Domination of Alienation in Frankenstein - Essay Example

Mary Shelley uses the characters in the novel, especially Viktor to depict alienation. Viktor is a young man with a lovely family that does not seem to satisfy him. Viktor’s main problem is a passion for science. Since his parents have little scientific knowledge, Viktor chooses to learn by himself. Eventually, he leaves home to join the university, an opportunity that gives him the time to focus on his scientific interests. At the University, Viktor spends most of the time in the laboratory working on his newly found project (Shelley, 52). He has few friends and does not bother about his social life. Worse still, he keeps no contact with his family and rarely has time to think about his family members. His obsession with creating a living thing transforms him into an individual who prefers complete solitude. Viktor’s alienation does not end with the success of his project. He continues to isolate himself from the world to keep his secret that he created the monster that kills his brother, best friend, and bride. Viktor is the epitome of alienation throughout Shelley’s novel (38).

Shelley makes alienation evident through the creature that Viktor created. Viktor used the organs of dead bodies to create a strange living thing whose appearance was extremely different from that of humans. Therefore, the creature’s appearance explains why human families are not willing to accept him. He ventures into villages seeking to find some love and acceptance. However, the creature highlights that “I had 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” (101). The creature does not find any form of love or acceptance from humans. The only person willing to listen to his story was an old blind man. The creature’s alienation becomes unbearable a factor that compels him to become violent. Since he can no longer bear the alienation, he decided to hurt Viktor by killing those close to him. Throughout the creature’s love, he never finds acceptance and ends up destroying Viktor, before he faces his death.

Shelley also makes use of isolated places to enhance the theme of alienation. The first place that strikes the reader as isolated is the upper room of the laboratory where Viktor works on his projects. In addition, Shelley mentions the ship as a meeting place in the novel. Walton, Viktor’s friend seems to experience a measure of loneliness while on the ship. Therefore, the author uses the ship to enhance the theme of isolation and alienation. The third place used by the author is the mountains in Chamonix where the monster carries out his revenge by killing its victims. In addition, the monster hides in those mountains (98). For this reason, the lace serves as a representation of the alienation experienced by the creature.

Shelley’s novel depicts the 19th-century gothic style. However, the theme of alienation proves to be very outstanding. Many of the characters in the novel feel alienated from the rest of the world. As analyzed above, Viktor is alienated from the rest of human society as he embarks on his scientific projects. The creature he creates also experiences alienation because it cannot fit into human society. The places mentioned throughout the novel also enhance the theme of alienation as highlighted above.