Identify three key settings in the novel that help to establish the tone of isolation that is developed throughout the text. Analyse how language features are used to convey this tone in this setting to the reader and reflect on the purpose behind this.
Mary Shelly uses the North Pole/Arctic for a setting that represents isolation. This is the first setting of the novel adn the last. This setting is empty and lacks human connection, just like the Creature. The creature, Robert Walton, and Frankenstein all go to his place at some point in the setting, the three main characters.
Ironically, Victor’s source of isolation is due to his fear of people knowing about the creature, and the Creature isolated due to his fear of people knowing about him.
The Swiss Alps is where the reunion of the creature and Frankenstein was held. This is also an isolated place, and considering Frankenstein and the creature both have encountered this feeling of isolation, it is ironic that they both reunite here.
Geneva, Switzerland is where the Frankenstein family grew up and where their house is. This place is known to have horrendous weather, forcing people to stay inside for long periods of time. These harsh weather conditions that erupted throughout Geneva, casing storms and rains add to the ‘horror’ side of the story.
_____ is the place that the Creature escapes to after being abandoned by his father. Due to the harsh season changes the Arctic goes through, the creature ultimately had it tough just with the weather alone. Then as soon as the residents reacted to the creature, this was more emotional torture for him to handle. The Arctic is a cold place, a place where the creature was forced to isolate himself in fear of others spotting him and being afraid. The brutal environment the creature was in caused it a living struggle to eat and survive. The creature says “Food, however, became scarce, and I often spent the whole day searching in vain for a few acorns to assuage the pangs of hunger”. So not only did the creature lack essential nutrients to survive, but he also lacked essential human relationships.
Research the Enlightenment Period. Consider how a text such as Frankenstein emerged from a period of time when science was being established as a credible way of explaining the ways of the world.
The Enlightenment period occurred in the 18th century. It was an intellectual movement with three main concepts: the use of reason, the scientific method, and progress. It is thought that the “Enlightenment thinkers believed they could help create better societies and better people.” In this period, it was thought that the methods of natural science could understand all aspects of life, so nothing was unexplainable, everything was rational. “The scientific method was capable of discovering the laws of human society as well as those of nature”. This period caused people to create better societies by questioning life itself and old traditions. Victor Frankenstein is one of these ‘enlightenment thinkers’ who thought nothing was unreasonable and was fascinated by life itself.
With this idea that nothing was incapable and that there are logistical reasons for life meant that Frankenstein creating his creature was actually very possible. This caused the creature to seem scarier and the readers to fear him as there could, in fact, be one like him out there.
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