Frankenstein / Transition and Isolation
I, who had ever been surrounded by amiable companions, continually engaged in endeavouring to bestow mutual pleasure—I was now alone. In the university whither I was going I must form my own friends and be my own protector. My life had hitherto been remarkably secluded and domestic, and this had given me invincible repugnance to new countenances. I loved my brothers, Elizabeth, and Clerval; these were “old familiar faces,” but I believed myself totally unfitted for the company of strangers.
Microstory
As dawn broke, a chill settled over the empty campus, each echoing footstep amplifying the sense of isolation that enveloped him. He clutched his books tightly, each spine a reminder of his beloved brothers and Elizabeth, their laughter still ringing in his ears. Yet here, amid the unfamiliar faces, he felt like a ghost, invisible among the warm, animated conversations that danced around him, a stark contrast to the warmth of home he longed for. (AI-generated story)
The excerpt reflects a profound transition from the comforts of familiar relationships to the daunting prospect of solitude and the need for self-reliance. Historically, this captures the tension of the Romantic era, where individualism was both celebrated and feared, particularly as characters faced the complexities of personal identity in a rapidly changing society. The speaker's struggle with 'invincible repugnance to new countenances' highlights the psychological barriers that accompany social interactions, a theme resonant with broader Romantic ideals of introspection and emotional depth. Such internal conflict invites readers to explore the nature of companionship and the fear of the unknown, central motifs in literary explorations of existential crises and personal growth. (AI-generated commentary)