Frankenstein And The Modern Prometheus

At the first read The Modern Prometheus may appear a peculiar name for a book such as Frankenstein. This is because a scientist who brings life to a creature who becomes set to destroy him and a Greek Titan that gave mankind fire. One must delve a little deeper to reveal the truth behind the name and how Mary Shelley cleverly intertwined one of the most famous Greek myths with what was to become one of the most well known Gothic books of all time, Frankenstein: or The Modern Prometheus.Though both Frankenstein and Prometheus created a new species of creatures It is in the way the two acted towards their creation, and the choices that they made that led to the difference between life and death. First off, to understand the similarities in the two stories one must become accustomed with the myth of Prometheus. “The full title of Mary Shelley 's novel is Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. The Prometheus referred to here is the Titan who stole fire from the gods and was punished for his presumption by Zeus” (Title Marcas). Prometheus first created man out of …show more content…
Prometheus was punished because of his thievery was tethered to the rock with pain being inflicted by an eagle. Victor’s pain comes in the form of the deaths of all those he held dear. Victor blames himself for the deaths of William, Justine, Henry Clerval, and Elizabeth, “I called myself the Murderer of William, Justin and Clerval” (Shelley 157). He is tormented by the thought that he had killed his brother, his best friend and his wife all because he had created a monster just so he would receive the glory from his discoveries. In a way his ego got in the way of his judgement of the