The first moral value that leads to suffering for the characters of the novel is knowledge. At the beginning of the story, Victor thrives on learning about natural sciences. When he is thirteen, Victor comes upon a volume of the works of Cornelius Agrippa. After he studies the whole works of Agrippa, he moves on to Paracelsus and Albertus Magnus:

But here were books, and here were men who had penetrated deeper and knew more. I took their word for all that they averred, and I became their disciple. It may appear strange that such should arise in the eighteenth century; but while I followed the routine of education in the

Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world. A new species would bless me creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. No father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs. (p. 52)

The obsession for knowledge and love in the novel are not the only morals that result in agony and heartache for the characters. The most important moral value that is demonstrated to have too much desire for is ambition. Shelley portrays many of the characters in her novel to be driven towards their goals by extreme ambition, but has them all meet with failure which they can not cope with. Used as an introduction to the novel, it is apparent from the beginning that Robert Walton is an extremely ambitious and persevering individual. In his first letter to his sister, Margaret Saville, Robert writes:

Such were the professors words-rather let me say such the words of fate-enounced to destroy me. As he went on I felt as if my soul were grappling with a palpable enemy; one by one the various keys were touched which formed the mechanism of my being; chord after chord was sounded, and soon my mind was filled with one thought, one conception, one purpose. So much had been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein-more, far more, will I achieve; treading in the steps already marled, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation. (p. 47)

It is evident that this is the point in Victor's life that his knowledge about natural sciences helps him first develop his crazy idea to create life. When Victor is seventeen, he becomes a student at the University of Ingolstadt to study modern natural philosophy. It is there that Victor learns everything he needs to know to make his creation, and eventually turn his life into pure misery. M. Waldman is one of the professors that really enhances Victor's knowledge and inspires him to go on in his experimentations:

Victor goes far past the point of ambition, he enters the realm of utter obsession. To be determined to reach your goals is one thing, but when a person becomes so ambitious that they think only of what more they can do to succeed, it turns into an obsession that results in severe pain and suffering.

There are three different moral values presented by Mary Shelley in her novel Frankenstein that result in pain and failure. Although knowledge, love and ambition are all good moral values to have, if there is too much desire for them, it can result in agony and suffering for the characters. To want something so bad that it turns into an obsession is not the right way to go about achieving your goals. Everyone has to be aware of what is happening around them before they get so caught up in their goals that they cannot see the anguish and pain that they are causing to themselves and others.

"Their happiness was not decreased by the absence of summer. They loved and sympathized with one another; and their joys, depending on each other, were not interrupted by the casualties that took place around them. The more I saw of them, the greater became my desire to claim their protection and kindness; my heart yearned to be known and loved my these amiable creatures; to see their sweet looks directed towards me with affection was the utmost limit of my ambition." (p. 126)

Some common words found in the essay are:
Elizabeth Victor, University Ingolstadt, Albertus Magnus, Victor Frankenstein, Robert Walton, Pole Robert, Paradise Lost, Mary Shelley, Victor Elizabeth, Plutarch's Lives, moral values, moral value, loved ones, severe pain, characters novel, pain suffering, thirst knowledge, knowledge love, victor's father, forgets loved ones, revenge creator, knowledge love ambition, paracelsus albertus magnus, novel moral value, severe pain suffering,
Approximate Word count = 3349
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)