Frankenstein's meeting with Professor Waldman

Victor Frankenstein's meeting with Professor Waldman at the University of Ingolstadt is the decisive intellectual turning point of his early life, redirecting his scientific ambitions from the discredited alchemy of Agrippa and Paracelsus toward the modern chemistry and natural philosophy that will enable his creation of the monster. The encounter unfolds in two stages: first, Waldman's public lecture, which Victor attends partly from curiosity and partly from idleness after being rebuffed by the gruff M. Krempe; second, a private visit to Waldman's home, where the professor's personal warmth and encouragement cement Victor's new direction. The lecture and the private conversation together constitute a single transformative event that Victor himself calls "a day memorable to me; it decided my future destiny."

The Lecture and Its Effect

Waldman entered the lecturing room shortly after Victor had taken his seat. The professor was about fifty years old, with an aspect expressive of the greatest benevolence; a few grey hairs covered his temples, but those at the back of his head were nearly black. His person was short but remarkably erect, and his voice was the sweetest Victor had ever heard. He began his lecture by recapitulating the history of chemistry and the various improvements made by different men of learning, pronouncing with fervour the names of the most distinguished discoverers. He then took a cursory view of the present state of the science and explained many of its elementary terms. After making a few preparatory experiments, he concluded with a panegyric upon modern chemistry. "The ancient teachers of this science," Waldman said, "promised impossibilities and performed nothing. The modern masters promise very little; they know that metals cannot be transmuted and that the elixir of life is a chimera but these philosophers, whose hands seem only made to dabble in dirt, and their eyes to pore over the microscope or crucible, have indeed performed miracles. They penetrate into the recesses of nature and show how she works in her hiding-places. They ascend into the heavens; they have discovered how the blood circulates, and the nature of the air we breathe. They have acquired new and almost unlimited powers; they can command the thunders of heaven, mimic the earthquake, and even mock the invisible world with its own shadows." As Waldman spoke, Victor felt as if his soul were grappling with a palpable enemy; one by one the various keys were touched which formed the mechanism of his being; chord after chord was sounded, and soon his mind was filled with one thought, one conception, one purpose. "So much has been done," exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein, "more, far more, will I achieve; treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation." Victor did not close his eyes that night; his internal being was in a state of insurrection and turmoil, though he felt that order would thence arise. By morning, only a resolution remained: to return to his ancient studies and devote himself to a science for which he believed himself to possess a natural talent.

The Private Visit and Waldman's Guidance

On the same day, Victor paid Waldman a private visit. The professor's manners in private were even more mild and attractive than in public, for there was a certain dignity in his mien during his lecture which in his own house was replaced by the greatest affability and kindness. Victor gave him pretty nearly the same account of his former pursuits as he had given to M. Krempe. Waldman heard with attention the little narration concerning Victor's studies and smiled at the names of Cornelius Agrippa and Paracelsus, but without the contempt that M. Krempe had exhibited. He said that these were men to whose indefatigable zeal modern philosophers were indebted for most of the foundations of their knowledge; they had left to modern scientists, as an easier task, to give new names and arrange in connected classifications the facts which they in a great degree had been the instruments of bringing to light. "The labours of men of genius," Waldman added, "however erroneously directed, scarcely ever fail in ultimately turning to the solid advantage of mankind." Victor listened to this statement, delivered without any presumption or affectation, and then added that the lecture had removed his prejudices against modern chemists. He expressed himself in measured terms, with the modesty and deference due from a youth to his instructor, without letting escape any of the enthusiasm which stimulated his intended labours. He requested Waldman's advice concerning the books he ought to procure. Waldman replied, "I am happy to have gained a disciple; and if your application equals your ability, I have no doubt of your success. Chemistry is that branch of natural philosophy in which the greatest improvements have been and may be made; it is on that account that I have made it my peculiar study; but at the same time, I have not neglected the other branches of science. A man would make but a very sorry chemist if he attended to that department of human knowledge alone. If your wish is to become really a man of science and not merely a petty experimentalist, I should advise you to apply to every branch of natural philosophy, including mathematics." He then took Victor into his laboratory and explained the uses of his various machines, instructing him as to what he ought to procure and promising him the use of his own when he should have advanced far enough in the science not to derange their mechanism. He also gave Victor the list of books he had requested.

Consequences and Significance

The meeting with Waldman set Victor on a path of obsessive study that would lead, within two years, to his discovery of the principle of life and his creation of the monster. From that day forward, natural philosophy and particularly chemistry became nearly his sole occupation. He read with ardour the works of modern inquirers, attended lectures, and cultivated the acquaintance of the men of science at the university. In Waldman he found a true friend whose gentleness was never tinged by dogmatism and whose instructions were given with an air of frankness and good nature that banished every idea of pedantry. Victor's application was at first fluctuating and uncertain, but it gained strength as he proceeded and soon became so ardent and eager that the stars often disappeared in the light of morning while he was yet engaged in his laboratory. His progress was rapid; his ardour became the astonishment of the students, and his proficiency that of the masters. At the end of two years he made discoveries in the improvement of some chemical instruments which procured him great esteem and admiration at the university. The meeting with Waldman thus marks the moment when Victor's youthful fascination with the occult secrets of nature was transformed into a disciplined, modern scientific pursuit — a pursuit that would ultimately lead him to transgress the boundaries of life and death.