The missing link
My family and friends are some of the most important people in my life. It is comforting to know that I am connected to a large group of people who both love and care about me, as well as sharing some of my interests and passions. As human beings, we thrive upon the connections that we have with other people in this world. Even if we are not emotionally attached to our families, we still believe in the unbreakable scientific bond that connects a mother, a father, and a child. But what would happen if there was no longer that link? If there was no longer that one connection that we could depend on, how could we move forward? The monster in Frankenstein is suffering from that missing link. He has no mother, no father, only his creator, who refuses to acknowledge or even glance upon him. He has no friend to share his feelings or accomplishments with. He knows of no other being upon the earth that looks like him. That missing link drives him to commit murder--he slowly destroys the link that Frankenstein has to those that he loves, and inflicts the same pain upon his creator that he has felt.
I wonder how human beings would survive with missing links--with no one to confide in or love or share their lives with. On many occasions, I feel as though no one could possibly understand the things that I'm going through (as though my problems are so much more than any other person could comprehend); however, in many cases, this is not true. But Frankenstein's monster is not a human being: he is the only one of his kind. It is quite possible that no one will be able to understand how he feels without a link to anything or anyone in the world. He looks at the portrait of Frankenstein's mother and wonders what it would be like to have someone to care and nurture him. That most vital link--the connection to a mother, is something that the monster cannot even begin to obtain. He was created from the hands of man and not the birth of woman. He tries quite unsuccessfully to maintain the only link that he has in the human world--his creator, but only succeeds in destroying familial connections, and in the end, Frankenstein's life.
Human beings will continue their search for more connections and more links as time passes. The necessity for those who share your passions and experiences will never die. This being said, I challenge all of us to look through the eyes of the monster, and imagine what it would be like to live with that missing link...
I wonder how human beings would survive with missing links--with no one to confide in or love or share their lives with. On many occasions, I feel as though no one could possibly understand the things that I'm going through (as though my problems are so much more than any other person could comprehend); however, in many cases, this is not true. But Frankenstein's monster is not a human being: he is the only one of his kind. It is quite possible that no one will be able to understand how he feels without a link to anything or anyone in the world. He looks at the portrait of Frankenstein's mother and wonders what it would be like to have someone to care and nurture him. That most vital link--the connection to a mother, is something that the monster cannot even begin to obtain. He was created from the hands of man and not the birth of woman. He tries quite unsuccessfully to maintain the only link that he has in the human world--his creator, but only succeeds in destroying familial connections, and in the end, Frankenstein's life.
Human beings will continue their search for more connections and more links as time passes. The necessity for those who share your passions and experiences will never die. This being said, I challenge all of us to look through the eyes of the monster, and imagine what it would be like to live with that missing link...
posted by maxine at 9:42 PM
3 Comments:
Yes, I agree, humans thrive on relationships and interaction with others--almost as if we are hardwired to seek such interactions.
However, even with our booming information age that connects us all (like cell phones, facebook, etc.), a recent Duke study found that Americans have fewer friends outside the family and basically our close network is shrinking. I feel that increased communication technology is somewhat the cause of this trend because it creates a larger number of artificial links (such as facebook), which takes away time from creating stronger, more meaningful bonds with people.
here is the study:
http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2006/06/socialisolation.html
yep, technology is definitely an important mediator of social relations.
I'm not sure if I agree with Maxine comment about the "scientific" bond between family members. Is there an inherent biological bond between family members? (How are we defining family anyway?)
What might be behind claims to the biological naturalness of family relations? (ie: when biological parents seek to reclaim children who were adopted)
To follow up with the last couple of comments, I think that I would define a family as a group of people who are always willing to make themselves available to you and who are able to sympathize with you. I would say that family extends beyond just the "scientific"/biological bonds between man. When you are able to honestly feel the emotions of another individual whether it may be sadness when they're going through pain or excitement when they are experiencing something joyful, I think it is then that that connection between two individuals can be described as being familial. So, to respond to Maxine's post, I agree that this missing link - an absence of a family - is what's causing him so much grief. For the monster to be going through so much pain and to know that not a person in the world could care less is enough to push him to the edge and become the monster that he appears to be.
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