Throughout Frankenstein, we see what isolation and loneliness can do to someone. This whole novel is filled with characters who either isolate themselves or are shunned by society and we can see what it does to their emotional and physical state. When we are introduced to Robert Walton, he is writing to his sister about how pained he in by his lack of friends. When Robert finally meets Victor Frankenstein, he is incredibly emaciated, his limbs frozen and he is nearly dead. Not only that, but when Frankenstein is telling Walton his tale, he talks about the isolation that came from his dark secret and how that separated him from his family during a time of need, which caused great anguish. The creature also suffers from these woes of isolation. The creature mentions to the old man that he is “an unfortunate and deserted creature; I look around, and I have no relation or friend upon the earth.” (102, Shelley). He tries hard to gain the trust of the blind father, but once the rest of the family comes in, they are disgusted, beat him and cast him away. Instead of retaliating, the creature retreats as his “heart sunk within [him] as with bitter sickness”(103). Instead of trying to meet others, the monster gives up and vows revenge on humanity.
Is loneliness this detrimental to someone? What about introverts, or people that prefer to work alone? Why do Walton, Frankenstein and the creature all seek to isolate themselves when it could cause all this pain? Society does reject them at points, but some of their isolation is self-inflicted. Is community essential to humanity?