.

             Could it be, however, that his unrelenting ardor in the pursuit of science is where Victor is at fault? Ambition drives Victor blindly towards his scientific goal. He even admits, "I seemed to have lost all soul or sensation in this one pursuit," a remark seemingly laying fault on Victor for being entirely oblivious to the morality of his search for the secret of life (53). Further incriminating Victor Frankenstein is his pride, for one can doubt the scientist"s innocence in the tale when it is vanity and not purpose that drives Victor. He does not make the reader sympathize with him when he asks, ".Yet with how many things are we upon the brink of becoming acquainted, if cowardice or carelessness did not restrain our inquiries" (50). The possibilities of modern science, along with his insatiable ambition, intoxicate Victor. .

             Victor continues on his vain discourse by bathing in the glory of finding the secret to life when other great scientists before him could not. The scientist proclaims, "But this discovery was so great and overwhelming, that all the steps by which I had been progressively led to it were obliterated, and I beheld only the result. What had been the study and desire of the wisest men since the creation of the world was now within my grasp" (51). What makes the task so difficult of sympathizing with Victor is that he seems to exempt himself from all the laws of nature, symbolically raping it: ".And the moon gazed upon my midnight labors, while, with unrelaxed and breathless eagerness, I pursued nature to her hiding places" (53). Victor seemingly takes on powers that he does not have and plays God, an immoral act in itself.

             What truly makes the assessment of morality so difficult, however, in the case of Victor Frankenstein is that the argument of destiny"s role and the fault of society can also be made.