Close relationships can be formed between two people that find similarities in ideas or simply enjoy each other’s time regardless if they are in the same family. Our friends sometimes become an important part of our life because we spend so much time with them. When I was in high school, I spent so much time around the same people that I had friends whom I had known since the second grade. In Frankenstein, the speaker Victor expressed how he also had close relationships with his cousin Elizabeth and friend Henry Clerval. He described his relationship with his adored cousin by saying “Elizabeth Lavenza became my playfellow, and as we grew older, my friend” (Shelley 66). Because Elizabeth came into Victor’s life when he did not have any other siblings, she was his first real friend. They played and laughed together every day. As he grew older, Henry also became Victor’s friend. With the words, “we were never completely happy when Clerval was absent” we know how important Henry was to Victor. Their friendship brought much happiness to them both.
Despite the close relationships that Victor had with Elizabetha and Henry, he decided to attend a university in Ingolstadt. At the time of his departure, he felt lonely but his desire for knowledge was his motivation. When Victor made his major discovery, he became extremely busy that he began to isolate himself and not respond to his friend’s letters. At the beginning, his friends were one of the most important parts of his life. However, when he dedicated himself to his project, he put his friendships to the side. When he stated “The summer months passed while I was thus engaged, heart and soul, in one spirit” we know Victor was fully engaged in his project (Shelley 81). When we find something we are really passionate about, like Victor, we can spend night and day working on it without stopping. With a full agenda, it becomes more difficult for one to find time to spend with our friends. Many people may believe that Victor was inconsiderate by not finding time to communicate with his once beloved friends, but in my perspective, his reason for not doing so was valid. He found himself so intrigued and busy trying to complete his goals, that he was not left with any time for himself. Many college students can experience similar scenarios in which they do not communicate frequently with friends because they are extremely busy at their university. In my opinion they should not be judged because they are seeking knowledge.
I like the fact that you brought up Henry and Elizabeth and the close relationship the two had with Frankenstein. I thought that they in some ways served as foil characters for Victor, especially Henry. By the author showing that Henry was very into languages and the humanities and did not value education, all very different than Frankenstein, added to this feeling that he was obsessed with science and his work.
You do a very good job relating Victor’s relationships to personal and modern day life. Relationships are important but are not priority when it comes to one’s career and future. Victor simply put his career before his relationships and, although it might have cost him his friendships, he had to do it for priority’s sake.
Lupe, I think the way you tied Frankenstein into the problems of a college student was extremely analytical of you. More than anything, you are completely correct. We often as college students find it difficult to balance our work with our social lives, a similar situation that Victor experienced. There is a reason why one must find a balance between work and play. Clearly, Victor’s lack of balance led him to an unhealthy life, becoming so ill that Henry for months had to basically nurse him back to life. More importantly, I think you can also tie in technology. Through Victor’s obsession with his work, the readers understand how technology itself can become this obsessive thing. People work all day and night, making new inventions, creating apps, etc. that sometimes it is difficult to realize the power that technology has on our lives. That is why i think it is important to always ask ourselves, what would our lives be like without technology?