Boundaries In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

For those who seek knowledge, the boundaries are limited and have consequences if exceeded. The novel Frankenstein illustrates the frame story of a young man who seeks out knowledge to feed his curiosity about life. Mary Shelley uses characterization of Victor and the conflict he encounters to convey the pursuit of knowledge is a dangerous quest, as detailed by his curiosity, responsibility, and the consequences of his actions.

As a curious person, Victor seeks out answers to his ever growing questions about life and science. In Belrive, Victor witnesses a terrible thunderstorm. A lightning bolt had come down to strike a tree that resulted in a blasted stump. It states, “...I beheld a stream of fire issue from an old and beautiful oak… as the dazzling light vanished, the oak had disappeared…It was not splintered by the shock, but entirely reduced to thin ribbands of wood(40). Conversely electricity prompted Victor to search more

Victor made the decision to play with life, which caused the monster to hunt down and slaughter his family and friends. It states, “The death of William, the execution of Justine, the murder of Clerval, and lastly of my wife; even at that moment I knew not that my only remaining friends were safe from the malignity of the fiend; my father even now might be writhing under his grasp, and Ernest might be dead at his feet” (214). Victor's brother William, the innocent Justine, his best friend Henry Clerval, and his dear lover Elizabeth all were slain by the monster. Nevertheless the deaths of his family and friends has taken a toll on Victor’s health. It reads, “The human frame could no longer support the agonies that I endured, and I was carried out of the room in strong convulsions”(191). The monster causes Victor to become paranoid, portraying a Man vs. Man conflict because each incident causes Victor to drift father and father away from his sanity