Comparing Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and the Prometheus Myth
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is subtitled "The Modern Prometheus", and rightfully so. Prometheus, the Titan of Greek mythology that created man and gave them fire, is a fitting symbol for Victor Frankenstein, the man who created a "monster" and gave him life. The most obvious aspect of the similarity between Frankenstein and the Prometheus myth is the underlying theme - both stories deal with ill-fated actions with tragic consequences. The classic Prometheus stories, as told by Aeschylus, Percy Bysshe Shelley and summarized by Edith Hamilton, contain symbolic and thematic elements that closely parallel Mary Shelley's "modern Prometheus."
Prometheus' creation of man parallels Frankenstein's own creation. Prometheus, whose name means forethought, was very wise, wiser even than the gods...Epimetheus[Prometheus' brother] gave all the best gifts to the animals-until no good was left for man. Prometheus, then, took over the task of creation and thought out a way to make mankind superior. He fashioned them in a nobler shape than the animals, upright like the gods; and then he went to heaven, to the sun, where he lit a torch and brought down fire. (Hamilton 71)
Just as there was "no good left for man" in the Prometheus myth, Frankenstein's creation was fashioned from animal parts, the "dissecting room and the slaughter house" and created by a man who "dabbled among the unhallowed damps of the grave" and "tortured the living animal to animate the lifeless clay" (Mary Shelley 33). Again, the allusion to "lifeless clay" relates to Prometheus, who supposedly fashioned mankind out of clay. This reference to clay also emphasizes the lack of detail describing Victor Franke...
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... and actions are less noble than that of Prometheus, but perhaps that only puts more emphasis on him as the modern version. He personifies that self-glorification so often found and desired in today's society, and undoubtedly in Shelley's.
Works Cited
Hamilton, Edith. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes. New York: Mentor, 1942.
Norton, Dans and Peters Rushton. Classical Myths in English Literature. New York: Greenwood Press Publishers, 1969. P. 311-316.
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. Ed. D.L. Macdonald and Kathleen Scherf. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 1994.
Smith, Johanna M. Forbidden Knowledge or "Sad Trash"? HTTP://www2.centenary.edu/forbidden/smith. February 1, 1999.
Mullen, Patrick. The Creation of Man by Prometheus. HTTP://members.tripod.com/`greekmyth/creationman.html. January 31, 1999.
Whether atop the baffling Mount Olympus or below in the blank slate of a city being Ingolstadt, a mythological god and a man seek power on their trek to greatness. Both Zeus of the Greek gods in “The Story of Prometheus” and the simple man Victor Frankenstein of the literature work Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, can be viewed as leaders who lost their purpose in their quest for power. Victor possesses more morality in his actions, while Zeus rules with an iron fist and does not care what happens to the ones around him. To understand the beneficial traits and flaws of these characters, one must delve into the stories of their lives. These characters throughout literature show signs of great potential, but also of substantial corruption. Disregarding the feelings of others, along with a
addressing Frankenstein as a monster. Victor does not desire anything to do with this “wretch”. After seeing the creature he has created, he “[passes] the night wretchedly. Sometimes [his] pulse beat so quickly and hardly that [he] feels palpitation of every artery; at others, [he] nearly [sinks] to the ground through languor and extreme weakness.” (59) Victor acts a coward; he does not face his mistakes and try to fix them. Instead he feels weakened by the disappointment of himself. On the other hand, Prometheus reacts differently to his challenges. Prometheus acts strong minded, he thinks before he acts and trusts nobody. After Prometheus grants the villagers with fire, he “[…] [warns] his brother to beware of any gift that Jupiter might send, for he knew that the mighty tyrant [can] not be trusted.”(4) Prometheus expects consequences for his actions, just as an army general expects an attack from the enemy. Prometheus acts brave in questioning authority and waits ready for battle, if Zeus retaliates for disobeying
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. Edited with an Introduction and notes by Maurice Hindle. Penguin books, 1992
Many stories have progressed enough to be the topic of conversation from time to time. The novel, Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus has different relationships to many other topics. The author of the story, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley who was born almost 200 years ago bringing with her the age of horror (Edison 5), used biographical strategies to write Frankenstein. Also, as time progressed, Frankenstein became a well-known story. It was turned into many different films that depicted the time period that it happened to be from. One final relationship that Frankenstein has happens to be the way that everyone can draw morals from the story, no matter what the reader’s age, or how the reader’s life has evolved.
