he smoothed for me the path of knowledge
In the first edition Mary Shelley laid great stress on a noncoercive
educational program practised in Alphonse Frankenstein's household (see 1.1.5 and 1.1.10), a tribute to her own education
under the guidance of her father William Godwin. As she rethinks the
structure of the novel, it seems apparent that she wishes to shift that
emphasis from Victor's family (whose educational program she deletes) to
Waldman as the professor who guides Victor's mature scientific studies from
a similar pedagogical principle.
- Characters:
- Contexts:
- Themes:
