Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley establishes a variety of thematic topics. One theme that is discussed throughout the entire novel is the idea of health and how it is affected by mental and physical conditions. After Victor discovered the death of Henry, "[His] strength was gone. [He] was a mere skeleton; and fever night and day preyed upon [his] wasted frame" (Shelley, 135). Victor was in so much shock and horror that his health began to deteriorate. At this point he is beginning to lose the will to live. He is in so much dismay that he has rendered himself physically ill for months on end. Since Victor's health is so harshly impacted due to being weakened mentally, the reader can get a sense of how his memories are destroying him. The events that occurred distorted his mind so much that his physical health leads to near death. Whenever Victor hits a mental breakdown, he seems to come close to death due to illness. Shelley is able to convey a direct correlation between the frantic mental state Victor is in to the health conditions he experiences.