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The Dangers of Scientific Exploration within Frankenstein
Written in a time where the quest for scientific knowledge was highly valued, Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, a novel about the creation of a monster from the flesh of the dead. While many scholars believe that Frankenstein is a novel intended for the horror or science fiction genre, Frankenstein is instead a warning against the dangers of too much scientific exploration. Frankenstein shows the negative consequences of the desire for excessive knowledge through the downfalls of the main character, Victor Frankenstein, who suffers through illness and loss of his family and friends as a result of his obsession with acquiring knowledge.
Throughout Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein's health deteriorates as a result of his quest for knowledge. Victor begins his slow decline of health as he begins his studies in Ingolstadt. As Frankenstein looks back on his intense focus he says, "My cheek had grown pale with study" (40). This statement suggests that Victor has been spending all of his time focusing on schoolwork. The word "pale" specifically suggests this because a person who stays indoors all the time will become pale from lack of sunlight. Had Victor not had such a strong quest for knowledge, he would be unlikely to be so pale because he would have found time for socialization. Similarly, the statement may also mean that he is pale with worry and nervousness about his assignments. This may indicate that Victor is so dedicated to his studies that they have become the most important thing to him. Frankenstein also mentions his lack of socialization with his classmates due to his dedication to his classes, "Study had before secluded me from the intercourse of my fellow creatures, and rendered me unsocial. . ." (56). Frankenstein mentions that he has spent so much time alone that he has become completely unsocial. His quest for knowledge has begun breaking down relationships with his friends and classmates, which is detrimental to psychological well-being. Prior to Ingolstadt, Victor spent a lot of time with Elizabeth and Clerval and he very much enjoyed their company. If companions make Frankenstein happy, then it is inferred that the lack of companions makes Frankenstein unhappy.
Frankenstein's health begins to rapidly decline as he nears the completion of his monster. Frankenstein becomes visibly sick and agitated. Consider his health when he states, "Every night I was oppressed by a slow fever, and I became nervous to a most painful degree; the fall of a leaf startled me, and I shunned fellow creatures as if I had been guilty of a crime" (42). As Frankenstein works on his creature, he develops a fever, showing that the stress brought on by his taboo work is making him physically ill. Frankenstein also mentions that he has become increasingly nervous. This particular statement shows that Frankenstein feels that creating his monster is morally wrong. He specifically uses the phrase, ". . . as if I were guilty of a crime. . ." signifying that he feels like his peers are judging him. He has become so paranoid of the fear of judgment and being discovered that he isolates himself from his peers. He also shows exactly how nervous he has become by stating, ". . . the fall of a leaf startled me. . ." This statement shows that Frankenstein has become jumpy and suspicious of his surroundings to such a degree that even the slightest movement causes him great distress. The fact that Frankenstein transitioned from a happy man with plenty of companions to an isolated, paranoid scholar shows that his intense focus on education and knowledge has caused him to become increasingly ill.
While Frankenstein became steadily unwell as he created his monster, the pinnacle of his physical illness began to occur directly after the completion of the monster. Once his creation was alive, Frankenstein was overcome with the guilt, shame and remorse over creating a monster, and the physical and mental exhaustion that was the product of the monster's creation. Frankenstein states, "This was the commencement of a nervous fever which confined me for several months" (47). Not only is Frankenstein overwhelmed by the successful completion of the monster, but he has also in result, become deliriously sick for months. This sickness was only brought on by the extreme dedication to the creation of his monster. Frankenstein's physical and mental health has come to such a debilitating point that he can no longer get out of bed.
Frankenstein's most incapacitating illnesses occurred after the death of his best friend, Henry Clerval. Upon the discovery of his friend, Frankenstein sunk into a deep sickness. As Frankenstein recalls, ". . . I was carried out of the room in strong convulsions. A fever succeeded to this. I lay for two months on the point of death; my ravings, as I afterwards heard, were frightful. . ." (167). This statement shows that Frankenstein's illnesses are getting worse, and, are at the pinnacle of destruction. Frankenstein considers himself to have been "on the point of death", showing that his sickness has become completely out of control. Frankenstein has also become psychologically sick, to the point that he is "raving frightfully.' Prior to coming to Ingolstadt to study, Frankenstein never suffered from psychological illness in such a way that he would become delirious, proving that his sickness can be traced back to his commencement of study at Ingolstadt.
