fight as a way to release their anger. Nelson also states, “war, disease, poverty and sometimes government policies have stranded at least eight million children worldwide in state-run facilities.” These are not healthy because they leave children alone and in loveless environments where they struggle to overcome their unfortunate circumstances. It is survival of the fittest and only the strong will survive. Not only was Frankenstein physically grotesque but also mentally grotesque.