Physical isolation such as characters stranded on distant planets, post-apocalyptic wastelands, or those taking long-duration space travel, serves as a powerful narrative device, driving character development, exploring the human psyche under extreme conditions, and highlighting the importance of human connection in a vast and indifferent universe We all know how Mark Watney’s physical isolation on Mars forces him to rely on his ingenuity and resourcefulness to survive, leading to creative solutions and a deep exploration of his character– The Martian by Andy Weir. Frodo and Sam’s journey to Mordor in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien is a tale of physical isolation as they traverse dangerous lands, testing their resilience and the strength of their friendship. Other stories like Robinson Crusoe” by Daniel Defoe, are similar where the titular character’s isolation on a deserted island leads to his transformation, as he learns to survive and grapples with his own morality. Characters can struggle for survival, test physical endurance, lose or gain sanity, evolve with problem-solving, have despair, or question values facing moral dilemmas. We can see great introspection and growth of characters using this type of tool. Additional novels like Ship of Fools (also published as Unto Leviathan) by Richard Paul Russo, or Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton reveal physical isolation changes in characters.

Emotional isolation serves as a powerful narrative device, driving character arcs, exploring themes of identity and morality, and highlighting the universal human need for connection and understanding. These are characters coping with the loss of family, friends, or entire societies or those feeling disconnected from one’s own species, society, or even reality itself. For example, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, both Victor Frankenstein and his creation, the Creature, experience emotional isolation. Victor isolates himself due to his guilt and fear, while the Creature is rejected by society. This emotional isolation drives the novel’s tragic events. In A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, Meg Murry struggles with emotional isolation and a lack of self-confidence. Her journey through time and space allows her to confront these feelings and find inner strength. Other novels include Dune by Frank Herbert, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami, Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.

In my upcoming novel Trena the Memory Reader, my female protagonist is gifted with the ability to read memories. For those more worldly, educated, and having more faith, this gift represents becoming a favored of the gods, among the people. But for some, her close kin, her neighbors, the outland shepherd folk she was raised with, it signifies she is different, to be feared, having a possible curse. And so she is forced into an isolation that radically changes her life.

Here is a sample:

“Trena, daughter of Edis, stand for a hearing!” a middle-aged shamt called out from the canopy-shaded dais centralized where the residents gather for the monthly announcements. His tone, though, held no more of an answer to his request than if he held the roster of the latest chosen younglings to begin their age quest testing or if he were about to confer the planting seasons weathering report. 

All eyes shifted to look at her. These days she could no more hide within the tribe than a dragon could hide amongst the horses in the pens. Her long dark hair hung, stray little wisps flowing in the crisp morning air, to frame the one-piece shaded visor she now wore across her eyes, a brooding contrast to the tanned features beneath. Yet, the strange eye covering was not the only noticeable evidence. In truth, she could never hide. A clansman of the Ipeyo people, be she a woman, man, or child, is one of us and we recognize our own. But many people did perceive her differently. 

Unlike the boisterous young women raised in the isolated village, there was a stillness within her seventeen years. A lasting calm that bound the regular girlish energy with silent apathy. And when she spoke, her tone held a carefulness. And like the mountain she lived upon was built to withstand the winds and cold, she too was taller than average, strong of muscle, some say strong of mind. Although she held these traits, she was bred from the cautious shepherd folk, a reserved and lower sub-caste of the tribe.