Isolation in Mary Shelleys Frankenstein Essay -- English Literature M

isolation in Mary Shelleys FrankensteinMary Shelleys novel, Frankenstein, has several themes imbedded in thetext. One study theme is of isolation. Many of the characters hear some time of isolation. The decisions and actions of someof these characters ar the root cause of their isolation. They makechoices that isolate themselves from e preciseone else. However, othercharacters are forced into isolation for reasons that are not in theircontrol. The actions of another cause them to experience loneliness.The story begins with Robert Walton writing to his sister, Margaret,about his voyage to an undiscovered place. In these letters, as thevoyage gets underway, he writes of his loneliness. Letter II states,?I have no friend (Hunter 16 ch 1). He describes how his?enthusiasm of success? will be experienced alone and also how he mustsuffer his disappointments alone. He states, ?I desire the company ofa man? (Hunter 10 ch. 1 ). In another letter, Walton is telling hissister about a commu nion he had with Frankenstein aboutfriendship. Frankenstein tells Walton, ?I once had a friend (Hunter 16? ch. 1), implying that he no longer has any friends.Isolation is evident from the very beginning. Robert Walton chooses his isolation. He chooses to take this voyage. Walton has planned this trip for six years. He states in his firstletter, ?I am required not only to hike the spirits of others, butsometimes to sustain my own (Hunter 9 ch. 1). He understands exactly what he is getting into and he chooses to continue anyway. George Levine states in his decisive essay, ?Frankenstein and the customs duty of Realism,? that Walton is ?isolated from the rest of mankind by his ambition (... ...t is to number before he forces himself and his crew toexperience this isolation and eventual death.BibliographyHunter, J. Paul. ed. Frankenstein Contexts, ordinal centuryresponses, criticism. By Mary Shelley. Norton Critical Edition. overboldYork New York. 1996.Levine, George. ?Frankenstei n and the Tradition of Realism?. A Forumon Fiction, Vol. 7, no. 1 (1973) 17-23. Rpt. in FrankensteinContexts, nineteenth century responses, criticism. By Mary Shelley.Ed. J. Paul Hunter. Norton Critical Edition. New York New York.1996. 208-14.Poovey, Mary. ?My Hideous Progeny The Lady And the Monster.? TheProper Lady and the woman Writer. Chicago U of Chicago P. (1984)121-31. Rpt. in Frankenstein Contexts, nineteenth century responses,criticism. By Mary Shelley. Ed. J. Paul Hunter. Norton CriticalEdition. New York New York. 1996. 251-61.