Loneliness: Frankenstein & The Monster

Lonliness is a common theme shared between Victor Frankenstein and the Monster throughout the novel. Towards the beginning of the novel, Victor shares a poem in Chapter 4:

            Like one who, on a lonely road,
                Doth walk in fear and dread,
            And, having once turned round, walks on,
                And turns no more his head;
            Because he knows a frightful fiend
                Doth close behind him tread.

This poem depicts Victor's current situation quite clearly. He is a lonely person who walks in fear, frequently turning his head around because he knows a frightful figure is following close behind it. The figure is of course, the Monster. The reasoning behind Victor's lonliness is actually a result of his very own actions. His thirst for knowledge and discovering the science behind the process of acquiring life is what caused him to isolate himself from the outside world, as well as his family.

The Monster too encounters the theme of lonliness throughout the novel. In fact, he learns how it feels to be lonliness since the very beginning of the novel. To the Monster, Victor has a father-like stature. It's like a new born baby being left by his dad. What else is there to do but to follow? A perfect example is on page 82, Chapter 10, where the Monster confronts Victor and demands answers. The Monster expresses his sadness and lonliness, by reflecting upon the many encounters he had with other humans, the Monster realizes he is definetly not accepted and able to integrate into society, unless Victor helps him.

The Big Three: Frankenstein, Walton, and Ozymandias

Each of the characters Victor Frankenstein, Robert Walton, and Ozymandias believe they are capable of enriching mankind. The enriching may occur in varying manners, yielding notoriety for only a short period of time. Their beliefs define the characters in such manner, to where their notoriety will be the cause of their downfall.

Victor Frankenstein is man who is able to defy nature’s laws of the creation of life, by giving life to an undead monster. By successfully being able to give life to a monster, Victor Frankenstein conflicts with the set religious beliefs at the time, it being all living things are created by God, and only God. Therefore, Victor’s belief to enriching mankind by unfolding the deepest mysteries of creations inevitably leads to notoriety. Based on Ozumandias, Victor Frankenstein’s notoriety will last until the monster is able to prove its beliefs and mindset run parallel to mankinds.

Robert Walton is a man who Like Victor, Walton is an explorer, chasing after that “country of eternal light”—unpossessed knowledge. Victor has influence on him, reminding him of the glory one could attain by making new discoveries, to alter the path of history. Robert’s beliefs defines his character, as an adventurous, courageous, and curious explorer. Based on Ozymandias, Robert Walton’s notoriety will last only until another explorer justifies Walton’s discovery(ies).

Ozymandias is a character who believes he is the king of kings, because he holds the belief that he can enrich mankind. The poem reveals that Ozymandias had a significant impact on mankind, gaining notoriety for quite some time. However, the notoriety lasted for only so long, because his statue is now located somewhere in the middle of nowhere, isolated from civilization.

The Conflicting Conflict of Science and Religion

Science. Religion. Science and Religion are like Spy vs. Spy, they don't meet eye to eye. Ahaaa, get it? Just kidding. I believe Science and Religion will never see life the same way, considering a few significant facts.

To start off, Science is a field of study that's based off of reasoning, experimenting, facts, and explanations for the occurence of events. On the other hand, according to Dictionary.com, Religion is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe. The reasoning behind nature is usually supported by the belief of control by a superhuman force. In other words, Religion involves the basis of beliefs that are not actually able to be proven right then and there. And since Science revolves around experimenting and facts, scientists always question the beliefs set by Religion. As a result, they will never see life the same way, because SCIENCE. WANTS. PROOF.