A comparative analysis of the depiction of the isolation theme in Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' and Mark Haddon's 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime'

Seminar paper from the year 2022 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2,0, University of Freiburg (English Department), language: English, abstract: Emotional loneliness and social isolation are concepts which are generally perceived as something negative. However, there are certain situations in life where one seeks to be alone and where isolation can even help with the process of self-discovery. Therefore, these concepts are also recurring themes in arts and literature. This paper will analyze how the isolation theme is depicted in disability literature. It will first give a brief overview of the research within this area and shortly examine the relationship between loneliness and disability. It will then move on to analyze how the two main characters Victor Frankenstein and the creature from Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' as well as Christopher, the protagonist of Mark Haddon's 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time', experience isolation. Special focus will be put on the similarities and differences between the individual character's experience and on the question whether or not those experiences correlate with the results of real-life studies.