THE CONSEQUENCES OF OBSESSION WITH SCIENCE IN MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENSTEIN AND NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE’S THE BIRTHMARK

This study examined the interplay between moral obsession and scientific ambition in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Birthmark (1843). Using the theoretical framework of Moral Criticism, the research explored how both authors dramatized the consequences of human overreaching and the ethical dilemmas that accompanied scientific pursuit. The analysis demonstrated that while ambition fueled human progress, it became destructive separated from moral responsibility. Victor Frankenstein’s attempt to create life and Aylmer’s effort to perfect it both revealed the peril of subordinating ethical restraint to intellectual pride. Drawing insights from philosophers and critics such as Hans Jonas, Neil Postman, Martha Nussbaum, Jürgen Habermas, and Rachel Carson, the study situated these literary works within broader philosophical and ethical debates about the limits of science and human responsibility. The findings revealed that both Shelley and Hawthorne constructed moral fables warning against the dangers of unchecked ambition and the loss of humanity in the pursuit of perfection. Ultimately, the research concluded that moral responsibility had to guide scientific progress, and that literature continued to serve as a vital medium for exploring the ethical dimensions of knowledge and power