Frankenstein - Alienation

"I have no one near me, gentle yet courageous, possessed of a cultivated as well as of a capacious mind, whose tastes are like my own, to approve or amend my plans." p. 18

Well, this is alienation, definitely the most prominent of the three themes I've mentioned. So let's get started.

Shelley notes that there are essentially two forms of alienation, the kind which is imposed by another, and the kind which is brought on by oneself.

Justine's ordeal represents the first kind when all of the people who knew her for so many years, even Victor's father and brother, immediately abandon her when she is accused. The only people who stand beside her are Victor and Elizabeth, although even Elizabeth doubts her upon learning of her confession. She ultimately is alienated by everyone she once knew.

The Creature also suffers alienation, this time at the hands of Victor himself. On page 57, The Creature visits Victor in the night and reaches out to him. Victor assumes that The Creature is trying to attack him, but really it's more likely he was just looking for a bit of human contact. Victor, however, immediately takes off, abandoning his creation and leaving him all alone. The Creature essentially perceives Victor as his father, but Frankenstein bails on him, his "son," and flees into the night. Thus, this is alienation of the deepest kind, of a father abandoning his own son. Well...sort of. His metaphorical son.

Victor and Walton also suffer alienation, but theirs is of the second species, self-alienation. They essentially become so engrossed in their work that they neglect all of their previous human relationships. Walton hops on a ship and sails away, and the only friend he has is his sister all the way back home. He writes a few letters to her, but that's not exactly the best form of human contact. The quote above reflects his desire to have a friend who will identify him. Victor does not even have letters to exchange. He quits writing back to his family and cuts off all contact he has with any friends. His obsession with his experiments is so powerful that he becomes completely alienated from society and begins to become emaciated and extremely ill, and he likely would have died had his friend Henry not shown up to take care of him.

So what's the big theme? Alienation comes in many forms (approximately 2), but no matter what, human contact is a necessity for people to survive.