Self-Guided Education In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

In Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein" each of the three main characters "possesses a self-governing, passionate intellectual curiosity, which, rather than any formal system of education, is responsible for the formation of their characters." (Englert) Robert Walton's education was mostly from his uncle Thomas's library. He was in pursuit to advance his personal development and factual knowledge, this was his self-guided education. Walton was extremely interested in the sea-faring life, he traveled for his own educational inquiry. "I often worked harder than the common sailors during the day, and devoted my nights to the study of mathematics, the theory of medicine, and those branches of physical science from which a naval adventure might derive

Victor became eager to learn and master the secret to life, he was fascinated by the human frame, and how to manipulate and control it. However this obsession became more self-fulfillment than social utility, which ended up being his downfall. The creature had intellectual curiosity when it came to his self guided education. He was forced to learn to survive, how to fend for himself, he also learned the dangers of the world. The creature had learned the majority of his knowledge through mimicking the De Lacey family. He learned to read, understand language, he experienced history lesson's of Europe, and how to speak " I now continually studied and exercised my mind upon these histories, whilst my friends were employed in their ordinary occupations". (Shelley 91) The creature's ambition to learn was for a good purpose, however his increased knowledge only showed him the true outcast that he was. Each of the main characters pursued education for different reasons, Walton learned for sea-faring, Victor learned for science, and the creature learned for