Frankenstein ~ theme ~ alienation/solitude

"Winter, spring, and summer passed away during my labours; but I did not watch the blossom or the expanding leaves - sights which before always yielded me supreme delight - so deeply was I engrossed in my occupation...Every night I was oppressed by a slow fever, and I became nervous to a most painful degree; the fall of a leaf startled me, and I shunned my fellow creatures as if I had been guilty of a crime" (page 34).

Throughout the book, there are various examples of alienation or characters seeking solitude. In the beginning, Robert Walton feels alone on the ship. He has been traveling for a while and no one on board seems to be friend-worthy of him; he writes letters to his sister showing his loneliness and longing for a friend. After he meets Victor Frankenstein, we also learn of Frankenstein's alienation. He isolates himself from the rest of the world as he works on his creation. Frankenstein also frequently seeks to be alone after his creature is loose. He takes his time when traveling home, and he leaves his home often to go enjoy the open mountains. In addition, while Frankenstein is away studying, his family relationship has been somewhat ruined by his absence. This passage displays Frankenstein's obsession with scientific studies to the point where he goes slightly insane from isolation and fear.