Analysis Of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: The Virtue Of Knowledge

“And what, Socrates, is the food of the soul? Surely, I said, knowledge is the food of the soul.”-Plato. Acquisition of knowledge previously unknown to man stems from humanity’s remarkable, noteworthy curiosity of that which has not yet been discovered. New knowledge, metaphorically, is “food for the soul,” as said by Plato. A driving force behind one’s thoughts and actions is desire, the consuming need to accomplish. Going where no man has gone before, being heralded as a visionary or pioneer, and finding answers to the burning questions inside one’s bosom. Altogether, these motives are notable examples of desires. Venturing on a treacherous journey for clues to find abstract or concrete things, and to be successful both collectively combine

Firstly, the pursuit of knowledge does not solely encompass increasing one’s mental prowess or social understanding. Rather, knowledge is came upon by discovery of what an individual seeks, and in the case of the seafarer Robert Walton, what he seeked was material. Through examination of his letters to Mrs. Saville, it can be seen clear as day what this man’s heart beats for, glory. Walton yearns to discover a passage through the Arctic Ocean to the North Pacific Ocean via the seas of the North Pole, his burning craving to discover this route sparked to a blaze by ardent thoughts of fame and glory, “I shall satiate my ardent curiosity with the sight of a part of the world never before visited, and may tread a land never before imprinted by the foot of a man” (letter 1). Despite what the captain’s motivation suggests, his intentions are as an intellectual. His father was a seafarer before himself, and for this reason, Robert’s education was neglected. He read books in his relative’s library and wanted to make a historical finding,

To demonstrate, all that needs to be done is to look at the technological advancements that have been made up until this point in time. When it comes to scientific advancements, scientists are not ‘focusing’ on increasing their knowledge about a subject. Instead, they are trying to pioneer new ways, find new concepts in their field, to do what society says is impossible, to find the knowledge of how to do such things; for example, the idea of engineering a plant that needs no sunlight to survive. The thought of figuring out and finding secrets is what drives scientists to dive into their work. Victor Frankenstein was an intellectual as they come, bright, extremely intelligent, and especially, curious. The prospect of learning filled him with a pure, genuine passion of loving discovery, and when he was of age, college filled him with thoughts of arduous trepidation, “When I had attained the age of seventeen, my parents resolved that I should become a student at the university of Ingolstadt.” (Chapter 3). During his stay at Ingolstadt, Victor became fascinated with life and death, the human body. He switched his academic focus to the natural science, and the young man devoted himself to learning about anatomy and what happened to the body after death. This is because in order to pursue their goal, scientists must educate themselves in various different subjects, “I became