Frankenstein Knowledge Quotes

In the novel, Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley, the protagonist, Victor Frankenstein has a desire for divine knowledge to the extent that he would disregard humanity. Mary builds Victor as a knowledge-hungry character that is driven to knowing the secret of life without thinking of the consequences. Frankenstein’s excursion for knowledge led to a life of desolation. When meeting Walton, he warns him, “‘You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been’” (Shelley 15). This quote suggests that Victor’s downfall started before the creation of the monster. Victor always had a strong desire to learn as a young boy. He was captivated with the sciences. Unfortunately, Frankenstein is

Victor states, “My limbs now tremble and my eyes swim with the remembrance; but then a resistless, and almost frantic, impulse urged me forward; I seemed to have lost all soul or sensation but for this one pursuit… and I shunned my fellow-creatures as if I had been guilty of a crime” (Shelley 40). This shows that Victor was once an innocent youth fascinated by the science of nature and then turned into a disillusioned, guilt-ridden man determined to destroy what he has created. Paul Sherwin demonstrates that, “for Frankenstein, who is dubiously in love with his own polymorphously disastrous history, the fateful event to which every other catastrophe is prelude or postscript is the creation” (Sherwin 883). Victor represses his needs to sleep, eat, and have any contact with his family and friends to follow this one ambition. The monster and Victor have all experienced the affects of self-centeredness. Learning is a part of the human experience, but when the thirst for knowledge is taken too far the effects can be devastating, not only for the student but also for others around