The pursuit of knowledge is a recurring theme in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Throughout the story, the thirst for information is what motivates three of the main characters: Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein, and the creature. Indeed this “thirst for knowledge” is responsible for the main events in the novel such as the misfortunes and deaths of a few other characters. Thus, Frankenstein can be interpreted as a warning against the pursuit of knowledge and its dangers if it is misused. When talking to Captain Walton about the pursuit of knowledge, Victor Frankenstein’s first reaction is profoundly negative. Captain Walton, discussing the voyage of discovery to the North Pole, talks about how “one man’s life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirements of the knowledge which I sought” (29). Upon hearing Walton’s statement, a “dark gloom” falls over Frankenstein as he replies “Unhappy man! Do you share my madness? Have you drunk also of the intoxicating draught?”(29) Frankenstein’s disapproval of such “madness” clear, and further reinforced whenever he compares himself to Walton by saying “you seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been”(31). Frankenstein says this because Walton’s enthusiasm towards science reminds him of his own when he was younger. He is revealing that his quest for knowledge untimely caused him harm. Before the bulk of the story has even begun, a message of warning is being developed in regards to the dangers of knowledge. Victor Frankenstein continues his warning by retelling his story about his creature to Walton. Frankenstein begins by saying “when I reflect that you are pursuing the same course, exposing yourself to the same dangers which have rendered me what I am, I imagine that you may deduce an apt moral from my tale” (31) These lines are