"Frankenstein, The Modern Prometheus" is a gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley and firstly published anonymously in 1818. The novel follows the tragic story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientific prodigy, who discovers to secret to life and who uses it to bring to life a creature whom he assembled using various dead body parts. However, Frankenstein is overcome with guilt as he is confronted with the creature's ignoble appearance and proceeds to abandon him. Yet, later on, as the creature becomes aware of how he came to be and is confronted with the cruelty of society, he decides to seek revenge on Victor Frankenstein's family and wreaks havoc upon the life of his creator. As we finish off the novel, it is clear that a recurring theme throughout "Frankenstein " is the dangerous pursuit of knowledge and this recurrent theme of "dangerous " knowledge is in fact largely responsible for many of the main events in the book. Indeed, it was in his pursuit of knowledge that Victor Frankenstein built the monster and started the entire tragedy; it was in his unwitting pursuit of knowledge that the creature came to terms with his own reality; and it was in his pursuit of knowledge that Robert Walton trapped his ship in ice and put the life of his crew at risk. In her novel "Frankenstein, " Mary Shelley parallels the stories of Victor Frankenstein, the creature, and Robert Walton to underscore the idea that knowledge is indeed a potentially great power, but that be extremely dangerous when one isn't in control of it. Knowledge is a great power to be reckoned with and can become extremely dangerous when it one does not have the ability to properly manage it; however, when man is in fact in control of his knowledge, everything becomes possible; even refraining from one's pursuit of knowledge. .
Three examples of humans' attraction to knowledge and their consequences are given in the novel.