Knowledge In Frankenstein

Frankenstein and Paradise Lost: The evil of seeking forbidden knowledge.

The pursuit of knowledge can have both beneficial and harmful outcomes. However, the texts; Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and John Milton’s Paradise Lost, tell about the negative effects of trying to be God and learning things that mortals are not meant to know. The theme of seeking knowledge is explored in both Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and John Milton’s Paradise Lost and the consequences of this pursuit are portrayed as disastrous and dangerous. In Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein’s ambition to create life leads to tragic consequences while in Paradise Lost, Adam and Eve’s desire for knowledge leads to their expulsion from the Garden of Eden, similarly, Satan's desire

The results do not only affect them, but also the lives of the people around them. Seeking knowledge is not wrong, however, pursuing forbidden knowledge is depicted as morally wrong and destructive, both Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and John Milton’s Paradise Lost caution against transgressing natural boundaries, leading to the tragic downfall of not only the characters involved but also the society. On the topic Milton's Paradise Lost and Shelley's Frankenstein both place emphasis on the idea that knowledge is neither necessarily good nor evil, but that its morality is instead determined by how it is sought out and applied: “Knowledge, which is indispensable and inevitable in the postlapsarian world, occupies an insecure and dubious position between the extremes of ignorance and wisdom” (Tianhu Hao, 338). Knowledge is the foundation upon which human

As Victor Frankenstein shows in the novel Frankenstein, his desire to create life has driven him to the point of unwittingly setting in motion a chain of events that ultimately results in the destruction of his universe along with the misery of his loved ones (Shelley, 97-110). Similarly, in Paradise Lost, Adam and Eve's pursuit of knowledge leads them to defy God's command, ultimately resulting in their banishment from the Garden of Eden and experiencing the harsh realities outside the garden presents (Milton, 10). They face dire consequences as they are expelled from Eden and introduce sin and death into the world (Milton, 9:404-1189). Satan's insatiable thirst for power and knowledge blinds him to the inevitable consequences of his rebellion against God. Satan's actions lead to an irreparable rift between himself and God, creating a state of perpetual suffering for