Written in 1817 by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein is a novel about the "modern Prometheus", the Roman Titian who stole fire from the gods and gave it to man. The story takes place in several European countries during the late 1700's. It is the recollection of Victor Frankenstein to a ship captain about his life. Victor is a student of science and medicine who discovers a way to reanimate dead flesh. In a desire to create the perfect race he constructs a man more powerful than any normal human, but the creation is so deformed and hideous that Victor shuns it. The creation then spends a year wandering searching for companionship, but everywhere he goes he is shunned and feared. Hating life the creature turns its misery on its creator, killing off Victors family.
In the novel, Frankenstein, a doctor named Victor Frankenstein created a monster. Victor’s monster was created using old human parts, chemicals, and a “spark.” Victor wanted to create this monster in order to benefit mankind, and for the purpose of playing God. Victor thought his creation would turn out great, but in all actuality, his monster ended up terribly wrong (Shelley, 145). The monster was a deformed man, standing eight feet tall, with yellow eyes, black hair, black lips, and skin that did not conceal his internal features (Shelley, 144-145). Even though the monster was very grown, he had the mind of a newborn child, and he was very kind and gentle (Shelley, 327). The monster’s appearance terrified Victor, and he immediately abandoned it. Dr. Victor Frankenstein also never named his creation because he disliked it that much. The monster was longing for love, and since no one loved him, he became very violent. He ended up killing Victor’s brother and best friend out of pure revenge (Shelley, 193). Anytime the monster tried to help people, he was bea...
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein and the monster that he creates are very similar. For example, Victor creates the monster to be like himself. Another similarity is that the anger of both Victor and the monster is brought about by society. One more parallel between Victor and the monster is that they both became recluses. These traits that Victor and the monster possess show that they are very similar.
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.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. Edited with an Introduction and notes by Maurice Hindle. Penguin books, 1992
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, Walter James Miller, and Harold Bloom. Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus. New York: New American Library, 2000. Print.
Prometheus was a Greek God that gave fire to humans. Humans see him as one of the greats, meanwhile, the gods see him as a betrayer. The same observation can be said of Dr. Frankenstein. Whether it is entirely true, is left up to the audience's discretion. The idea that creation of life is bad, isn’t often argued as a bad thing. Like creating a baby, most people are excited of the prospect of bringing a child into the world. Couldn’t the same be said of a creation made by man? Dr. Frankenstein thought his creation would be the foremost of science; however, after completing his work, he despised it. Frankenstein can be seen as the modern Prometheus for three reasons; his creation was unparalleled
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. Edited with an Introduction and notes by Maurice Hindle. Penguin books, 1992
What is the creation of Frankenstein? Firstly, it is a creature artificially created by a person from parts of the body of deceased people and remotely resembling the person himself. Secondly, this being is self-conscious, learning, developing, and also able to feel. Thinking began to appear in him almost from the very moment of its creation, self-awareness, in the process of his acquaintance with nature and the surrounding world, which he perceived categorically enough, and language. The result of his observations of the inhabitants of the hut near which he founded his home. “ By degrees, I made a discovery of still greater moment. I gaunt that those people possessed a method of communicating their experience and feelings to one another by
In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the author uses the pursuit of revenge to characterize, and she uses symbols to show the significance of the characters actions. The title Frankenstein is significant because that’s the creator of the monster’s name, and the old title The Modern Prometheus is significant because there are parallels between the main character and Prometheus, the Greek myth. The title is significant, but the older title is the most significant because the author is saying that Victor Frankenstein is the modern version of the Greek myth. Mary Shelley’s background is also a factor in why she decided to write a book like this. First off, she was bored and wanted to write a scary story, and secondly, she was a part of the industrial revolution.