Both Percy and Mary Shelley had written a different interpretation of the Prometheus myth; with Percy’s Prometheus Unbound and Mary’s Frankenstein. Both of these works had examples that showed how the characters projected themselves into other beings. It could be interpreted that Mary had the intention to criticize the way a strong feeling of wishing something that is beyond the laws of the natural world to happen is without regard for the consequences that could occur as a result. These outcomes cannot be planned or controlled. Despite the outward appearance or aspect of the emphases on knowledge and creation—traits that are often considered virtues—Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Percy Shelley’s Prometheus Unbound revealed the ways in which humans, in their desire for these virtues, can triumph over the unpredictability of nature. The visually descriptive and figurative language that each author utilized helped to show the advantage of the power of narrative as a means of expressing the characters’ egos which drove them to overreach for the dominance over nature and relate to real people.
In Frankenstein, Frankenstein was preoccupied with the idea of creating life from nothing. On page 50, he expressed his wonderment, “I succeeded in discovering the cause of generation and life; nay, more, I became myself capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter.” He had succeeded in understanding the reasons for which life functions but he placed more importance on the discovery that he could cause it on his own. The events that take place in the novel follow as the consequences of Frankenstein’s longing for validation of his own self-worth. That desire filled his mind to a point where it haunted him. Mary Shelley consistently sho...
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...ppearances and the sublime because even though they weren’t the main focus, they were important to the stories. The main characters’ egos were the driving forces of their actions and influenced what happened to the other characters.
Works Cited
Romantic Critique http://legacy.owensboro.kctcs.edu/crunyon/CE/Frankenstein/Name/Prometheus/RomanCrit.htm When worlds elide: classics, politics, and culture
By: Bassi, Karen.
Lexington Books
2010
Romantic dharma: the emergence of Buddhism into nineteenth-century Europe
By: Lussier, Mark.
Palgrave Macmillan
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The "One" in Prometheus Unbound
John Rieder
Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900
Vol. 25, No. 4, Nineteenth Century (autumn, 1985), pp. 775-800
Published by: Rice University
Romantic Critique (Romantic Critique)
http://legacy.owensboro.kctcs.edu/crunyon/CE/Frankenstein/Name/Prometheus/RomanCrit.htm
As Frankenstein is enroute to his pursuit of gaining more knowledge, he states, “I wished, as it were, to procrastinate all that related to my feelings of affection until the great object, which swallowed up every habit of my nature, should be completed” (Shelley 41). Frankenstein’s decision in allowing his intellectual ambitions to overpower everything else in his life leads him to be blinded to the dangers of creating life. He isolates himself from his society when creating the monster, letting himself be immersed in his creation while being driven by his passions, allowing nobody to be near him. The fact that he allows this creation of a monster to consume his total being reveals how blinded he is to the immorality of stepping outside the boundaries of science and defying nature. His goal in striving to achieve what wants to in placing man over nature makes him lose his sense of self as all he is focused on is the final product of his creation. He starts to realize his own faults as after he has created the monster, he becomes very ill and states, “The form of the monster on whom I had bestowed existence was forever before my eyes, and I raved incessantly concerning him” (48). His impulsive decision to make the monster leads him to abhorring it as it does not turn out to be what he has expected. Because he chooses to isolate himself in creating the
Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein is a novel narrated by Robert Walton about Victor Frankenstein and the Monster that he creates. Frankenstein grew up surrounding himself with what he loved most, science. He attended Ingolstadt University where he studied chemistry and natural philosophy, but being involved in academics was not enough for him. Frankenstein wanted to discover things, but did not think about the potential outcomes that could come with this decision. Frankenstein was astonished by the human frame and all living creatures, so he built the Monster out of various human and animal parts (Shelley, 52). At the time Frankenstein thought this creation was a great discovery, but as time went on the Monster turned out to be terrifying to anyone he came in contact with. So, taking his anger out on Frankenstein, the Monster causes chaos in a lot of people’s lives and the continuing battle goes on between the Monster and Frankenstein. Throughout this novel, it is hard to perceive who is pursuing whom as well as who ends up worse off until the book comes to a close.
