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Analysis Of Frankenstein And The Modern Prometheus

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Erin Taylor
Instructor Toni J. Weeden
Honors Senior English
December 11, 2017
The Modern Prometheus Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus was written in 1818 by a young woman named Mary Shelley. When Mary Shelley and her husband Percy Shelley arrived at the house of Lord Byron on Lake Geneva in 1815, their vacation was spent mostly indoors. Byron proposed a challenge to his guests, asking who could create the most frightening tale. This sparked an idea in eighteen-year-old Mary. Over the next few months, she crafted the story of Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus. The subtitle is in reference to the Greek myth of the Titan Prometheus. In this essay, I will explore the reasoning behind her title choice, as well as what it means. (Silvia …show more content…
Mary Shelley borrows from Prometheus a sense of consequence as a result of seeking enlightenment and power. Victor Frankenstein is Shelley’s modern Prometheus. The subtitle suggests a cautionary figure and the damage of disrupting the natural order. From the very beginning of her novel, to the very end when Victor reiterates the misfortune he has suffered as a result of his quest of enlightenment for the bettering of mankind, Shelley draws continuous parallels to the story of Prometheus. (Rebecca Dudczak)
Citations
Cartwright, Mark. “Prometheus.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, 20 Apr. 2013, www.ancient.eu/Prometheus/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2017.
Dudczak, Rebecca. “The Modern Prometheus.” A Cultural History of
Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus, 2002, www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist257s02/students/Becky/prometheus.html. Accessed 1 Dec. 2017. gpane. "In Frankenstein, why is Frankenstein considered "The Modern
Prometheus"?" eNotes, 25 Feb. 2015, https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/why-frankenstein-considered-modern-prometheus-474890. Accessed 1 Dec. 2017.
Prietov, Silvia, director. Everything You Need To Know To Read "Frankenstein".
Performance by Iseult Gillespie, TEDEd, TEDEd, 23 Feb. 2017,

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