Frankenstein is referred to as the “Modern Prometheus” as there is increasingly evident comparison that can be made between the two. To modernize something means to make it in a time frame that is much closer to the present, rather than the original event- Mary Shelley does just this in her novel. In many ways Prometheus and Victor can be compared but some extremely evident comparisons are: allowing for the release of something destructive into society, using Earth itself to create the creator's creations, and defying a superior in the pursuit of knowledge. Frankenstein and Prometheus may have connections as old as history itself, regardless of the time frame, both stories of these individuals can be applied to one another. These creators …show more content…
“How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form?” (Shelly 51). Victor released a creature that looked so unpleasant and hideous into nature with no idea of the consequences that would soon follow. The actions of the creature lead, either directly or indirectly, to the deaths of William, Justine, Henry, and Elizabeth. By allowing a creature to come to life, the entire fate of humanity depended on Victor to contain the creature's actions and eventually kill him. This relates to Prometheus by the creation of woman on Earth bringing diseases. “the punishment of Prometheus and the foolishness of Pandora in releasing evil and suffering into the world are a version of the Fall and the end of innocence as told in Genesis” (Bible Society 5). Prometheus, after his escape from the infinite torture of the eagle eating his liver, met Pandora, Prometheus’s brother’s bride, and were put on Earth. When Pandora was created, by Zeus in vengeance of being tricked by Prometheus after a dinner where Prometheus gave Zeus bones to eat. Zeus then punished Prometheus by the eagle and brought Pandora to Earth. As a “gift” Zeus gave Pandora a jar that secretly was the key to destruction …show more content…
“With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet” (Shelly 51). Victor absorbed the energy of lightning in order to start the creature’s life- this harness of energy shows that the use of Earth’s materials is yet another allusion to Prometheus. The process of using natural resources is the illustration that Victor was determined to do whatever necessary in order to achieve the satisfaction that he could create life. “In some traditions, Prometheus made the first man from clay, whilst in others, the gods made all creatures on Earth, and Epimetheus and Prometheus were given the task of endowing them with gifts so that they might survive and prosper” (Cartwright). Prometheus creating the first man out of clay relates to Victor as he also used nature in order to complete his creations. The modernization accomplished through the creature being reanimated through the use of lighting and multiple body
As Halloween is coming around the corner, ghosts, monsters, and witches come to mind. Watching classic scary movies and reading books like, Frankenstein and Edward Scissorhands, is a great way to get into the spirit of the season. These two stories have different plots, but their themes and meanings parallel each other and have connections to modern society. Although, Frankenstein’s creature and Edward Scissorhands have vastly different lives, they both experience a struggle for acceptance that is also shared by contemporary homosexuals due to societal influences that attempt to apply a predetermined characterization towards these individuals. This is evidenced by how the characters and gay people are outcasts and want to be loved.
For my final project of the novel unit, I chose the novel Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley and first published in 1818. Frankenstein is a tale about an ambitious young scientist who in his practice oversteps the boundaries of acceptable science and creates a monster which destroys everything Victor Frankenstein loved and held dear.
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
James Whale's Frankenstein is a VERY loose adaptation of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel. The spirit of the film is preserved in its most basic sense, but the vast majority of the story has been entirely left out, which is unfortunate. The monster, for example, who possesses tremendous intellect in the novel and who goes on an epic quest seeking acceptance into the world in which he was created, has been reduced to little more than a lumbering klutz whose communication is limited to unearthly shrieks and grunts. Boris Karloff was understandably branded with the performance after the film was released, because it was undeniably a spectacular performance, but the monster's character was severely diminished from the novel.
Prometheus was instructed by the other Gods to craft humanity out of clay. Once he did so, he became attached to his creations. Against the wishes of the other Gods, Prometheus taught mankind all of the arts, such as the use of fire, acquaintance with architecture, astronomy, mathematics, the art of writing, the treatment of domestic animals, navigation, medicine, the art of prophecy, working in metal, and all the other arts. Zeus, the leader of the Gods, tried to punish Prometheus for his teachings by taking fire away from man. Prometheus again defied Zeus by stealing back the fire and returning it to man. In another instance of Prometheus defiance, mankind was angry that they were forced to give all of the good cuts of meat to the Gods as offerings. In order to please his creation, Prometheus tricked Zeus by misleading him into choosing the least desirable parts of a cow as his offering and thus leaving the most desirable cuts to mankind for consumption. Prometheus was pleased with his deception, but it enraged Zeus. In order to punish him, Zeus ordered that Prometheus be chained to a rock in the pit of Tartarus and for an eagle to eat out his liver daily and allow Prometheus's liver to regenerate each night.
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."
Mary Shelly was absolutely correct when she compared Frankenstein to “The Modern Prometheus.” Frankenstein and Prometheus were similar in their character and how they wanted to help humanity, though one protagonist took it too far. They both attempted to be godlike by creating life and they suffered consequences for their actions. The mortal humans were in need of saving so two intelligent, gentle, men came forth to help. Did they try to become too godlike or were their attempts of helping the mortals of the world justified?
