Frankenstien and Prometheus

he Modern Prometheus is the novel's subtitle (though some modern publishings of the work now drop the subtitle, mentioning it only in an introduction). Prometheus, in later versions of Greek mythology, was the Titan who created mankind. A task given to him by Zeus, he was to create a being with clay and water in the image of the gods that could have a spirit breathed into it.[34] Prometheus taught man to hunt, read, and heal their sick, but after he tricked Zeus into accepting poor-quality offerings from humans, Zeus kept fire from mankind. Prometheus being the creator, took back the fire from Zeus to give to man. When Zeus discovered this, he sentenced Prometheus to be eternally punished by fixing him to a rock of Caucasus, where each day an eagle would peck out his liver, only for the liver to regrow the next day because of his immortality as a god. He was intended to suffer alone for all of eternity, but eventually Heracles (Hercules) released him.
Prometheus was also a myth told in Latin but was a very different story. In this version Prometheus makes man from clay and water, again a very relevant theme to Frankenstein as Victor rebels against the laws of nature (how life is naturally made) and as a result is punished by his creation.


In 1910, Edison Studios released the first motion-picture adaptation of Shelley's story.
The Titan in the Greek mythology of Prometheus parallels Victor Frankenstein. Victor's work by creating man by new means reflects the same innovative work of the Titan in creating humans. Victor, in a way, stole the secret of creation from God just as the Titan stole fire from heaven to give to man. Both the Titan and Victor are punished for their actions. Victor is reprimanded by suffering the loss of those close to him and the dread of being killed himself by his creation. That situation could have possibly been resolved early on by Victor letting his creation into his life. It seemed that his family had the potential for taking the... [continues]

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