Forever Outsiders

Isolation is a common human tendency that society uses to deal with a stressful situation. In the horror novel, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelly, Victor Frankenstein is a scientist who is obsessed in discovering a secret of giving life. He creates a monster that seeks revenge against Victor for isolating him from society which results in the deaths of Victor’s brother, his best friend and his wife. Throughout Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, rejection and seclusion are recurring elements that continually intertwine to form a theme of isolation. Victor Frankenstein lives in isolation from society while alienation forces the monster to act in violent ways. Finally, the two characters, Victor and the monster, meet a secluded man in the Arctic, Walton, as he continues his expedition in the North Pole. In the novel, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the author alienates the three main characters in the novel, Victor, Walton and the monster in order to reveal their character and the society in which they are part of. Alienation is something Victor experiences his entire life, during his childhood, family, scientific work, and society. Victor Frankenstein is a man of science and his goal in life is to follow his dream of understanding the miracles of the world. He spends almost his entire time recreating life in the form of a monster. However, he is not aware of the consequences that he will face. Because of this, Victor spends the rest of his life trying to destroy the same creation he tried so hard to create. During his period at the university where he designs his experiments, Victor separates himself from society and devotes all his time and effort to the desire of knowledge. Over time, he adopts a fascination for science and eagerly begins to educate himself:
I was, to a great degree, self taught with regard to my favorite studies. My father was not scientific, and I was left to struggle with a child’s blindness, added to a student’s thirst for knowledge. (38)
Instead of finding friends or communicating with his family, he locks himself up in his room studying, not being bothered about being alone. Moreover, Victor chooses to set up his laboratory “in a solitary chamber, or rather cell, at the top of the house” (52) in Ingolstadt as a replacement for the school’s laboratory. It is a self imposed division he chooses due to the fact of his scientific experiments. He stays in his laboratory creating the monster, even though he has not seen his family for a long time. Even if Victor chooses isolation, he many times insists that the only reason he is isolated is because of the creature:
I must absent myself from all I loved while thus employed. Once commenced, it would quickly be achieved, and I might be restored to my family in peace and happiness. (147) At first Victor is separated because of the creation of the monster and then, subsequently, because of keeping the secret of his creation. The experiment forces Victor to alienate himself from society and his family as a means of protecting fellow creatures from the monster. At the end of the experiment, he understands the consequences that arise from it and he is forced to alienate himself from the entire world while attempting to destroy his creation. The only communication Victor has with anyone else throughout the novel is with Walton at the ship. He confesses to Walton the story of his life and about the creature he has created. Victor is also alienated from his surroundings because of his choice of scientific viewpoints. The evidence is apparent; Victor chooses to alienate himself from others, friends, school, and family. The theme of alienation is also shown through Victor’s creation. Unlike its inventor, the monster does not choose to be separated. Rather it is, in fact, others who isolate it because of its hideous appearance. All the monster wants is to be loved, but after many attempts to fit into society, it realizes that it will never be