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
Mythologies are traditionally stories that concern the early history of religion and people or the explanation of a natural or social phenomenon. Myths are often referenced by authors, as allusions, in their novels. The myth of Prometheus, the creator of man, is the story of a god who is sentenced to suffer for eternity for disobeying god. Victor Frankenstein is portrayed as a modern Prometheus in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein through, the methods used for the creation of man, his desire to create man, and the punishment he receives from his creation and himself. As the novel progresses, so does the similarities between Frankenstein and Prometheus. Due to the various similarities between them, a conclusion that Frankenstein portrays Prometheus
The confrontation between the two demonstrates Victor 's weaknesses as an individual. Although Victor is the Creature 's creator, he refers to his creation as an "abhorred monster" (Shelley 68) and is willing to "extinguish the spark which he so negligently bestowed" (Shelley 68) upon him. This demonstrates Victor 's lack of responsibility. His goal was to create life, essentially to play God. Once the monster began to murder those dearest to Victor, he failed to take responsibility for the creature 's actions. Another weakness in Victor 's character is revealed through the dialogue exchanged between creator and creation. Instead of calmly trying to reason with the Creature, Victor lashes back at the Creature. He even suggests that the two "try their strength in a fight in which one must fall." (Shelley 69) The monster, however, maturely and eloquently urges Victor 's "compassion to be moved" (Shelley69). Because Victor is full of "rage and horror" he wants to destroy his own creation even though victor is playing god in recreation of humanity. They both are to blame due to the fact that Victor created the creature as well as the signs of irresponsibility between the two for the Creature killing people and for Victor trying to recreate
“In the beginning GOD created the Heavens and the Earth”; thus, their power is limitless even in scenery. Mary Shelley’s 1816 gothic science fiction novel, Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus, introduces us to a young intellectually inquisitive man, Victor Frankenstein, who walks a thin line between scientific exploration and blasphemous conduct while attempting to bring glory to his name by creating a new species as if it were human. The setting in this novel highlights much significance: the unnatural occurrences of man have caused them to seek refuge in nature’s pure beauty implying the restorative powers of nature in the face of unnatural events.
To this day, the story of Pandora fascinates human beings enough to survive in media and culture. However, the modern adaptations of the myth often deviate from the misogynist undertones of Hesiod’s original version. As retaliation for Prometheus stealing fire from Olympus and gifting it to humans, Zeus resolves to afflict mankind with misfortune in the form of Pandora. He instructs Hephaestus to mold a woman out of clay and water, and asks Athena and Aphrodite to give her “painful yearning and consuming obsession”, “a bitch’s mind and knavish nature” and “lies and wily pretenses” (Works and Days, 39). Pandora is given to the misguided and forgetful Epimetheus and, due to her curiosity, releases all the terrible things that trouble mankind. Only hope is left at the end, which becomes trapped in the jar when Pandora replaces the lid. Despite Hesiod’s conclusion that the story proves “there is no way to evade the purpose of Zeus” (Works and Days, 40), it is clear that Pandora taking the form of a woman with negative attributes carries its own, separate significance. Hesiod proves this in the following: “For from her [Pandora] is descended the female sex, a great affliction to mortals as they dwell with their husbands” (Theogony, 20). Hesiod believed that all women were descended from Pandora – a woman he described as being deceitful, troublesome and difficult. By
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.
In ancient Greek society, myth was used to provide explanations for natural forces, as well as to provide collective interpretation on issues for the Greeks. Morally speaking, the ancient myths of Prometheus greatly discourage rebellion. Frankenstein also displays this theme, as Victor rebels against his own advice that, “A human being in perfection ought always to preserve a calm and peaceful mind and never to allow passion or a transitory desire to disturb his tranquility” (Shelley, 37). Both Prometheus and Frankenstein were reckless in their actions. Although they did not have harmful intentions, neither asked for consent from whom the creature would affect. Prometheus causes two major punishments of men. First, he tricks Zeus with man’s
Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein as a modern day version of the legend of Prometheus. Prometheus created men out of clay and taught them the "arts of civilisation" (Webster's World Encyclopedia CD-ROM 1999). Zeus, the chief god of the Titans, wanted to destroy Prometheus' creation but Prometheus stole fire from heaven to help mankind. Zeus punished Prometheus by chaining him to a rock where an eagle would feed on his liver during the day and each night the liver would grow back. Prometheus was able to bargain for his release because he knew a secret which concerned Zeus' future. Heracles shot the eagle and so Prometheus gained release. Victor Frankenstein is Shelley's modern Prometheus in that he, too, created man. The themes that relate to the myth of Prometheus in the novel are Frankenstein's torment, the monster's education, and the absolute determination of the individual spirit and how this determination can rival that of God. Shelley uses these themes to show that the human spirit is capable of many things - of noble pursuits that rival God himself, but also of the darkest of actions that draw comparisons with the acts of Satan.