Victor Frankenstein's Misfortune

Thomas Dawicki

Toni J. Weeden

Honors Senior English

November 9, 2017

Research On Victor Frankenstein 's Misfortune In the gothic novel “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley, the main character Victor Frankenstein 's pursuit of knowledge and fame, is commonly blamed for the disastrous events that transpire throughout the novel. However, the notion that knowledge and the pursuit of fame can alone cause so much turmoil is false. As a firm and unwavering believer of the words of Kofi Annan, “Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family”, I believe that knowledge is inherently good, and other factors could have been changed to prevent disaster. Instead of blaming the pursuit of

This is incredibly similar to how Icarus has also done something never experienced by man before as well. However, Victor’s set of wax wings come in the form of the ability to give life, and if it was used responsibly and with caution, this ability could have become an awe inspiring milestone for humanity. However, like Icarus, Victor is carless. Victor does not consider whether or not he could handle creating a life that he would be responsible for, and that becomes the root of his ruin. Despite the countless days spent reanimating the cadaver, Victor never once considered he might find his own work abhorrent. Abandoning a new and unpredictable life resulted in the monster escaping, and Victor should have predicted every moment leading to his fatal mistake. Blinded by dreams of being the first man to give life to the dead, Victor does not notice how close to the sun he was getting thanks to his

Disaster could have been avoided if Victor had made an attempt to contain his work, instead of assuming that leaving an unpredictable being could have no negative outcomes. Victor’s blind pursuit of fame and ignorance was akin to that of Icarus, and his lack of forethought was akin to that of Jephthah. Considering all the evidence and comparisons, it is abundantly clear that it was not the pursuit of knowledge and fame that doomed Victor Frankenstein; but it was his divine ignorance and responsibility that had doomed