Without a doubt, there is a connection between natural philosophy and Frankenstein. In volume 1 of chapter 1, the young Victor clearly states that ‘Natural philosophy is the genius that has regulated my fate; I desire therefore, in this narration, to state those facts which led to my predilection for that science.’ When he was 13 years old, he came across the works of Cornelius Agrippa, a German physician. Then he went on reading works of Paracelsus and Albertus Magnus. From then on, he started to examine nature and things that happen in his daily routine. One day, when he happens to watch a terrible thunderstorm, he is excited to see the thunder make an oak disappear. It is his father that first introduces to him what electricity is. He does a few experiments on electricity and one of them was an allusion to Benjamin Franklin’s famous experiment. Later on when he goes to the University of Ingolstadt, Victor meets M. Waldman, a professor at the university. After listening to a lecture of his and talking to him in person regarding Victor’s issues on his study, Victor’s prejudice on modern science such as chemistry disappears. Victor continues to study Natural philosophy as well as modern science.
(Picture from: Benjamin Franklin )
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