Taking A Look At Robert Walton's Dangerous Quest

“The desire of knowledge in excess caused men to fall” throughout history and in the modern day (Francis Bacon). Francis Bacon, a widely known and renowned scientist, philosopher, and lawyer, commented on a widely observed phenomenon. People who try too hard to find answers often end up worse off for it. Scientists become poisoned by the chemical they spent their entire life studying. Reporters become too involved in the things they once just observed. Athletes are constantly hurt by the sports they love. Even with all of these consequences, people still take the risk that is involved with searching for knowledge. This dangerous quest is the focus of several of the characters in Frankenstein including Robert Walton, the creature, and Victor

“The dangerous mysteries of the ocean” are the inspiration behind Robert Walton’s deadly quest to the Arctic (Shelley 6). Instead of listening to the people who tried to “[persuade him] that the pole is the seat of frost and desolation”, he allowed himself to be inspired by the idea of conquering an insurmountable exploration (Shelley 1). Often people are motivated by the idea that other people do not believe in them, but this is not necessarily a good thing. When he left, he expected his homeward journey to be one of celebration, but instead he felt “ignorant and disappointed” in himself and in the journey (Shelley 160). If he had listened to the warnings, he would have never taken the disheartening journey to the Arctic that eventually destroyed every bit of confidence he once had in himself. This lack of thought before going on the journey caused him to self-destruct. If he had thought through the dangers of the exploration, he might have decided not to go and would never have lost confidence in himself. He will always feel like a failure and will never recover from the disappointment that comes with the end of a dream. Robert Walton was destroyed by his desire to learn about an area never explored before. He was the first character introduced that faced the harsh reality of searching for information, but there are many more throughout the

Frankenstein spent years studying science and philosophy, hoping to find the answers to the “secrets of heaven and earth” (Shelley 19). He was never satisfied with the answers that he found in books. Because of his dissatisfaction, he lead himself to believe that he could find the answers to life and death. He lead himself to believe that only he could become a god and be the creator and leader of a new race. Frankenstein never took a moment to think about the dangers of crossing so many natural boundaries. He ignored all of the people before him who had failed and began working for "nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body” (Shelley 35). Soon, Frankenstein realized the consequences of the act he had committed when he gave a body life. He was suddenly responsible for the actions of a new creature, but he was not even willing to think through his decision on what to do with the creature. He immediately ran away, leaving the creature to experience the harshness of the world alone. Throughout the entire story, Victor Frankenstein pushes aside rational thought to explore the focuses of his curiosity. Shelley shows that there are consequences to the quest for knowledge by letting the reader see the people affected by it. In this case, it was Victor’s family. The creature that he had created, entirely because he wanted to be the first/only