by Amy Rosenburg

Created on: October 12, 2008

One of the most important elements of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is the many underlying themes that this book mentions. These themes, such as the danger of knowledge, and the creating of a monster have many applications- not merely in just the novel, but in society as well.

One of the main themes expressed in Shelley's Frankenstein is the danger of knowledge, both in how we acquire it- and the ways we decide to use it. An example of this theme is Victor's obsession to discover the secret of life; and also to discover knowledge above and beyond what society agrees to be true. As obvious by the end of the story, this discovery of knowledge had tragic consequences. Because of his knowledge of how to create life, Victor created a monster that paradoxically destroys life- including not only Victor's closest friends and family, but ultimately Victor himself. This is a perfect example of the consequences of new knowledge. The moral of this story is that we must be careful with the knowledge that we do have, and use it to benefit society rather than for selfish gain.

Another example of this hazardous purist of knowledge is Robert Walton's trip to the North Pole. He wants to take this voyage in order to discover all the mysteries of another side of the world; however, this knowledge proves disastrous when Walton becomes trapped between sheets of ice. Walton, thankfully, survives this near-death experience. The way he survives is by looking back on the mistakes of his friend Victor and realizing how deadly the chasing of knowledge can be. He quickly evacuates his dangerous mission, allowing him to survive (unlike his friend). This shows a perfect example of how being careful with knowledge can provide many benefits- including saving someone's life!

There are many techniques Shelley uses in this story to further enhance her message about the dangers of knowledge. A perfect example of the way that she brings out her message is through a thought she shares in her introduction: "Frightful must it be, for supremely frightful would be the effect of any human endeavor to mock the stupendous mechanism of the Creator of the world" (3). This quote explains completely the effects of misused knowledge. It shows that these effects would be extremely terrifying, and that we must not mess with information we have no idea how to use wisely. We should leave dangerous ideas alone and let the "Creator of the world" and nature itself be the judge of how this knowledge can be used properly.

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