During chapter 5 the monster is brought to life by Victor - an 8 ft. created man - and Victor experiences a mix of excitement and revulsion at “the monster”. He describes his creation, “His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was a lustrous black and flowing; his teeth of pearly whiteness; but these luxuriance’s only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips.” The words used are typical pre 1914 writing. Also during chapter 5 Victor runs from his rooms and wanders the streets of Ingolstadt until Henry Clerval finds him. Henry had arrived to enrol at University and he takes Victor back to his rooms to recover. The monster has gone. Victor is relieved at this and feels a burden lifted from him. Henry spends the rest of that winter and the following spring bringing Victor back to full health. Henry writes home to Victor’s family in Geneva.
Shelly sets the atmosphere and creates the mood by using language like “The dreary night of November” where the monster is given life; this remains in the memory of the reader. And that is what is felt throughout the novel the misery of it all along with the uninhabited isolation. Shelly can continue the mood and create a distinct picture and it is admirable the way she begins to foresee coming danger. Shelly does this by starting a terrible storm, adding dreary thunder and lightning and by enhancing the gloom and dread of her gothic scenes. Shelly writes so that the reader sees and feels these scenes taking permanent hold on the memory.
We know that Victor chooses to isolate himself, as in all the time he is studying and creating the monster, he never once visits his family. Victor's rejection of the family unit, along with his fears of sexuality and natural birth may be reasons why he keeps himself isolated for most of his life. Most of Victor's sufferings in the novel are brought about his alienation. The creating of the monster, and keeping it a secret led about to his downfall in the end. The theme of alienation is also shown through the creature, which Victor creates. The sufferings of the creature in the novel are also the result of being alienated, but unlike Victor, he does not bring this upon himself. Instead, others isolate the monster. This is due to his freakish and horrible looks: His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath ... his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips.
The language used in Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein is very typical of 19C Prose we can tell this by the use of words such as “dun” and “wretch”, in modern English both of these words would not be used.
