Deterioration of Relationships in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The unwavering desire for knowledge may cause the decay of relationships. This idea is displayed as Victor Frankenstein, the protagonist, continually desires to create human life from inanimate materials, which leads to the destruction of many of his relationships. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, exhibits how the constant desire for information may cause the deterioration of relationships through the decayed relationships Victor has with himself, his family, and society.

The constant desire for knowledge may cause the obliteration of the relationship one has with themselves. Victor becomes obsessed with creating life, and this causes his overall health to decay. Victor has just created the malicious monster and his initial reaction is: “I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the soul purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I have deprived myself of rest and health” (Shelley 51). Victor falls in a fever and it takes him many weeks to recover. The hours he spends working on his creature, and trying to attain his goal of creating life, has made him malnourished because he does not stop his quest for knowledge, even to eat! This causes the decay of his health, and makes him very ill. Once he creates the mutant, he is mortified by the spectacle, and feels animosity towards it. His extreme pursuit of knowledge causes him to cloud his judgment. Because Victor is miserable with his creation he even contemplates suicide: “I was tempted to plunge into the silent lake, that the waters might close over me and my calamities for ever” (Shelley 91). His extreme pursuit of knowledge, has proven to be negative, as the very thought of what he creates causes him to want to take his own life. This shows the decay of his relati...

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..., 66). This is when Victor is talking to Henry Clerval, someone who used to be a very close friend of Victor’s. Victor is saying that he does not want to talk to Henry, he would rather remain alone. This shows that he has been “cut off” from society. He does not even acknowledge his own friends. His study has made him unsocial, and he does not know how to act in a social environment, as he is so used to being in solitude.

In Mary Shelley’s, Frankenstein, Victor demonstrates that the endless pursuit of knowledge, may lead to the deterioration of relationships. The constant desire for knowledge may cause the decline of relationships. In society, many do not know of the term moderation. Most things are done excessively or minimally. But when an adequate amount is met, this can better society; by everyone striving to do things just the right amount, no more, no less.