Answer:
I'm pretty sure it's a protein building block
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HOMEWORK HELP > FRANKENSTEIN
What sort of science is Victor learning from Agrippa?
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LINDA-ALLEN | CERTIFIED EDUCATOR
Cornelius Agrippa (1486-1535) was a German mystic who practiced a "science" that combined alchemy, magic, mysticism, and astrology. Two of his books are Three Books of Occult Philosophy and On Calling Spirits. Through the writing of Agrippa, Frankenstein becomes very interested in alchemy, which is a pseudoscience whose main object is to find a way of turning base metals into gold. You could say that Frankenstein adapted the thinking of the alchemists and instead of transforming other metals into gold attempted to transform a corpse into a living being.
An interesting story about Agrippa concerns sightings of him after his death:
There were rumors that Agrippa had summoned demons on his death bed, and that a black dog roamed the countryside as his familiar. The black dog appears in tales as Faustus, Mephistopheles, and even as a grim in the Harry Potter series.
