In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, our narrator for the beginning section is Victor. Victor is a brought up in a wealthy home, where is can be educated on different subjects but found a love for what he believes is the sciences. Victor fell in love with alchemy, a mixture of science and magic. When he told his father, he replied “My dear Victor, do not waste your time upon this; it is sad trash” (Shelley 22). This was not an explanation to Victor about how alchemy had been disproven years ago, so Victor continued in this study. When Victor was sent off to the university of Ingolstadt, he meets two professor, M. Krempe and M. Waldman. M. Krempe ridicules Victor for having “really spent your time in studying such nonsense” (Shelley 28), while M. Waldman shows Victor that while alchemy is no longer practiced that chemistry grew out of those failures and discoveries. It was because of M. Waldman the Victor found his love for science again when he wanted to quit.
How do you think things could have changed for Victor if his father would have explained the issue with his studies sooner? Do you think it is important to correct someone’s academic mistakes early or do you allow them to try and figure it out themselves?