A man can achieve immortality by seeing achievement in his work. Author, Mary Shelley lived in an era where technology and the idea of science were beginning to rise. During the beginning of the 1800's, one sees this taking place through the invention of the steamboat. Another new invention was taking place as well. Electricity was becoming a worldwide phenomenon and Mary Shelley knew this was something amazing. Her biggest inspiration was Luigi Galvani, an Italian physician of the 18th century, who discovered in 1780, that the muscles of dead frogs' legs twitched when struck by a spark of electricity. This began the way for scientific research and scientific belief; one of the first steps into the study of bioelectricity, a field that, still today, studies the electrical patterns and signals of the nervous system. Mary Shelley was intrigued by the idea of electrical current being used to bring a dead creature back to life, so that one evening, while relaxing with her husband Percy Shelley and Lord Byron, they talked about having a writing contest to see who could write the scariest piece. Mary Shelley's story, Frankenstein, did more than scare them all, but it became this idea for Mary. Mary Shelley was not aware of just how far her book would end up going. There is a lot of different mixed emotions that play throughout Frankenstein. One of these is the Quest for Immortality that Victor Frankenstein, our main character, wants to achieve. Throughout the novel, the reader sees Frankenstein attempting to achieve immortality through the creation of his monster, but does he truly succeed? In Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein', Victor Frankenstein expresses the possibility of achieving immortality and perfection by creating endless-life through scientific experimentation.
Throughout Frankenstein, we see how a new breakthrough in scientific history cause's Victor's imagination to flourish.
