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The Consequences Of Alienation In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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“Alienation and loneliness plant the seeds for rebellion and consciousness” (Powe). Mary Shelley’s gothic novel, Frankenstein, presents how alienation has been apparent since the beginning of man. Victor Frankenstein, a man fascinated by chemistry and alchemy, brings a body made of human corpse pieces to life. Upon bringing the creature into the world, Frankenstein begins to have a growing hatred towards the “wretched being” he created, causing the creature to flee. The prejudice that the creature faced from his creator and upon being seen publicly, lead him to detach himself from society and fall into a melancholic state, thus, acting upon on a violent action.

In the beginning, Victor Frankenstein was animated to see his creation that he had invested most of his time and hard work come to life, however, that changed the moment he had the creature standing before him. Dr. Frankenstein was petrified that he fled, according to his words, “ I took refuge in the courtyard belonging to the house I inhabited, where I remained during the rest of the night...catching and fearing each sound as if it were to approach of the demoniacal corpse to which I had so miserably given life” (49). It is evident that Victor was not content with the outcome of his creation, as he recoils from his creature at the moment of its birth. The creature’s first encounter with humankind is rejection, which drives him to stumble upon townspeople who attack him at first sight, “the whole village was

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