I have not forgotten my promise to dissect quotes from Frankenstein! As the science community, various corporations, and different governments keep delving into AI research, stem cell research, and the like, this quote seems all the more important.
I see by your eagerness and the wonder and hope which your eyes express, my friend, that you expect to be informed of the secret with which I am acquainted; that cannot be; listen patiently until the end of my story, and you will easily perceive why I am reserved upon that subject.
I will not lead you on, unguarded and ardent as I then was, to your destruction and infallible misery. 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.
Much like poor Icarus from Greek mythology, who flew too close to the sun and tragically died when the wax in his wings melted, Frankenstein is a man who learned too late what happens when ambition overshadows the precepts you learned in childhood.
I don’t think acquiring knowledge is evil in and of itself. In fact, it is VITAL to living a healthy and vibrant life. However, what kind of knowledge are we looking for? Frankenstein’s ultimate goal was inherently evil, and in his heart, he knew it. Not only that, but his actions set off a chain reaction among his friends and family that was irreparably damaging.
I’ve always thought it was odd how obsessed science has been with reanimating corpses, cloning humans, and creating artificial ways of growing people in tubes. Sometimes there may be an emergency, and I can see it being useful in theory, but overall, it isn’t needed. Birth and embryo growth are easily accomplished naturally between and man and a woman, yet because we see it every day, we don’t think it’s a miracle.
A fascinating series to read that touches on this subject at length is Fullmetal Alchemist (2001). In one particular chapter, the main characters Edward and Alphonse witness a birth. Edward exclaimed excitedly to his friend Winry,
“What alchemy has been unable to do after hundreds of years of research-creatiing a living human a woman can do in 200 days!”
Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 5
What would happen if we took more time to appreciate the tiny everyday miracles of life? I think it would quell those evil ambitions that undermine the beautiful things already around us. Frankenstein has such staying power as a novel because it teaches us what exactly can happen when a man discards the sanctity of life in favor of personal ambition.
I could say WAY more on the subject, but I’ll stop there for today! Thanks for reading!
From the Perspective of an Old Soul 