Loneliness in Frankenstein

In Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, the theme of loneliness can be easily identified through Victor Frankenstein and the "monster" he created. Both show a sense of loneliness which explains the reasons for their personal upbringing throughout the story.

Victor Frankenstein chose to isolate himself from the rest of society due to his dedication of wanting to use his talents in creating a creature which he believed would make history. He occupied most of his time by constantly working and studying what he loved most: science. "From this day natural philosophy, and particularly chemistry, in the most comprehensive term, became my sole occupation." His drive to make a mark in society caused him to devote most of his time studying that socializing with other people was never really an option. Even his father disapproved his thirst for new knowledge. Victor quotes his father who says, "Ah! Cornelius Agrippa! My dear Victor, do not waste your time upon this; it is sad trash." The fact that his mother died when he was young and his father believes Victor's personal interest is trash shows that he never really had anyone who he can share his interests to. As a response to this, Victor decided to isolate himself and put his extensive knowledge of science to use on his own. 

Like Frankenstein, the monster he created also suffers from loneliness. The fact that he is 8 ft. tall and extremely hideous causes him to be isolated from the rest of society. Since he is the only one of his kind, he has a hard time trying to interact with other people since people would instantly run away in terror and/or physically abuse him. "...I hardly placed my foot within the door before the children shrieked, and one of the women fainted. The whole village was roused; some fled, some attacked me, until, grievously bruised by stones..." The monster, unlike Victor who brought isolation upon himself, is forced into isolation because of his physical appearance. His appearance makes it impossible to communicate with other people since they don't even give him a chance to speak. 

Frankenstein, Walton, Ozymandias

In Mary Shelly's novel Frankenstein, both Victor Frankenstein and Robert Walton believed they have the ability of creating an impact in the world. Both characters wanted to go beyond where no man has ever gone before. Victor, for instance, declared, "I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creations." Victor made it his life goal to go beyond what is already known to society by creating a creature that no one has ever expected. However, although he was successful, he realized that his creation is not what he thought it seemed to be for it only caused Victor to live the rest of his life with guilt after assuming the "monster" was the cause for the death of his brother, William Frankenstein. Just like Victor, Robert also believed he can achieve something great in life.  He said, "...do I not deserve to accomplish some great purpose? My life might have been in ease and luxury, but I preferred glory to every enticement that wealth placed in my path." Although Robert had no intention of creating a creature made out of dead body parts, he was determined to discover something about the Earth. Specifically, trying to find out what causes magnetism in the North Pole. Robert's thirst for discovery caused him to go to extreme measures by choosing to endure a long journey and loneliness in order to achieve great glory.

Victor and Robert's characteristics can also be compared to Ozymandias in Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem. Just like Victor and Robert, Ozymandias wanted to make his mark on the world. He wanted to be notorious and achieve something that no man has ever achieved before. His statue even had an inscription on his pedestal which said, "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings; Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" However, although it is evident that he did become notorious at one point, the fact that the statue was left on land that was described to be "boundless and bare" or in the middle of no where showed that his notoriety didn't last very long. Based on Ozymandias, I don't think that Victor and Robert's notoriety will last long either. Although they were able to achieve things that no man has ever achieved before, their hard work will eventually be forgotten. 

Science Vs. Religion

In my opinion, I don't think science and religion will ever see life the same way. Since I go to church often, we always talk about the differences between scientific theories and what's written in the bible. An example would be the scientific theory of evolution. Darwin says that humans evolved from apes and through time, evolved to how we look like today. However, in the bible, it says that God creates humans such as when he created Adam and Eve from the dust of the Earth. Another example is how the Earth was created. Religion says that it was God who created the universe and Earth in six days. But science says the whole universe was created from a "big bang" and believe that the universe and Earth developed from many different chemicals and different processes through time. One last example would be human nature. Religion says that because of the story of Adam and Eve, people are naturally born with sin and must have some kind of spiritual guidance that would make them "good" and be accepted by God. However, science says that people are influenced by their surroundings which affects their whole-being.

So what do I believe? Since I go to church all the time, of course I'm going to believe that whatever is written in the bible is true. I also think that the scriptures in the bible are far more believable than what science teaches because first of all, it was God who commanded people to write stuff in the bible and we should never question anything that is written! But that doesn't mean I'm against science and think that schools should stop teaching their theories. Although I believe what they believe is not true, I think it's interesting to learn from a different perspective.