Working Title: Frankenstein: The Effects of Isolation from Society on Psychological Well-being

Working Thesis: Shelley argues through “Frankenstein” that an individual’s connection or lack there of to a society retains an essential role on the psychological well-being of a person.
–This is subject to be pushed further when I continue to research, begin to create analysis.

Intro: I need to briefly discuss each of the three main characters (Victor, Walton, creature) and mention their relationship to society/ isolation without giving too much away. I have to define the meaning of “society”, as well as “psychological well-being” in order to fully explain my thesis. Additionally, I should mention what it means to have a connection to society and be able to obtain a sense of happiness as a result of true compassion, sympathy from society. The thesis will come in at the end of the into to bring these points together.

Body Paragraphs: I want each part of the body to represent the experiences of a different character. The first paragraph will discuss Walton’s longing for compassion and his near death as a result of his craving for intellect and solitude, using quotes from his letters at the beginning and end of the book to discuss his emotional state and desires. The next paragraph or two will be focused on Frankenstein. Within them, I want to discuss his paralleled desire for intellect and how this lead to his imminent death through his creation. I also want to talk about the effect of his self-destruction through isolation as well as the effect that forcing the creature into isolation has on him. I can use multiple paragraphs to describe the creature in order to focus on both his downfall as a result of his forced isolation, but also juxtapose that with the potential he retained to have some sort of connection in his life and the outcome that could have arisen from an opposite experience. Additionally, I want to include images of the isolated setting’s that Shelley proposes during my analysis to emphasize the notion of the solitude each of the characters have created for themselves.

Passages from secondary sources.
–Victor: “”Frankenstein” and “Caleb Williams”” (25-27), “Moral and Myth in Mrs. Shelley’s “Frankenstein””(31-33)
–Creature:”Monstrosity, Suffering, Subjectivity, and Sympathetic Community in Frankenstein and “The Structure of Torture””(206-207), “Moral and Myth in Mrs. Shelley’s “Frankenstein”” (34-37)
–Walton: “Moral and Myth in Mrs. Shelley’s “Frankenstein””(29-30)

The conclusion will summarize the importance of societal connection and will readdress the fate of the character’s following their decisions in and outside of solitude.