Walton's Alienation In Frankenstein

Frankenstein fulfilled his destiny and made his creation despite his suffering and misfortunes. However, his influence on Walton is paradoxical. One moment, Frankenstein exhorts Walton’s almost-mutinous men to not stray from their path courageously, regardless of danger. The next, he serves as an abject example of the dangers of heedless scientific ambition. Walton serves as a foil to Victor, either not obsessive enough to risk almost-certain death or not courageous enough to allow his passion to drive him. Walton ultimately draws back from his treacherous mission and returns to England, having learned from Victor’s example how destructive the thirst for knowledge can be.

The idea of pursuing knowledge clouded Victor’s mind and when his creature is born he is shocked to discover that what he has created is far off his own expectations. Not only did the monster destroy his expectations of developing a creature that went beyond human knowledge, but it also affected his life, dignity, and fears. Victor himself admits to his own mistake when he says, “The different accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelings of human nature...but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless honor and disgust filled my heart ” (36). Victor Frankenstein realizes what his obsession with pursuing an extensive amount of knowledge has brought him. His destiny to achieve the impossible with no regard for anyone or anything but himself shows that he is blinded by knowledge when creating the monster and is incapable to foresee the outcome of his creation. Victor’s goal was meant to improve and help humanity, but instead it leads to

The feeling of loneliness and longing for a friendship links Walton, Frankenstein and the Creature together. Walton writes in one letter, "I desire the company of a man who could sympathize with me, whose eyes would reply to mine . . .I bitterly feel the want of a friend."` Frankenstein hears the same desperate plea for friendship from the Creature when he says "everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded. I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy , and I shall again be virtuous." Unfortunately, Frankenstein never offers the same friendship to the creature as he does to Walton. However, Frankenstein did get a taste of the lonely friendless misery felt by Walton and the creature when he was sent to prison for the murder of Clerval.

This novel reflects Shelley’s own childhood, which consisted of her feeling obligated to rebel against her own father’s wishes and his choice for her marriage. Frankenstein is a way for Shelley to tell her own experiences with parental conflict and how she feels she was affected by her demanding father and the environment she grew up in, by comparing herself to Victor’s monster. Shelley analyzed her own characteristics, and the characteristics of her father, and placed them within Victor and the

Walton is like a past version of Frankenstein before he created the monster. He is young, naïve and excited about the task which he will endure. Both Walton and Frankenstein were well educated and both were very close to their sisters. From the letters, we learn that Robert’s passion for a sea-farer’s life stems back to his childhood, where he would read nothing but histories of voyages.

Walton is isolated in different ways: his boat is stuck in the ice, in the middle of nowhere up north, and he is also isolated because “I have no friend”. The first type of seclusion, “encompassed as I am by frost and snow”, is one that is also found later on in the novel when Frankenstein would lock himself away to create his monster for example, and mirrors Walton’s state of mind, thus being loneliness. Consequently both types of separations are greatly linked. However, the lonely seclusion of having no friends is the most prominent and important in this novel. Shelley stresses this idea by having Walton communicate his constant desire for “the company of a man who could sympathise with me” and how he “bitterly feels the want of a friend”. This theme is also crucial in the play as Walton’s desire at the beginning of the novel, will then be echoed by the monster’s request to his creator for a companion which, by his refusal, ignites the feeling of revenge in the monster. Furthermore, this theme of isolation is key in the story also because, it plays a great part in why Walton welcomes Frankenstein on his ship in the hope of making a friend. Walton even declare that “my affection for the guest increases every day” despite him being miserable and mysterious. This idea that Walton feels deep liking for a guest he knows nothing about yet accentuates his social isolation as his desire for a friend is so strong, that he would be ready to befriend a complete stranger thus clouding his judgement on hearing Frankenstein’s story. This thus influence the reader’s view of the rest of the novel as we begin to doubt the reliability of the narrator thus picturing Frankenstein in an even more negative light throughout the