Frankenstein's final devastating illness is the result of the death of Henry Clerval, his best friend. However, due to the insatiable desire for knowledge, which led to the creation of the monster, Frankenstein suffered through many more deaths of his friends and family. The first deaths experienced due to the creation of the monster were William, Frankenstein's brother, and Justine, Frankenstein's longtime friend and adopted sister. As Frankenstein laments on his guilt for their deaths he says, "Thus spoke my prophetic soul, as, torn by remorse, horror, and despair, I beheld those I loved spend vain sorrow upon the graves of William and Justine, the first hapless victims to my unhallowed arts" (76). Frankenstein acknowledges that his monster is the reason for the deaths of his beloved friends by using the phrase "my unhallowed arts." Frankenstein knows that his desire to learn and to create his monster is the reason William and Justine were killed, and he realizes that the science he developed in creating the monster was immoral.
Frankenstein also suffered through the death of Henry Clerval, the third fatality of his monster. After Clerval's death, Frankenstein fell into a deep sickness, which left him bedridden for two months. Upon finding Clerval's body, Frankenstein shouted, "Have my murderous machinations deprived you also, my dearest Henry, of life? Two I have already destroyed; other victims await their destiny . . ." (167). Once again, Frankenstein admits that he is at fault for the death of Clerval. Frankenstein essentially calls himself a murderer by using the phrase "my murderous machinations", meaning that his plans for the monster were murderous, even though he originally believed that he would be creating only life. Had Frankenstein not spent so much effort learning, and creating the monster from these studies, the lives of his innocent friends and family would have been spared.
Frankenstein's wife and cousin, Elizabeth was also killed by his monster, on their wedding night. Frankenstein's monster had previously warned Frankenstein that he would continue to kill if he was not made a wife and companion, yet, Frankenstein still refused, resulting in the death of his new bride. Frankenstein recounts the moments of her death, ". . . I heard a shrill and dreadful scream. It came from the room into which Elizabeth had retired" (186). Frankenstein hoped that he and Elizabeth would be able to escape the rampage of the monster, but despite his efforts to flee, the monster was able to catch up with them and murder Elizabeth. Frankenstein describes his emotions upon her death, "I escaped from them to the room where lay the body of Elizabeth, my love, my wife, so lately living, so dear, so worthy" (186). The monster has sought revenge for being denied a companion by killing Frankenstein's only love. Elizabeth is Frankenstein's strongest supporter and because of her death, Frankenstein is left without a lifelong companion. In short, Frankenstein is left with little to live for, much as the existence forced upon his own creation. This loss shows the extreme consequences of too much knowledge; not only is Frankenstein condemned to be alone, but his monster has also lived a meaningless and desolate life.
Frankenstein's final loss was the death of his father. While the monster did not kill Alphonse directly, Frankenstein's father died from grief over the deaths of so many of his children and friends. His father quickly fell into sickness after the murder of Elizabeth, "He could not live under the horrors that were accumulated around him; the springs of existence suddenly gave way; he was unable to rise from his bed, and in a few days he died in my arms" (189). Frankenstein has lost many friends and family through the monster, who, by all means, should have been Frankenstein's greatest achievement. With the death of his father, Frankenstein is left with only his brother, and a deep feeling of grief and loneliness. Frankenstein's obsession has not only made himself sick various times, but it has also directly contributed to the sickness and eventual death of his father, as well as the murders of many of his friends and family.
Frankenstein is a cautionary tale on the dangers of seeking too much knowledge. Due to Frankenstein's' excessive and at times, obsessive, desire for knowledge, Frankenstein suffers through multiple illnesses, and eventually death. Frankenstein too suffers the death of many of his family members and close friends, leading him to become quite isolated and vengeful. While knowledge is considered useful and valuable to a society, it is important to refrain from obsession over gaining knowledge. Frankenstein learned through sickness and death that obsession can result in dire consequences, not only for the obsessed, but also for the loved ones and community of the obsessed.