What is true happiness? This is the ultimate goal of every human being's life, but how can we achieve it? It takes different things to make each individual happy. “Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the goal and end of human existence.” This is a very famous quote from the Greek philosopher Aristotle. This basically means that the only goal of life is to achieve happiness. While some people are willing to do whatever they want to achieve happiness, others are more considerate. They think about the overall effect their action will have on everyone. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, she expresses her ideas about the danger of seeking happiness through the acquisition of knowledge, because true contentment is found in the emotional connections established between people. The pursuit of knowledge is not necessarily a malicious thing, but it can cause destruction when pursued beyond natural limits. Victor Frankenstein becomes a slave to his passion for learning in various ways; his life is first controlled by his obsession with generating life, then he becomes a slave to the monster he has created. Frankenstein describes the beginning of his life as a time of happiness with his family. During his childhood, Frankenstein was passionate about learning, but his emotional connection to Elizabeth prevented him from fully devoting himself to his studies. When Frankenstein left home to study at the University of Ingolstadt, he became obsessed with his quest to unravel the mystery of life. He describes working in the laboratory until sunrise and being nonchalant about the beauty of the world around him. These vicissitudes of Frankenstein's lifestyle represent Shelley's notion that one's passions must be controlled... middle of paper ......uences of one's actions thus far. He decides to turn around and end his journey there. He does this because he has learned, through what he optically discerned in Frankenstein, the dangers of knowledge. Due to Frankenstein's ambitions to achieve happiness through the acquisition of knowledge, he created a monster and the consequences of his creation are still unimaginable. He lost everyone he was close to or loved and ultimately lost his life. He began to realize that it was the people he loved who mattered rather than the people he knew. After watching Frankenstein die, Walton finally retreats from his treacherous mission having learned from his example what a thirst for knowledge can do. Mary Shelley does a great job of showing the harmful effects of the thirst for knowledge and also introducing us to where our true happiness lies, with our loved ones..