High School

In "Frankenstein," generalize how Victor learns about alchemy and natural science and discuss its relation to Romanticism.

Answer :

Final answer:

Victor Frankenstein's study of alchemy and natural science is shaped by Romanticism, which values human emotion and the grandeur of nature, but also warns against the overreaching ambition that can arise from scientific pursuit.

Explanation:

Victor Frankenstein's intense curiosity and desire for knowledge, as depicted in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, are shaped by the cultural and scientific environment of Romanticism.

Victor's early education in alchemy and the natural sciences is influenced by the Romantic era's fascination with nature, the supernatural, and the limits of human understanding.

He envisions the possibility of transcending the ordinary and achieving the extraordinary, an ambition fueled by the works of alchemists and the attraction to the sublime quality of nature.

This quest for knowledge and the manipulation of natural laws resonates with Romantic themes such as the awe of nature, the individual against the confines of society, and the potential dangers of overreaching ambition.

Victor's education leads him down a path where he harnesses the power of science to animate life, a power previously attributed to nature or divinity, reflecting a tension between scientific exploration and moral boundaries—a hallmark of Romantic skepticism towards unfettered scientific progress.