"Isolation is the sum total of a man's misery," said the 19th century author and philosopher, Thomas Carlyle. Humans are naturally empathetic; without any external human stimulus, the human psyche has no outlet to vent this empathic capacity, and the subtle laws that govern our most basic morals and natural tendencies begin to crumble. In Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, author Mary Shelley incorporates the theme of overwhelming obsession to weave a meaningful and momentous story of true outcasts subjected to the agony of isolation. Victor Frankenstein's lust for forbidden knowledge leads to the creation of a monster, which he ultimately avoids and abhors with passion. The monster, like a new-born child, is malleable to the world and, being the object of disgust and contempt, is corrupted and driven to murderous actions by the sheer misery of his solitary and isolated life. In Frankenstein, author Mary Shelley creates a powerful story of torment and obsession through the deft use of the literary devices of symbolism, irony, and foreshadowing. Mary Shelley uses symbolism to dramatically express the overarching theme of obsession in her compelling novel. Through a prevalent symbol, light, Victor recounts his feverish obsession with creating a living being saying: “No one can conceive the variety of feelings that dragged me, like a hurricane, into the first enthusiasm of success. Life and death seemed to me to be ideal boundaries, which I should first cross and pour a torrent of light into our dark world. A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures owe their existence to me” (Shelley 51). In this context, light is considered a benevolent force of na...... middle of paper ......obsessions, he loses sight of his own humanity and desires, while his social relationships deteriorate. Victor's attempts to surpass the limits of human knowledge and control, to violate the very code of nature, and his creation, as well as his entire family, paid dearly for his mistake of not having seen gravity and the danger of what he had done. Victor's harsh influence on his offspring drives his creation to thirst for vindication for the life he is forced to live and the unfair burden of isolation he is forced to bear. The creature's loneliness causes its need for revenge and punishment, which leads it uncontrollably to murderous acts, because if it is treated as a murderous wretch by all of society, the only way it can survive is to embrace the darkness and become a murderous wretch, until his punishment was felt and Frankenstein's family all but disappeared.