He says, "We were nearly surrounded by ice". Here we see that wandering into unknown territory has left him helpless and isolated. Similarly, Victor can be seen as helpless in the face of the unknown; before he reanimates the monster he says "this discovery soon gave place to delight and rapture". The reader understands that before the monster was brought to life Victor saw the experiment as an important scientific discovery but once the monster awakened he says "how can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe". Immediately realising that what he has done was a mistake and is helpless to prevent it.
Victor fails to realise that the unknown sciences he experiments with could lead to tragedy as he wishes to become a scientific pioneer which links with the events happening at the time of the novels as there were many new inventions being created. Also, many of the inventors of this time went on to become renowned for their discoveries, explaining Victor's lust for his success. Also, Galvanism was discovered 30 years previously which focused on electricity, the main element for Victor's experiment. These discoveries link with Shelley's romantic views; she sees science as a negative subject which can both help and hinder. Suzanna Storment describes Shelley's thoughts on science; stating that she recognises it was "a powerful entity, but also recognizes the dangers if uncontrolled."; We see that although science can be used to advance many aspects of life, some of its consequences can be unknown to us and can create chaos and leave us helpless, which is exactly what happens in the novel. Suzanna Storment describes Victor in the novel as having "all the control and the knowledge in the beginning, but is left powerless in the end." Which displays that his confidence in himself and his overreaching has made him naive because he was so convinced the experiment would be a success that he did not factor in the possible consequences of failure, such as being unable to maintain control over his creation.