Part of your identity has become snagged by perceived insults and threats to the way you see yourself, causing inner conflict or escalating existing problems. Knowing this, we can conclude that Victor’s battle of his own insecurities led to a series of even bigger problems. To make this claim, the reader needs to know about the Victor’s character, but more so how terrifying he can be. The reader does not yet know the capacity of Victor’s love for Elizabeth. In turn, the reader does not how much regret festers inside of Victor. He suffers his own internal despise for his own monstrous creation. My topic of my essay is the numerous amounts of about conflict Victor had faced. The four topics I will be addressing are Person

Victor Frankenstein was obsessed with knowledge, and thought knowledge was the key to unlocking nature and become a pioneer in science and challenging God. “I have described myself as always having been imbued with a fervent longing to penetrate the secrets of nature” (Shelley, Frankenstein, 21). Victor always had to push boundaries, and his passion drove him closer to science and immorality and farther from his family and friends. Once Victor sees his abomination animated, his potential come alive, he wishes for nothing more than if it had never happened. He moves on to a new obsession – fleeing his past. It consumes him and his health.

Frankenstein's creation is a complex character whose true motives cannot be determined easily. Although one cannot excuse his actions, they should certainly not be viewed out of context. The creature is exposed to the painful reality of loneliness from the moment of his creation. "I had worked hard for nearly two years," Victor states, "for the sole

Once Victor deserts his creation, the creature is free to roam wherever and do whatever he pleases. Frankenstein’s abandonment of his creation allows the monster to enter a “hellish rage”(Shelley 125) of destruction, killing multiple people. If Victor had thought with his Ego and never ran from his problem, all the murders could have been prevented. Instead, he allows the monster to be “an object of scorn and horror of mankind” (Shelley 124). The monster’s destruction causes immense guilt and stress upon Victor; additionally causing Justine and Alphonse’s deaths as a byproduct of the other murders he commits.

Victor Frankenstein, a complex character created by Mary Shelley, experienced a complete change in attitude and perspective on the scientific world as he knew it. Between the deaths of his close family and friends, to the constant fight for survival as his own creation stalked him, Victor was under straining circumstances that allowed for his evolution as a character. Pre monster, Victor had strong morals and close relationships with his family. His family was his priority. Victor’s dedication to science was always a constant nagging in the back of his mind, but it did not mean more to him than his family dead. During the formation of his creation, he began to block off his family, especially his fiancee, Elizabeth. His dedication to science was his only priority, above food and hygiene. He was driven by the creation of his monster. After creation, his family members were killed off, eliminating any type of relationship he had with them, he rejected all science and moral values.

When the story of Frankenstein begins, Victor lives a pleasant childhood. He has a loving and caring family who supports him dearly. It isn’t until Victor leaves to go to begin his studies that his life starts to fall apart. The university community that Victor is experiencing pushes him to strive for things that should not be important to the individual. Victor begins to practice work without thinking of the consequences of such work. The university influence on Victor is a small proof that shows about community has influenced Victor in the wrong ways.

Alienation and isolation have been apparent in society since the beginning of man. When an individual stumbles outside the realm of social normality they are viewed as degradation to society or a threat to normal society.(“Truthmove” 2012) In the gothic tale of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley frequently displays the many different forms of alienation. Victor Frankenstein and his creation were two of the characters in this book that went through alienation and isolation.

In his thoughts, Walton concludes that if he does not have “glory and honour” he will have no reason to live (Shelley 205). This reflection opens Walton’s eyes to the dangers of too much ambition as he recognizes that he is dependent on his successes for his self-worth and happiness (Shelley 205). Fearing this concept, Walton makes a decision to return home empty-handed, despite its shamefulness (Shelley 204). In this example, Walton reveals that he is a dynamic character (Shelley 205). Instead of seeing an abundance of forbidden knowledge as the secret to success, he sees it as it truly is: an opportunity for his own destruction (Shelley 205). Walton’s character is developed in this way to demonstrate that one is in control of their life (Shelley

First, Walton’s alienation of himself, leads to isolation and ultimately long hours of loneliness. Walton embarks on a journey “to unexplored regions” (2). In an unexplored region there is no life or human influence. This is quite ironic, Walton travels to a desolate place but still wants a companion. Essentially Walton alienates himself from everyone but the ship’s crew. “But I have one want which I have never yet been able to satisfy, and the absence of the which I now feel as a most severe evil. I have no friend, Margaret” (4). Walton cannot connect and feel needed by