A human being in perfection ought always to preserve a calm and peaceful mind and never to allow passion or a transitory desire to disturb his tranquility. I do not think that the pursuit of knowledge is an exception to this rule. If the study to which you apply yourself has a tendency to weaken your affections and to destroy your taste for those simple pleasures in which no alloy can possibly mix, then that study is certainly unlawful, that is to say, not befitting the human mind. If this rule were always observed; if no man allowed any pursuit whatsoever to interfere with the tranquillity of his domestic affections, Greece had not been enslaved, Caesar would have spared his country, America would have been discovered more gradually, and the empires of Mexico and Peru had not been destroyed.
“I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.” “There is There is something at work in my soul, which I do not understand”. “Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow” (Shelley 60). In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, she expresses her beliefs regarding the danger of pursuing happiness through the attainment of knowledge, because true happiness is found in the emotional connections established between people. The pursuit of knowledge is not necessarily an evil thing, but it can cause destruction when it is pursued beyond natural limits. Victor Frankenstein becomes a slave to his passion for learning in more than one way; first his life is controlled by. The result of his passion, the monster, is ever present in Frankenstein’s thoughts and it controls his actions. The monster eventually destroys everything that is important to Frankenstein, because everyone he loved is dead. Frankenstein lives the rest of his miserable life in hope of avenging the deaths of his loved ones. Shelley expresses that relationships between people are the key to happiness, because Frankenstein is unable to find any joy after his loved ones are murdered. Throughout the story, Frankenstein is a slave to his desire for knowledge and the ability to create life. The pursuit of knowledge is not the only passion that can lead to a person to a life of suffering. Shelley’s example of Frankenstein’s uncontrollable urge to learn can be applied to any passion that is taken to an extreme. “A human being in perfection ought always to preserve a calm and peaceful mind, and never allow passion or a transitory desire to disturb his tranquility” (Shelley 64).
Shelley also uses the monster to portray the idea that happiness is found through personal relationships. From the moment he is created, people react to the monster with fear and hate, but all he wants is to be loved. While watching the family in the cottage, the monster desires only to reveal himself to them and gain their love and acceptance. He quickly learns how to speak and read in order to make...