frankenstein is anti-intellectual literature- english lit crit essay

 note- TO BE CLEAR, I don't really believe Frankenstein is anti-intellectual, it's really just an eye-catching title I thought my professor would find thought-provoking or whatever. I read Frankenstein for the first time in 5th grade and thought it was awesome, but when I read it again in 8th grade, I started to find it redundant, only because I was exposed to the recycled horror tropes (inspired by Frankenstein, mind you) before then, so It was no longer as exciting and inventive as the first time. I was NOT pleased to read it again as a COLLEGE student, but we had the option to choose other assigned readings to analyze for this essay. I really don't agree with the assertion I make at the end, "Scientific Innovation is nothing to be feared, but instead, celebrated and emboldened," when it applies to inventions like AI and human/animal experimentation (which still does indeed happen in 2025) because of the obvious ethical concerns. Please enjoy! 

    

In 1815, there was a volcanic eruption that occurred in Indonesia’s Mount Tambora that killed around 100,000 people. This disaster is now referred to as the deadliest volcanic eruption in Human history. The devastation caused the following summer of 1816 to be tainted with ashy, cloudy skies instead of the expected sunshine and warm weather nourishing Europe’s crops and wildlife. As a result, people starved and political revolts followed, furthering the tragedy. This time of Darkness inspired Mary Shelly and led to her wandering about the ugly parts of humanity. Our selfish desires, our hate, and our desperation. The 19-year-old writer was married to poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and together they traveled to Lake Geneva, on the border of France and Switzerland, for vacation. The couple was invited by Mary Shelly’s stepsister, Claire Clairmont, who was having an affair with the Poet Lord Byron. The 4 young adults were challenged by Byron to write a ghost story better than the ghost stories they’ve read. With such gloomy weather, it would unintentionally serve as the perfect backdrop for the making of her spontaneously written masterpiece. Frankenstein is Mary Shelly’s interpretation of Modern Scientific and Medical Innovation, a warning about how curiosity drives progress, but how unchecked scientific pursuit can perhaps lead to unforeseen chaos and destruction.

To start, Frankenstein is also influenced by the Greek mythological tale of Prometheus. According to the Legend, the Titan Prometheus, a champion for humanity, defied Zeus by stealing fire for humans, and as punishment, Zeus chained Prometheus to a rock, to have his liver eaten by an eagle every day. However, his actions did provide humans with fire to brighten their way to make discoveries and gain knowledge. The lesson being shared here is perhaps subjective, but straightforward to Shelly, who compared Frankenstein to The Tale of Prometheus because Prometheus is known to be a titan of intelligence, and the fact that fire hurts people is one of the first things that Frankenstein’s monster learns about the world. Giving humans access to “fire” is a double-edged sword for all intents and purposes. Intellectualism is the limitless pursuit of knowledge, despite the consequence to know is to be stronger. It’s also not a coincidence that The Creature is afraid of fire. Fire symbolizes the pursuit of science, and Fire, being of the natural world, is the first to harm The Creature. The Creature was produced because Frankenstein was curious about the secrets between life and death and aspired to become the creator of a more ‘perfect’ race of beings. The ambition fails, and Frankenstein sees his ultimate folly is “playing god”. However, I think this argument is unfair to Frankenstein, who, although he may have been cocky or overzealous, His curiosity was valid. In Chapter 4, Shelley illustrates Frankenstein admitting that he wants to create a superior human being and be celebrated as the creator.  “No one can conceive the variety of feelings which bore me onwards, like a hurricane, in the first enthusiasm of success. Life and death appeared to me as 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.”  (Shelley, pg. 67) Again, I think this is a perfectly valid dream to have for a Scientist. However, Shelley positions Frankenstein’s goal as selfish, because Man cannot be God. Only God can know the secrets between life and death. This obsession that Victor Frankenstein had with creating a human artificially wrecked him. It was a self-sacrificing process for him to embark on, because Shelley was showing her audience that Frankenstein is pushing himself to an unnatural and unhealthy degree, leading us to decide his inventions in the project are wrong. “The different accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelings of human nature. I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this, I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelley, pg.106) Insisting that these circumstances were a part of the reason The Creature would turn out to be evil and twisted because it’s harmful to the Creator, who is man, fragile, and incapable of taking on such a unreasonable and daring project. Based on these Black and White “ethics”, Frankenstein is certainly a villain, as it’s true he failed to anticipate The Creature’s feelings in being created for the mere purpose of satisfying his curiosity. But with a more nuanced perspective in mind, Humans deserve to seek answers to all their questions, as comes naturally to us anyway, and Experimentation is necessary, if done ethically, of course. Electricity was a new and anxiety-inducing concept for the scientific community in the early 19th century. Shelley, too, drew inspiration from these reactions. People hesitated because of the possibility that it could lead to disaster. With all said, it’s up to the audience to decide if this scary potential is worth the process of discovery

Historically, people have been deeply suspicious and hesitant when it comes to scientific progress. The Age of Enlightenment, which occurred between 1685-1815 (also referred to as The Age of Reason) advocated for the principle of Anthropocentrism (a philosophy that centers humans as the most important beings in the world), dominated all cultural discussion, and it was believed that, thanks to science and technology, humans would ascend boundaries beyond comprehension. The Age of Enlightenment ended when the French Revolution began and Romanticism emerged, but many disagreed with this priority. Shelley emphasizes that Man should not seek to go beyond the bounds of Nature. “Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquisition 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, pg. 56) I wonder if this is Shelley warning of the irreversible damage of unchecked experimentation. Romanticism (occurring from 1798- 1837)  was widely received and celebrated in Literature, encouraging people to put down their books and quit obsessing over intellect. Instead, they idealized the wisdom of nature and its simplicity. 

To conclude, I believe the real sin committed by Victor Frankenstein is not his Scientific curiosities that led him to create the monster, but instead how he turned away from the results of his actions, avoiding responsibility and allowing the Creature to harm and kill those around him. I like to imagine, Creature was destined for something better than the unfortunate conclusion. He relied on Frankenstein for learning about the world, and the world learning something new from him. I find it quite intentional on Shelley’s part the novel ends with Walton giving up on his ambition to discover the northern passage through the Arctic to the Atlantic and returning home after reading the letters from Frankenstein. I find this to be Shelley reiterating to the audience her message that Scientific pursuit is not worth it. Fear is ultimately derived from misunderstanding. When concluding the novel, I wondered to myself, Is scientific innovation really worth sacrificing nature? Is there a limit to our curiosity? And if there is a cruel side to Curiosity at all. That said, curiosity leads humans to understanding, and knowledge generates empathy. The limitless pursuit of Science can create a better, friendlier, and safer future. Scientific Innovation is nothing to be feared, but instead, celebrated and emboldened.

Sources:

1. Blakemore, E. (2025, May 27). “Frankenstein” was born during a ghastly vacation. History.com. https://www.history.com/articles/frankenstein-true-story-mary-shelley 

2. Bellis, M. (2025, May 11). Top inventions of the 19th century. ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/inventions-nineteenth-century-4144740#:~:text=1800:%20French%20silk%20weaver%20J.M.,Durand%20invents%20the%20tin%20can.