Throughout Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a great comparison is shown between Victor Frankenstein, the main character, and Prometheus, one of Greek mythology’s greatest Gods. Shelley borrows from the tale of Prometheus a consequence resulting from searching for a great source of enlightenment and power. In creating a being and giving it life, Frankenstein seems to take on the remarkable role of God which leads him to thinking that a power that is so heavenly cannot be played with by mankind. During his quest to expand his creative knowledge, abilities, drive, and ambition to know the origin of life, he puts himself in conflict. Frankenstein gambled his way into the godly realm without realizing he committed a sin by creating the monster, and …show more content…
Frankenstein created the life of a being, causing him to cross into a realm made exclusively for God himself, and Prometheus, disobeyed the Gods’ order and gives humans fire as a tool. When comparing the use of fire between the two tales, it is easily shown that fire portrays the spirit of life, a spark that ignites life in Frankenstein's creature. For Prometheus, fire allows mankind to advance and grow into a united, educated society of …show more content…
There are many similarities between Frankenstein and Prometheus. Both of them were beings who created life that violated the principles of natural birth and were severely punished for their actions. Although both were seen as criminals by authority, Frankenstein was seen to be as a bad creator while Prometheus was seen to be good. Shelley was able to portray the image of Frankenstein being just like Prometheus, but in her own interpretation that clearly separates the fate of the two
At the end, however, God banished both of them from Heaven. In relation to Frankenstein, this means Frankenstein judged his monster, to which he was the blame, for deeds he did not do, regardless of the fact he himself was probably for the blame of most of them. Also, this means Frankenstein’s monster will adore Frankenstein no matter what happens, as he owes him his creation. The monster will always be the product of
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a gothic novel that tells the story of scientist, Victor Frankenstein, and his obsession with creating human life. This leads him to creating a gruesome monster made of body-parts stolen from grave yards, whom upon discovering his hideousness, the monster seeks revenge against his creator, causing Victor to regret the creation of his monster for the rest of his life. Shelley uses the literary elements of personification, imagery, and similes to give a vivid sense and visualization of Victor Frankenstein’s thoughts and feelings as well as to allow us to delve deeper into the monster’s actions and emotions. Throughout the novel, Shelley uses personification of various forces and objects to reflect the effect in Victor’s actions.
The Creation of Human Life The laboratory from where the creature in Frankenstein was created, to the DHC in Brave New World , and the creation of humans by God in Paradise lost all share one thing in common. They both share the common theme which the art and science of creating a human life. All three of the novels want to have pure human beings free from disease and distress. But the novels also want to have social stability. As the plot begins in Frankenstein we are introduced to a group of explorers of which Victor is part of on a journey to a new world .
Christianity in Frankenstein Throughout the novel, there were many biblical allusions. Christianity play into novel by comparing the creation of Frankenstein's monster to the creation of Adam and Eve. Mary Shelley incorporating this into the novel to show that no one should ever come close as Frankenstein was to receiving "God" status because it will ultimately drive them to destruction. The purpose of these connection is that no one should not play God.
Prometheus gave the human race the gift of light because of this he was punished. This symbolization contributes to the work as a whole through a message in the book, light of science is good until it is pursued too far. In the story of Prometheus consequences are suffered. Likewise, characters in Frankenstein suffer repercussions for their actions. In other words, the light of science in Frankenstein is creation.
In Frankenstein, Shelley presents two characters who represent the different sides of the same character. The monster was a clear reflection of his creator because; they had the same development, same pain and suffering, and were recluses. Victor and the monster did not physically resemble each other, but they had the same personality and traits, therefore,
In Chapter 15 of Frankenstein, the author compares the monster to Adam (the first man) as well as comparing Victor to God. I believe that Frankenstein is not as much a commentary on the bible, but rather on the nature of man. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley compares the monster and Victor to biblical figures in order to relate that everyone is capable of moral good and evil. As we see in the novel, the monster is much like Adam in that he desires companionship, he is made in the likeness of his creator (a man), and he eventually turns to evil.
Frankenstein and his monster begin with opposite lives: Frankenstein has everything and the monster has nothing. However, in creating the monster, Frankenstein’s life and feelings begin to parallel that of the monster’s life. Frankenstein is incredibly intelligent with a fascination for science, but ultimately his thirst for knowledge leads to his undoing. Similarly the monster is determined to understand the society around him. But once he does, he understands that he will never be able to find companionship, which leads him to pain and anger.
Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, shows how a character who is portrayed as a tragic hero, in the beginning, can become the monster in the end. Victor and the Monster in Mary Shelley’s captivating novel showed how rival enemies share striking similarities. The similarities between the two tragic characters are driven by their dreary isolation from the secluded world. A large difference is that they were both raised in two completely different environments but understood the meaning of isolation. Physical differences are more noticeable rather than their personalities.
Both texts include the theme of runaway technology. In Frankenstein the main character, Victor, created a machine, which he called a monster. On his way back to his dorm, he dreaded seeing what he created in his house, he said, “I dreaded to behold this monster, but I feared still more that Henry should see him.” But, when he arrived the creation wasn’t there.
By connecting the character of Viktor to Prometheus, and adding an allusion to create a better understanding of the characters Shelley allows the reader to uncover the fate of both characters along with their creations and the punishments that follow. The connection to the greek myth, allows the readers to take on a second perspective when reading Frankenstein. The very prevalent themes enhance not only the authors writing but also the characters themselves. Overall, Shelley’s use of Prometheus as a silent background helped foreshadow the inevitable fate of Frankenstein's creator,
Frankenstein Literary Criticism Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, is filled with motifs of Nature and companionship. During the Romantic period or movement, when the novel Frankenstein was written, nature was a huge part of romanticism. Nature was perceived as pure, peaceful, and almost motherly. As we read the novel through Victor Frankenstein 's perspective, we the readers can see how romanticized-nature is perceived as by those who find comfort in nature. This novel also contains, in addition to romantic elements, heavy-filled gothic scenes and descriptions.
Prometheus the Friend of Man and Frankenstein The idea of creating life should be above us, right? What if I told you regular human beings like you and me, accomplished this? Whether their creations benefited or hurt humanity, the importance of this is what responsibility the creators took over the resulting consequences. Although these stories are fiction, there is much to learn from them. Introducing something made by oneself takes as much responsibility as purchasing a new pet.
He also views Victor Frankenstein as the modern Prometheus that is stated in the title of the book. He argues Victor rebels against the divinely arranged order, steals spark from heaven, as illustrated in the book and creates a creature in his image (Cantor para. 3). However, just like Prometheus, he ends up bringing destruction and disaster upon the very people he was trying to help. The monster created by Victor plays a good role of the Prometheus in Shelly’s story (Shelley 104). Moreover, Paul also agrees with the Hetherington’s view that Frankenstein despite playing the role of God in creating the monster, he also compares himself to Satan.
“Whenever the creation order is inverted, there is disorder, destruction, and death. When we tamper with this order, even a little, we become life-takers rather than life-givers”(J. Ligon Duncan III ). This quote plays a large part in the overall literature that is Frankenstein; it pulls together the attributes of the story in a way I haven’t seen before. This essay will be focusing on the relationship between the gothic novel of Frankenstein, and the greek myth of Prometheus. It will be a compare and contrast of the dueling stories.