As with the 20th century obsession with the power of technology and computers, the 19th century's obsession with the power of science and the inner workings of man and nature became almost a spiritual quest at times. During the Romantic Age, there was much discussion between what was most important, the pursuit of science and rationality, or the ideals of Romanticism, which appeared occasionally irrational (Miller in Shelley xiv Forward). Two works of literature which explore the sometimes destructive fascination for science and nature are Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) and Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Birthmark" (1843). In both stories, the main characters are men who believe that science holds the key to the mysteries of life and can solve mankind's problems. In both cases, however, these men not only fail in their pursuit, but they must also pay a high price for their arrogance in thinking that science and rationality hold the answers to all of life's mysteries. This essay will explore how each of these characters brought about his own downfall and discuss how Victor Frankenstein is actually more responsible for his own fate, than Alymer.
Both characters, besides being men of science, have also studied ancient alchemic texts and become obsessed with the pursuit of their goals. In Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein is a young man obsessed with the inner workings of science and nature. He has been raised by a loving family who believe in all the Romantic ideals of love, justice, and helping the helpless (Shelley 18-19). Frankenstein's desire to help others, however, is in the form of scientific study on how to defeat death. At first he reads alchemists such as Agrippa, Paracelsus, and Magnus in an attempt to discover where life came from and how defeat to death (26). Upon entrance to university, however, he soon begins studying current modern sciences, such as chemistry, and so begins his obsession with science which he ...