Febely Abella
In modern-day history/myths, we see tellings of the past come back to life through different interpretations; dance, music, theatre, and especially writing. Frankenstein: The Modern Day Prometheus by Mary Shelley is a novel that gives respect to the story of the god Prometheus, who inspired the story we all know, of Frankenstein. In their own respect, I believe they both have fascinating backgrounds worth telling.
The story of Prometheus is an incredibly iconic one within itself. Prometheus is a titan who resided on Mount Olympus with the other gods and decided to deliver fire to the humans. His actions resulted in humans creating new technological advancements, furthering their civilization for the better good. This angered Zeus and resulted in Prometheus being punished by having his liver eaten every time it would regenerate.
The novel Frankenstein is centered around scientist Victor Frankenstein. Victor creates a ‘man-like creature’ from pieces of different corpses and manages to bring it to life. Eventually, Victor becomes a victim of his own creation and ironically succumbs to the power of his own hands.
I believe that these stories have been preserved for us to reflect on their meanings and study what our own morals are and how they coincide with the tellings of the past. The original story of Prometheus gives off a narrative of a man who had compassion for mankind in his heart. The pity he had in his heart for mankind came at an incredible cost that he knew he had to pay but went through with his deed anyway, thus having his liver eaten (the seat of emotions). On the other hand, the story of Frankenstein presents itself in a way that seems almost greedy. Victor wanted to create a Monster that could reveal to him what possible “cheat” there is for life and death, desperately trying to find a way to defy the end stage of our lives. Victor’s desperation is what eventually cost him his own life, not because he was driven to madness, but rather because his creation of, “cheating death” was the reason for his demise.
Frankenstein: The Modern Day Prometheus is an ode to the story of Prometheus that demonstrates the consequences of getting a little too ahead of yourself. These stories/myths are something we are told during our early ages to form a structure of our own morality, but I believe that analyzing these stories in our later years is just as important to structuring our morality because although we are constantly changing, history shows that the consequences of similar actions will always be the same.
REFERENCES
“Frankenstein.”Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., www.britannica.com/topic/Frankenstein
Prometheus - the titan god of fire • greek god of fire • facts & information. (2023). https://greekgodsandgoddesses.net/gods/prometheus/
Shelley , Mary. “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus .” The Project Gutenberg eBook of Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, www.gutenberg.org/files/84/84-h/84-h.htm
M. Morford, R.J. Lenardon, and M. Sham. Classical Mythology - Oxford University Press, https://global.oup.com/ushe/product/classical-mythology-9780197653920?cc=us&lang=en
Rory Barger
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; The Modern Day Prometheus, features a scientist named Victor Frankenstein who brought a dead man back to life as his monster and the consequences of his actions. This novel borrows inspiration from the Greek myth of Prometheus, who stole fire from the Gods and gave it to humans, which brought a dramatic change in how humanity lived, positively and negatively. Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein; The Modern Day Prometheus allows the myth of Prometheus to be rekinded with new life in a modern-day setting.
The myth of Prometheus features the Titan Prometheus going against the will of Zeus, the king of the gods on Mount Olympus by delivering fire to human mortals on Earth, as fire previously belonged to the domain of the gods on Mount Olympus. As a consequence of this event, humans learned technology, however, humans also were punished through the creation of women and the endless toil of work. Prometheus is directly punished for his actions by being pinned to a rock and having an eagle gnaw at his flesh and liver for all eternity (O., Morford Mark P).
Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein makes allegories to the myth of Prometheus. The first example of allegory is how Victor Frankenstein encroached upon the domain of the gods by bringing a body back to life. Since the monster was created and had a will of its own, the monster would go out and commit murders of innocent people connected to Victor Frankenstein. The second example is how Victor Frankenstein needs to satisfy the monster so that he would be able to return to normal life by creating a partner for the monster. This references the myth, as Prometheus’s actions led to women being created, while Victor Frankenstein was punished by repeating the experiment but not for his own wishes. Later in the story, Victor Frankenstein destroys the partner of his monster, which leads to the monster fulfilling the promise of his threat to Victor Frankenstein of ruining his wedding night by killing his wife. In the third example, you have Prometheus chained to a rock and tormented, Victor Frankenstein had his loved ones removed while the monster continued to torment him. The last example is how Victor Frankenstein spent the rest of his life in a fruitless effort to kill his monster for revenge, which connects with how humans now had to toil with work for the rest of their lives (National Museums Liverpool).