Mary Shelley’s, Frankenstein, depicts a patriarchal society in which men pursue their goals against hopeless odds. Victor Frankenstein is a major male character depicted in Shelley’s work. He is “portrayed as the patriarch who creates but cannot love and who fears sexual reproduction (Griswold 87). Frankenstein is a prime example of a man who pursued their goals against hopeless odds. He reflected back on his curious childhood. During childhood, he wanted to learn the hidden laws of nature and he desired to learn the secrets of the heaven and earth (Shelley 33). From the beginning of his life, Frankenstein had the goal to discover the existence of heaven and earth. He took this in to his own hands by trying to bring a monster to life. It is hard to fathom that an individual has the ability to create another human being. It is a hopeless odd that Frankenstein would have the ability to bring different body parts, unite them with electricity, and create a new form of life. Even though this is considered a hopeless odd,
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, explores the monstrous and destructive affects of obsession, guilt, fate, and man’s attempt to control nature. Victor Frankenstein, the novel’s protagonist and antihero, attempts to transcend the barriers of scientific knowledge and application in creating a life. His determination in bringing to life a dead body consequently renders him ill, both mentally and physically. His endeavors alone consume all his time and effort until he becomes fixated on his success. The reason for his success is perhaps to be considered the greatest scientist ever known, but in his obsessive toil, he loses sight of the ethical motivation of science. His production would ultimately grieve him throughout his life, and the consequences of his undertaking would prove disastrous and deadly. Frankenstein illustrates the creation of a monster both literally and figuratively, and sheds light on the dangers of man’s desire to play God.
Victor Frankenstein, the main character in Mary Shelley’s novel, is the creator of the monster. When Victor created the monster, he believed he created the monster for the betterment of humankind, but he actually created the monster because he desired to prove to the world that an average human can do Godly acts. The desire to create the monster goes back to Victor’s childhood. As a young kid, Victor’s passions always lied in science and chemistry and in college; he became obsessed with the idea of creating life out of inanimate objects. He then decided to specialize in Alchemy. Within Shelley’s book Frankenstein, Victor said:
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. Edited with an Introduction and notes by Maurice Hindle. Penguin books, 1992
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Maurice Hindle. Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus. London: Penguin, 2003. Print.
Throughout Frankenstein, one assumes that Frankenstein’s creation is the true monster. While the creation’s actions are indeed monstrous, one must also realize that his creator, Victor Frankenstein, is also a villain. His inconsiderate and selfish acts as well as his passion for science result in the death of his friend and family members and ultimately in his own demise. Throughout the novel, Shelley investigates the idea of monstrosity. She makes the point that a monster does not have to be genuinely evil in order to be considered monstrous.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. The 1818 Text. New York: Oxford UP, 1998.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. Edited with an Introduction and notes by Maurice Hindle. Penguin books, 1992
Throughout the novel, Victor Frankenstein strives for a chance to further science by creating a life on his own. Frankenstein 's ambition causes him to passionately work to create the life that brings him power. In the novel, science exists as a powerful entity which shows Frankenstein the dangers it could have if uncontrolled. Using his scientific mind to construct life, Frankenstein immediately gains dominance over the society. By creating life, Frankenstein places the work of God into his own hands and he uses
The novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley has become the source of inspiration for many critiques in the recent decades. This novel is traditionally regarded as the classical work of the Age of Enlightenment, that shares all major characteristics of the time. Though, the contemporary literary discourse can be called more identity centered and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is often analyzed from the feminist and from the biographical point of view.
The novel Frankenstein is about a man named Victor Frankenstein who wanted to tamper with life and death by "exploring unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation." (Frankenstein, pg.40). He acquired the knowledge of science when he attended the university of Ingolstadt, and once the knowledge of science was gained, Frankenstein went to his secret laboratory to create a creature with gigantic stature. At first, Frankenstein had doubts about creating a human being; however, with "the improvement which every day takes place in science and mechanics, [he] was encouraged to hope [his] present attempts would at least lay the foundation of future success." (Frankenstein, pg.47) Once Frankenstein created his human being, his dream was vanished because he had accomplished his dream. His dream of creating a human being soon turned into a nightmare.
In Frankenstein, Shelley creates two very complex characters. They embody the moral dilemmas that arise from the corruption and disturbance of the natural order of the world. When Victor Frankenstein is attending school, he becomes infatuated with creating a living being and starts stealing body parts from morgues around the university. After many months of hard work, he finishes one stormy night bringing his creation to life. However, “now that [Victor] had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled [his] heart” (Chambers). Right after Victor realizes what he has done, he falls into deep depression and must be nursed back to health by his friend. Victor spends the rest of the story facing consequences and moral problems from creating unnatural life. When he realizes that the ‘monster’ has killed his brother, even though no one believes him, he feels responsible for his brother’s murder because he was responsible for the existence of the ‘monster’. Also feeling responsible, Victor...
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. Edited with an Introduction and notes by Maurice Hindle. Penguin books, 1992