The Role Of Knowledge In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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Knowledge is something that many have been pursuing for centuries. Everyday, the world is full of people trying to learn something new and expand the knowledge that they already have. While some may say that with knowledge comes power, in the case of Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein, and the Creature in Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, knowledge only brings pain and misery. Readers follow the story of these three characters as they each go about their own journey. As Walton searches for a new passageway, Victor discovers a way to reanimate life, and the Creature learns what he needs to in order to survive in his new world, each help to develop the theme of the pursuit of knowledge.
The first character to develop the pursuit of knowledge within Frankenstein is Captain Robert Walton. Robert Walton has set out to “accomplish some great purpose” (14) and discover a new …show more content…
From a young age, “natural philosophy is the genius that has regulated [his] fate” (34). Frankenstein is obsessed with learning and has a “thirst for knowledge” (35) that is never ending. No matter how many books he reads or how much research he does, it is quite obvious that Victor Frankenstein will forever pursue more and more knowledge. Frankenstein’s thirst for knowledge soon leads him to become obsessed with the power of lighting and eventually the idea of being able to reanimate life. Much like Walton, his pursuit for knowledge begins to control his life and he is unable to differentiate from what is moral and immoral. Frankenstein quickly becomes consumed with the need to create life, causing his own life to take a dark turn as he becomes secluded from his family and friends. The only thing that Frankenstein cares about is expanding his knowledge as much as he possibly can. By coming from a family with access to a lot of education, Victor Frankenstein’s life is plagued with the need to pursue
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