Frankenstein Pursuit Of Knowledge

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a novel about the dangerous pursuit of knowledge, as it explores the consequences of unchecked ambition and the implications of playing God, through the characters of Victor Frankenstein, the creature, and Robert Walton, ultimately emphasizing the idea that the desire for glory can lead to catastrophic consequences. Frankenstein's inexorable craving for knowledge proves to be a risky endeavor as seen through his obsession with reanimating life. When Frankenstein speaks to Walton concering his research and results of those experiences, he says, “Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be

Despite his initial excitement, once he sees his final creation “the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my [his] heart” (59) rather than the initial sense of accomplishment he anticipated. He admits to sacrificing his own health and how he “deprived himself” (59) exemplifying how this obsession consumed him and the physical harm it caused. Alongside that, he felt that he had “created a fiend whose unparalleled barbarity had desolated my heart and filled it forever with the bitterest remorse” (179). He emphasizes the disastrous results of creating a creature and the use of the word fiend hints at the idea that Frankenstein views the creature as evil and shows the degree to which he abhors his creation. The quote indicates his deep regret and recognition of the perpetuity of his actions. Nevertheless, Frankenstein is not the only human who is pursuing knowledge that could prove to be dangerous. Walton desires to surpass all human explorations and reach the North Pole; which sounded ridiculous and impossible, just like Frankenstein's