g them discover the process by which to reach the end and not by making them learn tedious lessons. Frankenstein’s testimony to this is that he learnt better and retained his knowledge well. The approach to Frankenstein’s education in the home is strongly influenced by Rousseau, one of the most eloquent writers of the Age of Enlightenment. In his influential novel Emile, Rousseau expounded a new theory of education that emphasises the importance of expression rather than repression to produce a well-balanced and free-thinking child. H!
             is theory also led to more permissive and psychologically oriented methods of childcare.[1][2] A child brought up according to these precepts is significantly more a free man than those who were not because part of the hidden syllabus allows for the constant discovery of new processes and methods and another part denies the past scholarly masters from having too strong an ideological and pedantic hold on the newer generations. It is a unique combination of structure and liberty that one finds here and it is this combination that produced the modern day disciple of Alberta Magnus and Paracelsus in Frankenstein, who forges his ancient fantasies with modern scientific tools.
             The creature, on the other hand, is an untamed and extreme version of the free individual. Without the support and shelter of a family, and the systematic approaches of an education system, the creature nevertheless gains an education of sorts. And he does this by reacting to his basic needs for shelter, food, warmth and company. In her book, Mary Shelly: Her Life, Her Fiction, Her Monsters, Anne Mellor argues that the creature is Mary Shelly’s allusion to Rousseau’s “noble savage” who is “a creature no different from the animals, responding unconsciously to the needs of his flesh and the changing conditions of his environment.”(47) In the debate on the importance of nature ...