I’ve read Frankenstein once before, years ago. Returning to it, I was instantly struck by the role that science plays. Victor Frankenstein is a fiercely committed student of philosophy and other sciences. He has a sort of obsession with the furthering of knowledge and experience through ceaseless study. This study and experimentation, of course, ultimately leads to his complete unhinging. I couldn’t help but read the first section as a sort of disparagement of the pursuit of knowledge. Frankenstein’s experience in studying philosophy and science leads to his ideas that he can be a sort of god, and he releases into the world a monster at the cost of his own health and sanity.
The text makes it clear that Victor was the most committed kind of student and he threw himself head-first into this frenzied pursuit of knowledge. “Two years passed in this manner, during which I paid no visit to Geneva, but was engaged, heart and soul, in the pursuit of some discoveries, which I hoped to make. None but those who have experienced them can conceive the enticements of science.” (Pgs. 32-33) (note: I am reading the Oxford World’s Classics version, thus all page numbers will pertain to that version.) In telling his tale to Walton, he frequently recapitulates the depths of his obsession with the sciences. “Unless I had been animated by an almost supernatural enthusiasm, my application to this study would have been irksome and almost intolerable.” (Pg. 33) As his ideas began to mature he became fascinated by the idea of using his scientific knowledge to give life and play god. “A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me.” (Pg. 36) He begins working night and day, toiling to find the secret of life. In the process his health and mental stability slowly crumble and dissolve. “But my enthusiasm was checked by my anxiety, and I appeared rather like one doomed by slavery and toil in the mines, or any other unwholesome trade, than an artist occupied by his favourite employment.” (Pg. 38) Upon completing his creation, Frankenstein feels sick, tired, afraid, and utterly enslaved by his mad pursuits and feels he must, somehow, escape his foolishness and his freshly-spawned monster. “You have guessed right; I have lately been so deeply engaged in one occupation, that I have not allowed myself sufficient rest, as you see: but I hope, I sincerely hope that all these employments are now at an end, and that I am at length free.” (Pg. 42) Something curious is said in a letter to Frankenstein that I find interesting and important. His cousin, Clerval, not knowing the cause of Frankenstein’s illness, writes that “A farmer’s is a very healthy happy life; and the least hurtful, or rather the most beneficial profession of any.” (Pg. 45) Is Shelley, perhaps, suggesting that science or education at large is harmful?
