Individualism in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Running head: ENGLISH ESSAY
English Essay
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Author Note

1ENGLISH ESSAY
The following essay will focus and argue on the individualism of Victor that has been
portrayed by the author of the novel Frankenstein Mary Shelley. The difficulties that were faced
by the critics in this discourse will be analyzed in this essay to show the readers about tragic flaw
that Victor committed by creating the monster named Frankenstein.
Research question: Is individualism one of the primary determinants of the outcomes showed
by Mary Shelley in her novel Frankenstein?
In the article “Lyrical Sociability: The Social Contract and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein”,
the concept of social dilemmas and various engagements between individuals and society have
been portrayed (Hegele: 175). The novel Frankenstein along with its main character the monster
and its creator, Victor are the major elements through which the social reflection has been
presented. The connections with the social contract theory by Rousseau have been drawn to
show the readers that individualism in the society was the basic predicament that involved the
lives if several people. According to several critics, it has already been said that the connection
between individualism and society (Beenstock: 415). Most critics are of the opinion that the
concept of individualism cannot cater to the social connections because people believing in
individualism will always think about himself and things that should be dome to satisfy his needs
and desires only.
On the other hand, the concept of individualism is very problematic in terms of the novel
Frankenstein since Victor, the creator of the monster always thought about the advantages that he
could get after creating it (Huff-Oelberg: 25). He ignored the problems and challenges that could
arise after this monster was created and sufferings that common people would have to go
through. The thought of individualism would simply categorize a person as a selfish one. As per