Knowledge in Shelly’s Frankenstein Essay - 1450 Words

In Shelly’s ‘Frankenstein’, the theme of Knowledge is cultivated for multiple purposes. These include the effects of scientific advances, the de-mystification of nature, nature’s revenge and social relations in the romantic era. By examining knowledge in relation to the characters of Victor, Walton and the Creature it can be seen that the theme of knowledge is used a warning against the Enlightenment and a personification of the social injustices of the time. Frankenstein, in his Faustian quest for knowledge, comes to symbolise ‘the man of science’ within the text. His family background and social position places him as a man of the enlightenment. It is therefore arguable that Frankenstein represents the empirical strand of†¦show more content†¦The ‘dissecting room’ reinforces the stereotype of the enlightened scientist as they would have been concerned with the secrets of human anatomy, thus gaining knowledge from nature. Therefore, it is because of Frankenstein’s trespasses into the realm of nature that he is suitably punished by the power of nature. Nature† in Frankenstein appears to be a remarkably fragile moral concept of ambiguous implication. It is as if the Monster, generated within the sanctum of nature, at home in its most sublime settings, might himself represent the final secret of nature, its force of forces[†¦]Nature does not protect Clerval from the malignant possibilities of nature itself. There are more than sounding cataracts and sublime mountains in nature: there are also ones friends monsters and the disseminated pieces of monstrous creation It can be argued that Brook’s opinion suggests that the Creature is synonymous with the power of nature and therefore the creature’s acts against Frankenstein’s family are actually the revenge of nature. Thus showing that Frankenstein’s quest for knowledge has been punished by a higher power. This could also be taken as a wider criticism of scientific knowledge of the time; for example with the appearance of radical new sciences such as ‘Galvanism’. ‘It tookShow MoreRelatedKnowledge and Imagination in Mary Shellys Frankenstein1364 Words   |  6 PagesTitle â€Å"He who knows nothing is closer to the truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors†.(Thomas Jefferson).In Mary Shellys Frankenstein, the theme of the sublime is featured throughout the text. It is seen in the use of knowledge, imagination, and solitariness which is the protagonists primary source of power. This perpetuates their quest for glory, revenge, and what results in their own self-destruction and dehumanization. Ultimately, the final cause being irreversible harmRead MoreDangers of Acquiring Knowledge Illustrated in Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein1075 Words   |  5 PagesHow Dangerous is the Acquirement of Knowledge? 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