Like many Romantic writers, Mary Shelley
employs dramatic settings to convey the emotion of her
narrative. When Victor Frankenstein leaves his friend Henry Clerval to go to "a
miserable hut" on a Scottish island, Shelley places her character is a remote, exotic
setting, one which conveys the mood of his psychological isolation from humanity. The
island, with its scraggy vegetation and rocky ground, "beaten upon by waves" parallels
the emotional pain and misery that Victor feels. This barren island can well be
symbolic of Victor who has deserted his friend Henry and abandoned William and Justine
to fate without defending their names with the truth.
In
addition, Shelley uses metaphors to convey the emotional
state of Victor. For instance, he describes himself symbolically as "a blasted tree;"
and continues metaphorically, "... the bolt has entered by soul." This figurative
language reminds the reader of the creation of the creature when the electricity of the
storm gave him life. Now, in contrast, Victor is emotionally dying as a "blight had
come over [his] existence" (metaphor) and he feels isolated from the warmth of
humanity.
an
insurmountable barrier placed between me and my fellow-men; this barrier was sealed with
the blood of William and
Justine....
The use of
symbolism and metaphor, as well as dramatic settings, serves Shelley well to demonstrate
the terrible isolation and emotional disturbances of Victor Frankenstein. She also
employs the doppelganger effect with
the creature becoming as isolated as Victor when Victor destroys the female creature,
just as his friend Henry, too, has been destroyed by
death.
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