A comparison of Francis Bacon and Mary Shelleys views of science as expressed in The Sphinx and Frankenstein, respectively Free Essay Example, 1000 words

In her book Frankenstein, Shelly brings science to the forefront as her scientist follows his pursuit of creating life in an inert body with little regard to anything else in his own existence. His thirst for the knowledge he dreams of is filled with emotion as it permeates every corner of his life. Here, it isn’t merely an answer that he seeks, but the application of the answer in order to realize his lofty goals. Once his dream is realized, the scientist, Dr. Frankenstein, realizes the madness of his pursuit and the horror that he has created. Shelley’s view of science was heavily influence by the revolution in thought going on during her life (Shelley). She was a highly intellectual woman and began writing Frankenstein as a ghost story at the request of the poet Lord Byron. She based the story on a discussion of the uses of electricity and the experiments of Erasmus Darwin (Shelley). Where Bacon’s tale took a view of science from the questions that can be ask ed and solved, Shelley sees science as the difference between life and death, the bridge to heal the gap between the two. We will write a custom essay sample on A comparison of Francis Bacon and Mary Shelley's views of science as expressed in The Sphinx and Frankenstein, respectively or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now In this instance creation and death are not that distant, both being amazing and terrifying at the same time (Shelley). Frankenstein is similar to the tale of the Sphinx in that the seeker, or scientist, can go mad in the quest for his answers. Dr. Frankenstein forgoes human interaction, food, rest, everything that is a necessity for humans as he attempts to make regenerate life in the dead tissue that he has patched together to form his own version of humanity. In his ideal world, he believed that he would create another race, that he could be god to a new version of the species. He realized the error of his ways when his experiments succeeded and did in fact give life to the pieced together body in his makeshift laboratory on the top floor of his apartment. When the creature he had created opened his eyes, Dr. Frankenstein saw the horror that he had made, the monster that had become his life. He tried to escape it, to leave the monster in his laboratory, but it came to find him in his bedroom, illustrating that the pursuit of science had permeated even the most private places in his life. In contr ast, the Sphinx did not just invade your life it took your life unless you were able to defeat it by correctly answering her questions. In both stories, the seeker ended his quest successfully by reaching the desired answers. The difference is that Dr. Frankenstein went mad in his discoveries while the club-footed man was victorious, slaying the monster and returning to Thebes as king.