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The Struggle For Knowledge In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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Dangerous Minds- Rough Draft Knowledge has the capability to be used for both good and evil. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, there is a consistent message throughout the novel showing the dangerous and destructive power that knowledge can have. Two key characters, Victor Frankenstein and his monster, are shaped through their obsessions with knowledge and the power and responsibility that it brings. Ultimately, Victor’s downfall is a result of his uncontrollable thirst for knowledge, and is brought about through the monster which is the embodiment of his obsession. Victor is a brilliant scientist who figures out a way to create life from death using galvanism, or electricity. He dedicates his life to learning and eventually obtains the knowledge …show more content…

He uses the little that he knows to fuel his hatred towards humans and his creator. This shows the exponential growth of the problems that Victor has created as a result of his desire for knowledge. Not only did he create the destructive monster, but now the monster is using a hunger for knowledge, the very thing that created it, to do even more damage. This root cause is linked to everything that is causing Victor’s suffering. The monster also compares his relationship to Victor to that of God and Adam, wishing that he had the same supplication to his creator that Adam did, “I remembered Adam’s supplication to his creator. But where was mine? He had abandoned me, and in the bitterness of my heart I cursed him” (Shelley 116). This shows how abandoned the monster feels, and how he could leverage that along with other things he learns against Victor and the other humans. Victor’s suffering is entirely self-inflicted. He brings his problems upon himself through his relentless desire for knowledge. His downfall is brought upon him by his creation, which uses knowledge again to do damage to him and those close to him. Knowledge has destructive capabilities and they were abused by Victor and his creation until their ultimate

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This led Victor to “gain some clue by which he might trace the steps, of his fiendish enemy” (249). After finding out that all the people’s death was because of his creation, Victor found it in himself to kill it. If the monster is dead, Victor does not need to worry about it killing nor affecting anyone anymore. With all those deaths, the only thing a person can do to get rid of the feeling of guilt is to kill whoever is responsible for those deaths. In summary, it was Victor’s fault that all those innocent people died and it led to him feeling

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The creature wants to take revenge on Victor for abandoning him and causes Victor grief by killing the people he cares about. When the creature kills, Victor feels responsible and guilty of the murders. He continually breaks down with each death by “his” hands, which makes him go mad. The task of creating a monster turned Victor into a monster

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The search for knowledge is arduous, to utilize knowledge wisely can be blessings, but

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(Shelly 69) What Victor endured in the past still fuelled his hate and anger towards the creature. This hate consumed his whole being leading him to parade such savagery to the creature. Through the cruelty he shows buth his own body and the creature we can see Victor's selfishness.

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