How the Theme of Knowledge Helps to Explain Frankenstein by Mary Shelly

Frankenstein, by Mary Shelly, raises important questions as to how the theme of knowledge helps to explain the story. The main focus of Frankenstein is the power of knowledge and how dangerous it can be. This power is portrayed in the main characters of the novel: Victor Frankenstein and the monster. The theme of knowledge helps to answer the question as to why Victor decides to tell Walton his secret. Both of these characters reveal a passion of discovery and intellect, which Victor has made his past and Walton only his future. Their obsessions of knowledge are mirrored in one another through the journeys they take until their paths cross. Finally, the question of the concluding effect of the conversation between Walton and the creature gives answers to the cause of destruction of the creature. It is human contact that is the secret of life and it was this understanding that caused the monster’s course of action.

The most important aspect in Frankenstein’s story given to Walton is the power of knowledge and how potentially dangerous it is. To acquire knowledge is to exercise power and when it is attained, it is irreversible. Throughout the novel, power is portrayed in Victor Frankenstein and the monster.

Frankenstein is consumed studies in natural philosophy; he departs his loved ones to follow his dream of discovering the secret of life and “ardently desired the acquisition of knowledge.” (74) As a result, he creates a creature that becomes his burden. What Victor does not take into account is the absence of the nurturing element in socializing the creature once it is born, which ultimately is the cause of the many deaths of his loved ones: Elizabeth, Justine, William and Henry. He becomes so consumed in the idea of creating ...

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...o be happy in the world he was brought into because of how society sees him. He explains this to gain the last bit of dignity and self control he retains.

The theme of knowledge helps to answer many questions in the novel, Frankenstein. The main focus of the novel is how the dangers of knowledge affect both Victor and the monster. It destructs both of them because with it comes power. It helps answer the question as to why Victor tells Walton his secret. His purpose is to teach Walton what happens if the passion for discovery gets out of control. And finally, it explains the effect of the last conversation between the monster and Walton. The most important thing in life is the people around you, and the desire for other goals can get in the way them. As the monster describes it, knowledge is he one that “clings to the mind, when it has once seized on it…” (136).