“If, instead of this remark, my father had taken the pains to explain to me that the principles of Agrippa had been entirely exploded and that a modern system of science had been introduced which possessed much greater powers than the ancient, because the powers of the latter were chimerical, while those of the former were real and practical, under such circumstances I should certainly have thrown Agrippa aside and have contented my imagination, warmed as it was, by returning with greater ardour to my former studies. It is even possible that the train of my ideas would never have received the fatal impulse that led to my ruin. But the cursory glance my father had taken of my volume by no means assured me that he was acquainted with its contents, and I continued to read with the greatest avidity.” – Page 39

This brief passage is from chapter two and depicts a scene for Victor is discovering his passion for science from reading the works of an alchemists named Agrippa. His father comments that the works of Agrippa are trash in the previous section, but Victor doesn’t heed his father’s warning and continues to delve deeper into Agrippa’s works with great enthusiasm.

This passage was intriguing for me because of two major reasons. The first reason is that Victor seems to have a feeling of remorse or regret regarding his father not explaining in depth why he thought Agrippa’s works were trash, which led him to become interested in the field of alchemy as a child. The second intriguing point about the passage is Victor’s mention of the fatal impulse that led to his ruin. This leads the audience and myself to wonder what exactly Victor did in the future and why did his actions lead to his eventual ruin.

I believe that Victor’s interest in the works of Agrippa at a young age was what drove him to pursue a career in science, but not necessarily the right type of science. Alchemy is a field of science that most resembles what is chemistry today, but is often portrayed in works of fiction as a field that works with nature in an unnatural way. Even though Victor mentions he would’ve returned to the more modern sciences if his father explained why Agrippa’s works were wrong or outdated, I believe his exposure to Agrippa and other works from other alchemists built his desire to experiment with forms of science that were against nature. This hunger for the “unnatural” sciences leads me to the second point of interest from the passage, which is what event causes Victor’s ruin. Since Victor’s influence and interest in alchemy were followed up by his remorse regarding the ideas that led to his downfall, I believe that Victor’s ruin will be associated with a science experiment trying to defy the natural laws of nature. The inclusion of his father within this passage might also foreshadow harm being caused to Victor’s father or his family from his lust for the unnatural laws of science.