In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein personifies the changing attitude towards science in the early 18th century. The medical profession was a dynamic and constantly growing field. New concepts were continuously arising and experimentation was constantly occurring. Scientists were testing and pushing boundaries between life and death and discovering new, improved methods of treatments and diagnosis. Frankenstein is a warning about the future and how the power of science can unleash forces that are uncontrollable. In the 18th century, many new medical procedures appeared that drastically transformed the future of medicine. Blood transfusions predate Frankenstein by 150 years. As science progressed, so did the equality of recognition. Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman to receive a medical degree, a pioneer in promoting the education of science to women. …show more content…
The Oxford English Dictionary defines motivation as “that which moves a person to act” in contrast to seduction which means “to entice to do or believe something inadvisable.”(Oxford English Dictionary) Frankenstein was clearly “seduced”. With him being in this state, he ultimately neglected his duties by forgetting about his family and hiding from society. Frankenstein's interest in science sparked his remarkable imagination to become a mad scientist. In the late 1800s, doctors were using arsenic, a well-known poison, and mercury, a liquid metal used to tell the temperature, to treat syphilis before the introduction of penicillin came about. In contrast to mercury, low doses of arsenic found in seafood have a minimal risk to humans. As inorganic arsenic is highly toxic and can cause damage neurologically and might be the cause of some cancers. Today's doctors know the dangers of certain chemicals to the human body through trial and error and without these mistakes we wouldn’t be as technologically advanced as we are