The Role Of Knowledge In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

In the book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible, when Adam and Eve were first in the Garden of Eden, they knew not of good or evil. Their God told them to not eat from a tree that would give them insight on what is lawful and what is not. As time passed they were eventually deceived by a serpent, and went against God and became enlightened with the matter of good and evil. This knowledge was not only something that changed everything in their lives for the worse, but it set them apart from their Creator. Characters in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein encounter similar experiences with knowledge. Through a close reading of this novel, knowledge may at first be enthralling, but once met with it, individuals may become aware of its ultimate danger as it can lead to an end that is not pleasant in the long run. Shelley sees knowledge as a fruit, such as one from the forbidden tree. She notices the problems knowledge can cause and underlies it in Victor Frankenstein, one of the more prominent narrators of the book. Victor ardently seeks to acquire knowledge, and the anatomy of the human body and the cause of life fascinates him, thus through these two subjects he decides to bring a human to life himself. The …show more content…
In addition to abuse of power, the knowledge he received also made him more aware of how his creation ruined his only chances of happiness and drove him down a disastrous path of guilt and shame. He makes it very clear towards the beginning of his narration that Robert Walton should avoid his route: “learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge” (51). Knowledge led Victor to “play god” and create something monstrous that only brought terror that tortured him until his final