Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus That Plays God

Posted: August 27th, 2021

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Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus That Plays God

Frankenstein, a novel by Marry Shelley, follows the story of a committed science student Victor Frankenstein, obsessed with finding the cause of life and giving life to lifeless objects. He makes a human being from body parts although it turns out terrible, evil, and murderous. These outcomes evoke regrets and guilt that psychologically torture Frankenstein, punishing him for opposing nature. The mythological Prometheus was punished for stealing fire and giving it to humans, which reflects the nature of Victor Frankenstein, who not only plays God but also uses his knowledge to create something new that did not exist before.

The “Modern Prometheus” illustrates Frankenstein’s actions, using the knowledge of science as a mythological Prometheus who utilized spiritual gifts to give life to the inanimate. According to the Greek and Roman mythology, Prometheus is associated with the creation of man, stealing fire, a symbolic representation of knowledge, from the heavens to ensure that a human is provided with warmth and enabled to live comfortably (Richard 295-297; Sasani and Pilevar 214). Although Prometheus ensures that the life of men he created is improved, he executes his intention against the will of Zeus, the God. As such, Prometheus is severely punished by being chained on a rock, and crying, “…crag at the edge of the world…” (Shelly 1) and “…behold me, an ill-fated god, chained, the foe of Zeus…because of my very great love of mankind…” (Shelly 33). Thus, in this context, the same situation faces Frankenstein hence regarded as the “Modern Prometheus” by Mary Shelly.

Frankenstein is referred to as the “Modern Prometheus” because he opposes nature to reinvent ideas into modern technology and science. His persistence in adventure ignites suffering for humanity (Richard 298). Similarly, Prometheus infuriated Zeus to create a Pandora’s Box, which was given to him with instructions not to open it (Shelly 36). Out of curiosity and defiance against Zeus’ commands, Prometheus opened it, thereby releasing all illness, disasters, and evil to the human generation to suffer (Richard 295; Crook et al. 94). Frankenstein lived with guilt, regretting having made a “monster” and releasing it into society, causing the death of many of his family and friends. However, Frankenstein’s was subjected to psychological alienation (Shelly 43), unlike Prometheus, whom the Gods punished not only psychologically but also physically. Probably, Shelly wanted to indicate that the gods controlled everything in ancient times, including being responsible for all that happened to humanity. Therefore, the “Modern Prometheus” is in control of his life, including his damnation.

Equally, Frankenstein sought to play God by being responsible for giving life to inanimate objects. It was the greatest ambition of his life. He was motivated by the urge to be worshipped and blessed by his creatures: “a new species will bless me as its creator and source” (Sasani and Pilevar 214). Ironically, however, he ignored the actual relationship with the people that loved him dearly. Along the way, he grew immersed in sorrow than love: “I seemed to have lost all soul or sensation but for this pursuit” (Shelly 45). The regret grows when he is with friends who have no desire to alter humanity to something unnatural (45). After realizing his creation, Frankenstein immediately begins expressing contempt for the creatures he made, “I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open…” (Shelly 42). “How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe…” (Shelly 42), and he starts describing the emotion; “His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of lustrous black…” (Shelly 4). The same situation occurred to Prometheus, who expressed pride in his creation and thus, felt satisfied with his work.

However, their decisions to go against the natural laws eventually resulted in regret and devastation. Frankenstein became a broken man, which symbolizes concerns of Shelly’s on the effects of defying scientific methods (Richard 297). Although Prometheus and Frankenstein’s actions were out of goodwill, they implemented partisan blessings. Like in Frankenstein’s case, fire is used as symbolism for both evil and good deeds. Correspondingly, the ability of Frankenstein to give life yields to evil, as witnessed in the daemon’s destructive deeds (Sasani and Pilevar 214). Thus, the same destruction is shown in his selfish and cold treatment given to his creations.

Frankenstein as the “Modern Prometheus” highlights the role of women in modern society. Notably, Prometheus is considered the creator of humanity amongst Greeks and Roman mythologies (Crook et al. 96-101). However, he is not directly associated with creating women. Instead, it was an act advanced by god Zeus to punish Prometheus for exhibiting strong love for creating man (Crook et al. 98-101). Interestingly, the story’s unfolding emphasizes that women were created to punish but not for companionship or joy according to ancient mythologies. Hence, Prometheus is depicting women negatively.

Frankenstein’s love and relationship life with friends and family are characterized by unfortunate encounters. In the mythological Prometheus, the story lacks any mortal female except the beautiful but highly troublesome Pandora, who is created later. Thus, the Prometheus myth directly alludes to Frankenstein’s story where all women encounter untimely death (92). For instance, Frankenstein’s mother dies before his daemon is animated, while Elizabeth becomes an orphan when her mother dies at childbirth. Likewise, a young nurse, Justine, is wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death (97). Therefore, the misfortunes that befell women in the story sustain the suffering women undergo because of perception from modern society.

Frankenstein immediately feels guilty and remorseful of his adventures, which have eventually become destructive. The daemon is destined to remain motherless and entirely without a partner. All women around him are ill-fated. Thus, Shelly could have intentionally created this situation to illustrate women’s critical roles in society (Crook et al. 103). Equally, it served as a demonstration of the absence of a strong female personality in her life and a clear sense of abandonment (Berger 146). These suggestions are highlighted in Frankenstein’s dream after creating a monster. Frankenstein explains this through his encounter with Elizabeth, who turns into a corpse while kissing her (Sasaniand Pilevar, 214). Therefore, the lack of male-female solid relationship encounters in the story is the real-life encounters in the modern social setting.

Through the Frankenstein story, Shelly passes a precautionary message to modern humanity about the consequences of usurping divine power. She alludes to the classical Prometheus myth that demonstrates the activities of Frankenstein with the basic human aspirations and desires. Whenever humankind attempts to transcend beyond the natural limits, there is the potential of overdoing that ultimately causes irreversible harm against humanity. Thus, Frankenstein’s story should be understood from the mythological perspective as it will enhance understanding besides explaining the reality that goes beyond generations.

Works Cited

Berger, Arthur A. “Frankenstein: The New Prometheus.” Popular Culture Genres: Theories and Texts, Vol. 2. SAGE Publications, Inc., 1992, pp. 147-56, dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781483325316.n11. Accessed 18 June 2021.

Crook, Nora, and Betty T. Bennett. “Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus.” The Novels and Selected Works of Mary Shelley, 2020, pp. 1-173, doi.org/10.4324/9780429350030. Accessed 18 June 2021.

Richard, Jennifer. “A Paradise of My Own Creation”: Frankenstein and the Improbable Romance of Polar Exploration, Nineteenth-Century Contexts, vol. 25, no.4, 2003, pp. 295-314, doi:10.1080/0890549032000167826. Accessed June 2021.

Sasani, Samira, and Hamidreza Pilevar. “Modern Prometheus: Marry Shelley’s Frankenstein and Rejection of Romanticism.” International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, vol. 6, no. 2, 2017, p. 214, www.academia.edu/29357759/No_Romantic_Prometheus_Marry_Shelleys_Frankenstein_and_Rejection_of_Romanticism. Accessed 18 June 2021.

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. 2nd ed., edited by J. Paul Hunter, W.W. Norton & Co., 2012, www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/frankenstein-second-edition-norton-critical-editions. Accessed 18 June 2021.