Danger of Knowledge in Shelley\'s

Danger of Knowledge in Shelley's Frankenstein

"Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how happier the man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow" (Shelley 38).

Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein reveals Shelley's concern for mankind as he pursues knowledge. Through Victor's experiences, Shelley outlines how knowledge leads to corruption and destruction. Victor's thirst for creating life was a goal he accomplished but things did not turn out as he planned and, as a result, the rest of his life is marked by one destructive event after another. Knowledge is dangerous and seeking to become something greater than human is destructive, as we learn through Victor's experience.

The theme of knowledge is linked with corruption in the novel from our first impressions with Victor. He reaches Robert a bedraggled man, whose only advice is to do away with any notions of acquiring knowledge. Shelley positions Robert in a situation where he needs to hear Victor's words because he, too, is consumed with knowledge and accomplishing great things. He tells Margaret, "I cannot describe to you my sensations on the near prospect of my undertaking . . . I have often attributed my attachment to, my passionate enthusiasm for, the dangerous mysteries of the ocean to that production of the most imaginative or modern poets" (Shelley 7). Robert expresses his "love for the marvelous, a belief in the marvelous, intertwined with all my projects" (7). He is no different from Victor who wrote, "I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health, I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation" (42). If anyone could relate to Victor, it is Robert, who faces the danger of the "floating sheets of ice" (8) with determination. He does not see the risk involved nor does he consider unintended consequences, which almost always crop up. He wants what he wants and nothing will stop him. We see this determination when he writes, "But success shall crown my endeavors . . What can stop the determined heart and resolved will of man?" (8). Here we see how men can cross the line from desiring knowledge to becoming obsessive.

Knowledge in itself is not a bad thing. In fact, most will agree knowledge is a good thing. However, when the pursuit of knowledge becomes a blinding passion, it is dangerous and Robert and Victor both possess this kind of desire. They do not care what it takes for them to reach their goals as long as they reach them. Victor's eagerness to learn begins quite innocently. He interest in science is normal but his curiosity moves him beyond normal. He wants to know more that what can be known and then he wants to do more than what can be done. He becomes fascinated with the "principle of life" (36) and wants to know how life begins. He admits, "I would sacrifice my fortune, my existence, my every hope, to the furtherance of my enterprise. One man's life or death was but a small price to pay for the acquirement of the knowledge which I sought" (13). This passage reveals just how far gone Victor is. He is at the point where he will do anything, even murder, to get what he wants. Victor believes he can create life in his laboratory. He is over-confident and refuses to look at anything negative that could happen as a result of his endeavors. He fails to believe that any unintended consequences would be negative enough to make him regret his decision. He simply does not see what he does not want to see. We all do this at one point or another when we want something. However, Victor's choices involve other people and he demonstrates he does not care. He realizes he is "solely wrapped up" (36) with his experiment and does not care. Here we see how knowledge is dangerous because it becomes more important than life itself.

The thirst of knowledge is linked to destruction as we watch the events of Victor's life unfold. The most important fact we see as Victor recounts his tale to Robert is how Victor could not the danger he is now expressing to Robert while he was in the middle of it. Victor was too consumed with his dream to see all the destruction around him. It takes losing all of the important people in his life to bring him around. Until he comes to this realization, he believes he is the "chosen" one upon which secrets of the universe will fall. He describes a light that:

Broke in upon me-- a light so brilliant and wondrous, yet so simple, that while I became dizzy with the immensity of the prospect which it illustrated, I was surprised that so many men of genus who had directed their inquiries towards the same science, that I alone should be reserved to discover so astonishing a secret. (37)

Victor is completely narcissistic at this point and there is little anyone can do to bring him back into the real world. He believes he is special and that he has some sort of special connection to universal knowledge no one else is privy to. Here we see that knowledge is self-destructive. Victor puts himself first and believes himself to be somehow better than everyone else because he is enlightened.