Is Frankenstein the Modern Day Prometheus? Essay

Dr. Frankenstein and Prometheus both create a male human being, they both sought glory from their creations, and they were both very intelligent beings. In view of these attributes Mary Shelly used to create character Dr. Victor Frankenstein it is obvious to see why she would subtitle her novel â€Å"The modern Prometheus. † Dr. Frankenstein and Prometheus create man Philo Farnsworth creates the modern television we all watch today. Alexander Bell creates the telephone and now by nearly everyone on the planet. And who could forget Percy Spencer who created the microwave oven that is in just about every household in America. These inventions are all great but pale in comparison to creating a â€Å"Man†. After fighting alongside his fellow Titans in the war against the Olympians, Prometheus is given the task of creating humans. Prometheus creates a man out of mud. Dr. Frankenstein collects body parts for creating his man from mud. Dr. Frankenstein being even more obsessed with his diabolic plan to create man he neglected to notice the fact that he was desecrating a grave yard. Darkness had no effect upon my fancy; and a churchyard was to me merely the receptacle of bodies deprived of life, which, from being the seat of beauty and strength, had become food for the worm. † (Chapter 4) Dr. Frankenstein assumes the task of creating a human being â€Å"When I found so astonishing a power placed within my hands, I hesitated a long time concerning the manner in which I should employ i t†¦I began the creation of a human being. † (Chapter 4) Both of the characters created the male form of humanity and appear to neglect creating a female at the time of their creations. Prometheus and Dr. Frankenstein seek glory from their creations In the quest for acknowledged authority and admiration from their creations, both Dr. Frankenstein and Prometheus’ ambition backfires in ways they never expected. According to Greek Mythology Prometheus loved man so much that he came up with a plan to deceive the god Zeus by showing man how to offer less than favorable sacrifices to the gods. He also gave man the secret of fire after it was taken from them by Zeus. Prometheus thought that humans having this knowledge would improve humanity but it had the reverse effect. Man became deceptive not only to the gods but themselves and used the knowledge of fire for destruction and war. Prometheus sought glory and honor from the man he had created by giving them knowledge only the gods possessed. Dr. Frankenstein in turn sought supreme admiration from his creation when he said â€Å"Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world. A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. (Chapter 5) He also thought that he could improve on mankind with the knowledge he possessed â€Å"I thought, that if I could bestow animation upon lifeless matter, I might in process of time (although I now found it impossible) renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption. † (Chapter 5) Prometheus and Dr. Frankenstein thought that their creations would give them the glory and honor they both craved but the best made plans don’t always come to pass. Dr. Frankenstein and Prometheus were highly intelligent Highly intelligent people always seem to stand out from the crowd Prometheus and Victor are no exception. Most boys at the age of 13 are more interested in baseball and girls but the young Victor Frankenstein is more captivated by the works of the German Philosopher and Theologian Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, Paracelsus and Albertus Magnus. â€Å"When I was thirteen years of age, we all went on a party of pleasure to the baths near Thonon: the inclemency of the weather obliged us to remain a day confined to the inn. In this house I chanced to find a volume of the works of Cornelius Agrippa. I opened it with apathy; the theory which he attempts to demonstrate, and the wonderful facts which he relates, soon changed this feeling into enthusiasm. A new light seemed to dawn upon my mind; and, bounding with joy, I communicated my discovery to my father. When I returned home, my first care was to procure the whole works of this author, and afterwards of Paracelsus and Albertus Magnus. I read and studied the wild fancies of these writers with delight; they appeared to me treasures known to few beside myself. (Chapter 2) Victor attends college at an early age and surpasses the knowledge of his classmates and instructor. â€Å"When I had attained the age of seventeen, my parents resolved that I should become a student at the University of Ingolstadt. † (Chapter 3) â€Å"As I applied so closely, it may be easily conceived that my progress was rapid. My ardour was indeed the astonishment of the students, and my proficiency that of the masters. † (Chapter 4) â€Å"I m ade some discoveries in the improvement of some chemical instruments, which procured me great esteem and admiration at the university. I was surprised, that among so many men of genius who had directed their enquiries towards the same science, that I alone should be reserved to discover so astonishing a secret. † (Chapter 5) Prometheus by all accounts was the wisest of all the gods. He had created man to stand upright like the gods. Taught man how to deceive the gods and Prometheus possessed knowledge that even the mighty Zeus didn’t have. Both characters find that being highly intelligent has its cost. Dr. Victor Frankenstein is then modern Prometheus When Mary Shelley created the character of Victor Frankenstein she used an allusion to mythology to describe him. Prometheus and Dr. Frankenstein were both the creators of man, both were highly intelligent compared to their counter parts, and both were punished indirectly from their creations. Prometheus tormented by Zeus for giving man fire and showing man how to outwit the gods with unacceptable sacrifices. And Dr. Frankenstein forever tormented by the death of his brother, best friend and wife. He now must embark on a never ending quest to chase the creature forever. And now my wanderings began, which are to cease but with life. I have traversed a vast portion of the earth, and have endured all the hardships which travelers, in deserts and barbarous countries, are wont to meet. How I have lived I hardly know; many times have I stretched my failing limbs upon the sandy plain, and prayed for death. But revenge kept me alive; I dared not die, and leave my adversary in being. Amidst t he wilds of Tartary and Russia, although he still evaded me, I have ever followed in his track. Never will I give up my search, until he or I perish. (Chapter 24) Mary Shelly’s comparison of Dr. Frankenstein to Prometheus is both accurate and valid. After closely examining the two characters it’s easy to see why Mary Shelly was ahead of her time subtitling her novel â€Å"The Modern Prometheus† which is why it’s a classic novel to this day. References Mary W. Shelley â€Å" Frankenstein or the modern Prometheus† (1818) www. desy. de www. egs. edu www. gutenburg. org www. english-literature-space. blogspot. com www. sparknotes. com www. theeoi. com www. wikipedia. com