Mark Eckel 5 far is too far? How important is community or friendship in acting as a constructive critic? What part does adventure or discovery play in the human drama? Questions of knowledge and limitation are recurring concerns in Frankenstein. On the one hand, knowledge is good. It can eliminate disease while producing food. On the other hand, a person full of pride may think he can erect monuments of wonder while constructing his own ethics. Humans bear the mark of modern Prometheus. 6KHOOH\œV RZQ 7LWDQ LV LPSDVVLRQHG WR GR JRRG 6SHDNLQJ DERXW KLV VFLHQWLILF H[SHGLWLRQ )UDQNHQVWHLQœV IULHQG :DOWRQ REVHUYHV ³<RX FDQQRW FRQWHVW the inestimable benefit which I shall confer on aOO PDQNLQG´ (28). On the surface, Walton seems to be a soul desiring to know both the aesthetic qualities of nature and the intricate inner-ZRUNLQJV RI LWV RUGHU )RU H[DPSOH KH LV GHOLJKWHG WR ³IHHO a cold northHUQ EUHH]H´ DQG LV LPSDWLHQW WR VHH ³D ODQG VXUSassing in wonders and EHDXW\´ At the same time he wants to discover the reason a compass works, ³WKH ZRQGURXV SRZHU ZKLFK DWWUDFWV WKH QHHGOH ´ DQG EHOLHYHV KH ³VKDOO VDWLDWH >KLV@ DUGHQW FXULRVLW\´ ZLth seeing the uninhabited arctic (28). Yet, creativity and curiosity, like everything else in a fallen world, is susceptible to misuse and abuse. God declares that devising evil is wrong and those who mistreat their creative talents will be punished (Proverbs 3:29; 14:22). 7KH LQYHQWLRQ RI HYLO LQWHQWLRQ DOZD\V JRHV DJDLQVW *RGœV ODZ *HQHVLV Jeremiah 18:12). Human intellect is capable of hatching evil plots (Genesis 8:21; 'HXWHURQRP\ VWXEERUQO\ UHIXVLQJ +HDYHQœV DGPRQLWLRQV OLVWHQLQJ RQly to its own counsel (Jeremiah 3:17; 7:24; 9:14; 11:8; 13:10; 16:12; 18:12; 23:17). 6FULSWXUH PDLQWDLQV WKDW *RG LV WKH XOWLPDWH ³FDXVH ´ HVWDEOLVKLQJ ODZV IRU WKH beneficence of people, which can be broken by humans, sending adverse consequences (Psalm 33:9; Deuteronomy 30:15; Numbers 32:15; Deuteronomy 28:25). 9LFWRU )UDQNHQVWHLQœV DSSHWLWH IRU VFLHQFH DQG LWV SRVVLELOLWLHV VSHDNV IRU itself in chapter two: The world to me was a secret which I desired to divine. Curiosity, earnest research to learn the hidden laws of nature, gladness akin to rapture, as they were unfolded to me, are among the earliest VHQVDWLRQV , UHPHPEHU ,W ZDV WKH VHFUHWV RI KHDYHQ DQG HDUWK WKDW , GHVLUHG WR OHDUQWKH SK\VLFDO VHFUHWV RI WKH ZRUOG 1DWXUDO philosophy is the genLXV WKDW KDV UHJXODWHG P\ IDWH , UHDG DQG studied the wild fancies of [Cornelius Agrippa, Parcelsus, and Albertus Magnus] with delight; they appeared to me treasures NQRZQ WR IHZ EHVLGHV P\VHOI , KDG JD]HG XSRQ WKH IRUWLILFDWLRQV and impediments that seemed to keep human beings from entering the citadel of nature, and rashly and ignorantly I had repined [yearned to it]. (47) A lack of community precipitates a lack of accountability. Having no close FRPUDGHV :DOWRQ UHVLJQV ³ZKHQ , DP JORZLQJ ZLWK WKH enthusiasm of success,
Integrite Fall 2012
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.