Frankenstein and Schizoprenia

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 …

…of the dangers of intellectual solitude. Shelley warns us throughout this novel not to let the worst of things get the best of us. Works Cited Bettelheim, Bruno. Freud & Man’s Soul. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1982. Dow, Merrell. “Understanding and Responding to Symptoms of Schizophrenia.” http://salmon.psy.plym.ac.uk/year2/schizophrenia/symptoms.htm Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. New York: Barnes & Noble, Inc., 1993. Weiss, Joseph. How Psychotherapy Works. New York: The Guilford Press, 1993.