Quote: “No one can conceive the variety of the feelings which bore me onwards, like a hurricane, in the first enthusiasm of success. Like and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world. A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. No father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs. Pursuing these reflections, I thought that if I could bestow animation upon lifeless matter, I might in the process of time (although I now found it impossible) renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption, (Frankenstein 55).”
Comment: This quote is taken just as Victor gets the idea to create a being and bring it to life. At this point in the novel Victor has expressed his interest in the natural philosophies and is now learning more about this subject at the University of Ingolstadt. One theme that I believe is prevalent throughout the novel is the pursuit of knowledge and the dangers of taking knowledge too far. Though in most cases I would agree that knowledge is a good thing, I do think there are cases (especially in science) where the morals of how that knowledge is being obtained needs to be evaluated. This is most definitely the case in Frankenstein and can be observed in the quote above. Victor is essentially trying to play God by creating a new creature, and because he is its creator he expects its devotion. Not only is Victor not considering the morals of creating new life, but also the consequences this will have on his creation, the neighboring community, the environment, and even the dead people he used to make the creature. This quote also calls into question why Victor is so determined to create life, is it in the benefit of science, or is it a form of bragging rights to say that he was able to do it while others couldn’t? The line “a new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me,” makes me believe that it is the latter. I believe this quote is an excellent example of the hubris and lack of morals that Victor shows throughout the novel, which may cause the reader to consider who the true “monster” is?
Question: Is it possible for science to go too far? What is the line between science going too far and science that justifies the means?
