Schizophrenia And Frankenstein Essays - Frankenstein, Romanticism

Schizophrenia And Frankenstein In a psychoanalytic view of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Robert Walton develops, during a ?dreadfully severe? trip through the Arctic, a type of schizophrenia; this mental condition enables him to create a seemingly physical being representing each his superego and his id (9). In his mind, Walton creates Victor as his very own superego and the monster as his id. The superego and the id battle throughout the story to produce the final result: Walton, the ego. Many of the qualities Walton develops during his trip are symptoms of schizophrenia. His letters exude an aura of depression, loneliness, In his second letter, Walton emphasizes an obsession with his aspiration to lose his loneliness. He ?desires the company of a man who could sympathize with [him]? (Shelley 7). According to Merrell Dow, Preoccupations?are fixed ideas, not necessarily false (like delusions) but overvalued. They take on extraordinary importance and take up an ordinate amount of thought time. One idea often returns and returns?Characteristically, the worry grows and becomes unrealistic (par 16). Walton reiterates his loneliness; even though he is surrounded by people on his ship, he ?[has] no friend? (Shelley 7-8). Contributing to this feeling of isolation, Walton uses a tone of depression in his letters, a recurring feeling he experiences. He hints in nearly every letter clues indicating his fear of death. He wants his sister to ?remember [him] with affection; should [she] never hear from [him] again? (Shelley 10). By constantly mentioning the possibility of his own death in his letters, Shelley stresses Walton's overvalued worry of dying. Walton longs to see his sister; his mental condition leads him to even consider himself abandoned. Walton admits that success during this mission will lead to ?many, many months, perhaps years? before they would meet again; however, failure results in either quick departure for home, or death (Shelley 6). Whether he succeeds or fails, he will have negative results. These constant recurrences emphasize the validity of his mental illness. A s he develops the mental disease, Walton creates a world that makes sense in his mind, and his mind alone; he ?[lives] in a Paradise of [his] own creation? with characters whom spawn from his own psyche (Shelley 5). Once schizophrenia becomes severe, Walton develops two seemingly real characters in his imagination. Walton's mental condition and obsessive longing for someone to connect with leads him to separate himself mentally from his superego and id. In Walton's mind, Shelley introduces the monster, Walton's id, as his first mental creation; when something is first born, its natural inclinations coincide with the primitive and self-concerning, yet natural, inclinations exhibited by an id. For this reason, Shelley introduces the monster as the first character of Walton's mental creation. Walton only sees this id from far away at first, and in his mind, this structure has yet to solidify enough to be active and influential in his life. The monster becomes more active as Walton's condition enhances into a state of complete separation between his id and superego and development of the monster and Victor. His second mental creation, superego Victor, holds the qualities that Walton feels that he should possess himself. Victor holds morality very vital during his contact with Walton; he refuses to board the ship when found, even in his state of near death, until he knows the ship has good intentions on its mission. A pure superego could never expose itself to any being with a wicked purpose. Walton personally takes care of Victor; in reality, he must care for him because he does not really exist physically to the other shipmates. Walton claims that Victor intrigues the other shipmates, but actually, the sides of himself that Walton express due to his disorder intrigue the men. He believes the men aboard the ship adore Victor in the same respect as he adores Victor; of course, he would believe this--no one could dislike such a noble heart. Walton loves Victor; he fills the void that Walton longs to have filled. This superego side of his own persona, Walton believes of Victor, ?is so cult ivated? (Shelley 16). ?[Victor's] constant and deep grief fills [Walton] with sympathy and compassion,? and Walton finally feels as if he belongs to