Monday, October 15, 2018
The Danger of Knowledge –
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
“After days and nights of
incredible labor and fatigue, I succeeded in discovering the cause of
generation and life; nay, more, I became myself capable of bestowing animation
upon lifeless matter.” (Shelley 34)
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The book Frankenstein shows
the Danger of Knowledge in one very specific way, it shows how a man ruins his
life by his thirst of knowledge. But the theme “Danger of Knowledge” is not
only shown by Victor Frankenstein himself, it is also shown by two other
characters in the book: The monster and Robert Walton. Mary Shelley believes,
that the desire to achieve this dangerous knowledge leads to self destruction
for all three characters in the book, not matter if the caused damage is
minimal or severe.
After a long time of research
and studying, Victor Frankenstein believes that he is able to create life by
the use of electricity and body parts of dead men. After Victor Frankenstein
successfully brought his creature to life he first shows some kind of concern
about his creation and its possible effects. He is also not sure how to
“employ” it in the right manner. “When I found so astonishing a power placed
within my hands, I hesitated a long time concerning the manner in which I
should employ it.” (Shelley 35) Even tough he hesitated at the beginning, he
eventually decides to take action. This is a very important point shown by
Shelley here, because it shows Victors willingness use his knowledge despite
the risk and ignore his conscience. If we take a closer look and really think
about it, the only reason why Victor created this monster was his own creed. He
wanted to proof the others and himself that he is able to do something no one
else can do. As a result of his action, he and his family are haunted by the
monster. By using his knowledge, Victor Frankenstein played the role of God,
creating life out of something dead. But unlike God, he is not able, or not
willing to take care for his creation and therefore pays the price for his own
mistake.
The next character in
Frankenstein, who is pursuing some kind of dangerous knowledge is Robert
Walton. Robert Walton desires to surpass all explorations by humans and reach
the North Pole; which seemed impossible and ridiculous and that time, just like
Frankenstein´s pursuits. As he gets ready and sets out for an adventure he
keeps writing letters of his journey to his sister. But Walton is also very
unsure about where his journey will lead him and what will happen on this
journey. “I shall satiate my ardent curiosity with a sight of a part of the
world never before visited, and may tread a land never before imprinted by the
foot of a man.” (Shelley 1-2) Robert Walton continues to pursue his views until
he meets Victor Frankenstein, and hears his story. After hearing Frankenstein´s
story he realizes the consequences of Frankenstein´s actions, and also realizes
that there possible consequences from his own actions. He learned the danger of
knowledge in Frankenstein´s story and therefore end his own voyage as a result.
The third and last character
in Frankenstein, who pursues dangerous knowledge is the monster. The monster
comes across many experiences which make his suffering worse throughout the
book. It also goes trough great extents to learn how to interact and speak to
people. As we can see, the monster tries and eventually manages to become a
human being through education and interaction. There are many examples in the
book showing the monster experiencing new things, which makes him more like a
human being. Through gaining all this knowledge about humans and all sorts of
things of the human world the monster hopes to be no longer excluded and
attacked by the human society. When the monster fails and it backfires on him,
he seeks revenge in a violent way. After the death of Victor Frankenstein no
one really knows what happens to the monster. But it is surely proven by the
example of the monster, that the search of knowledge can be very dangerous.
What are your thoughts on the
danger of knowledge in regards to Frankenstein? Do you think Mary Shelley tried
to show her own struggle and concern about danger of knowledge in her work? Let
me know down below in the comments.
Dominik König
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