The Outcast Traced Throughout Frankenstein Several archetypes imprinted throughout the novel Frankenstein add further underlying meaning to the novel, thus allowing it to be more easily receptive to the reader. One of these is the Outcast, in which a character is ostracized from a group or society due to events forced upon them or matters beyond their control. This archetype is strongly reinforced throughout the novel and is observable in the lives of Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein, and Frankenstein's creature. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Robert Walton is the first to embody the Outcast when he finds himself alone at sea with no friends or intelligible companions to pass the time with on his journey. Walton, a twenty-eight-year-old passionate sailor seeking wisdom unknown to man, gathered a crew and set sail for the North Pole. Quickly realizing that he had no one person to share his time with, he wrote to his sister, Margaret Saville, and detailed his struggle to satiate his wants and needs. “But I have a desire that I have never been able to satisfy… I have no friends” (Shelley 18). This is symbolic of the Outcast archetype as he was surrounded by a group of men, but was unable to find someone to communicate with and find happiness in. His intelligence and dialect create a self-imposed barrier that prevents him from sharing time with him. the other men aboard his ship. Victor Frankenstein also found himself alone among a group of people when he excommunicated himself from society to fully engage in his works and, later, to escape his creation. He first exemplified the Outcast archetype when he turned away from the norms of life to devote himself completely to his creation. “Now I was alone. In the university where I went I had to make friends and be my own protector” (44). Victor, having left his friends and life behind, became completely immersed in the creation of a monster which soon led him to further loneliness. Victor attempted to escape the grasp of his creation when it was overcome by resentment and hatred, and ultimately found himself completely isolated from society in an attempt to restore peace to his life. Likewise, the creature finds itself isolated from civilization, first while searching for a mate and soon after embarking on a mission to take revenge on its creator. The creature's figure and characteristics are repulsive, thus forcing him to be ousted from society, very different from the self-imposed exile of Frankenstein and Walton. After realizing that Victor is the cause of his anguish, he decided to take revenge on his creator. The creature was brought to a state of loneliness and unhappiness imperceptible to mankind due to his disfigurement, and found himself devoid of any communication or interaction with another being. He so heavily personified the Outcast archetype that, “…in all the Earth there is no comfort that I am capable of receiving” (171). Loneliness induced the creature's unhappiness, eventually leading him to a state so severe that suicide was the only remedy for his condition. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Frankenstein is strongly motivated by the Outcast archetype both because of the additional meaning it brings to the novel and the adversity to which Mary Shelley, the author, was subjected throughout her life. After witnessing the deaths of nearly all of his immediate family, that's a lot.