The novel Frankenstein; the Modern Day Prometheus was able to bring new life into the myth of Prometheus by retelling the story in a unique way through a human character. One stark difference is that technology was used to bring a body back to life, while Prometheus created man and gave them fire to create technology. Regardless of the method, the person going against the will of the gods was punished and the world was changed. In the myth, men now had woman partners and endlessly toiled in work, while Victor Frankenstein was tormented by having his loved ones killed while his monster demanded to have a partner, innocents were harmed and the offender was punished.
Work Cited
“Frankenstein Full Book Summary.” Sparknotes, SparkNotes, www.sparknotes.com/lit/frankenstein/summary/. Accessed 16 Feb. 2024.
O., Morford Mark P, et al. Classical Mythology. Oxford University Press, 2024.
“Prometheus: Stealing Fire from the Gods.” National Museums Liverpool, www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/world-museum/greek-myths-and-legends/prometheus-stealing-fire-gods. Accessed 16 Feb. 2024.
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, et al. Frankenstein: Or, the Modern Prometheus ; the 1818 Version. Broadview Press, 2004.
Frankenstein; The Modern Day Prometheus
The image displays a sketched scene with two individuals. The right part of the image displays a very large, tall, and grotesque humanoid beast intended to be Frankenstein's monster. The monster is wearing tattered raggedy clothes with a cape and a black mask over its eyes. The person on the left, below this creature, is a sharp dressed man in a suit, top hat, and trench coat cowering in fear under the huge beast. Frankenstein's monster is also readily equipped with a knife in his right hand and another knife-like object sheathed on his belt. Frankenstein's monster is snarling while looking onward as if it is uninterested in harming the man below him, but instead other individuals past the border of the image. Finally, there is what seems to be a wanted poster with a skull and crossbones on it lying at the feet of the monster as it moves to the left side of the image past the screaming man..
"Frankenstein," written by Mary Shelley in 1816 in Switzerland, explores the consequences of scientific ambition. It tells the story of Victor Frankenstein's creation of a monster and examines themes of isolation, morality, and the dangers of unchecked curiosity. Many themes in literature interconnect the story of Victor Frankenstein with the story of the Greek god Prometheus. Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gifted it to humanity, defying divine order. This act can be viewed as unnatural or bad because it disrupted the balance between gods and mortals, challenging the authority of the divine and leading to consequences for both Prometheus and humanity, including eternal punishment for his defiance (Chapter 4, Morford).
Before getting into the comparison, first let's examine the figure at hand. From the figure above, we can see a good example of how the world portrays Frankenstein's monster. He is tall, grotesque, angry-looking, and raggedy. We also see below the creature, a man who seems to be a civilian cowering in fear under the beast. These attributes are showing strong symbols of corruption and dismay. In a way, this clearly shows the audience the negative annotations around Victor Frankenstein’s creation, depicting it to be unnatural and unwelcome. These themes are very prevalent in the ancient story in Greek mythology about Prometheus.
Prometheus is known for his defiance against the gods. According to myth, Prometheus created humanity out of clay and later stole fire from the gods, giving it to mankind. This act of rebellion against divine authority angered Zeus, the king of the gods, and led to severe consequences for Prometheus and humanity alike (Chapter 4, Morford) . I think creating ties from Victor Frankenstein to Prometheus just feels natural. Both individuals prioritized defying the norm and taking reality into their own hands whatever the cost. I think the image above relates to mankind created by prometheus. Since both parties created life defying the gods, the outcome was something corrupt and sour. I believe both individuals did the wrong thing but made something monumental out of their decision (not necessarily good). Mankind is a monumental thing in the world of Greek mythology because it affects many stories to come after Prometheus stole the fire. Frankenstein’s monster was also monumental because it was more seen as a lesson. You cannot play god and expect things to work out well.
Overall, the story of Prometheus serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of challenging authority and seeking knowledge beyond one's limits. Similarly, Victor Frankenstein's creation of the monster in Shelley's novel can be interpreted as a hubristic attempt to transcend the natural order, resulting in disastrous consequences for himself and those around him. Both Prometheus and Victor Frankenstein represent the consequences of unchecked ambition and the human desire to control forces beyond our understanding.
Works Cited:
1. Mark Morford, Classical mythology pg 90-100
2. Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, 1797-1851. Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus : the 1818 Text. Oxford ; New York :Oxford University Press, 1998.