Theme Of Isolation In Victor Frankenstein

It is absurd to believe that a human being and a creature can display any parallels in their personalities and even in their desires. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein and the Creature that he creates develop into identical characters by the end of the novel. It is as if the two are having a competition to see who can be the bigger monster. Due to Victor and the Creature being outsiders, their similar characteristics seem to stem from loneliness. Their never-ending feelings of loneliness allows their characters to develop many similarities; through their separation from society and how it impacts their interactions with others, the need to gain knowledge, and using revenge on one another to always be powerful.
Victor Frankenstein …show more content…
They both make attempts to bond with others but fail due to an extensive amount of seclusion. When Victor runs into his old friend, Henry Clerval, he decides to introduce him to professors at his university. Since creating the Creature, Victor cannot be in a room with science equipment without feeling uneasy. Victor states, “When I was otherwise quite restored to health, the sight of a chemical instrument would renew all the agony of my nervous symptoms” (Shelley 67). Victor is no longer capable of comfortably interacting in the world of science which he once devoted his life to. While Victor is experiencing this, his Creature is in the woods trying to find a family who will accept him regardless of his monstrous appearance. With time, he realizes that he is not able to interact with others, just as Victor cannot. The Creature is continuously pushed out of the villages near where Victor created him and must reside in the woods in a hovel. The hovel he discovers is next to the De Lacey’s home who he believes are his guardians. The Creature states, “I am an unfortunate and deserted creature… I am an outcast in the world forever” (Shelley 133). Once the De Lacey family leaves their house and leave him behind the Creature states, “My protectors had departed, and had broken the only link that held me to the world” (Shelley 138). At this point …show more content…
Frankenstein is constantly doing work and trying to gain as much knowledge as possible about everything science. This is seen when he creates the Creature in the beginning of the novel. As Frankenstein is trying to gain information on how to destroy and control his creation, the Creature is becoming more intelligent day by day. The Creature wanted to learn as much as possible so he could seem more human. He starts this by observing the family in the woods and how they speak and interact with one another so he can understand the daily routine and feelings of a human being. While in the woods the Creature finds a copy of Paradise Lost and begins to read this along with excerpts from Victor’s journal that he found. The most powerful message the Creature gets from Paradise Lost is stated when he says, “…I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel…” (Shelley 100). The Creature realized who his creator really is and how Victor did not create him in the ways that Adam was created by God. At this point, the creature has gained enough knowledge to understand who he truly is. This drives the Creature to learn how to read and write more so he can use his knowledge to scare Frankenstein and be able to manipulate him to ultimately seek