He then used electricity to give life to his creature. By making the monster, he was taking the place of God, or according to the myth, the god Prometheus, and became the creator instead of just the created. “Prometheus knows the good consequences that his acts and his pride will have to mankind, but Frankenstein acts without stopping to think what could happen after” (Pastelero). Although Frankenstein does become a creator by creating the monster, he does not care for his creation in the way Prometheus cared for his humans he created. Frankenstein was not a good creator, he was actually trying desperately to kill his monster he made.
In both myths, there is disobedience involved with regards to the release of these malicious forces, and the devious consequences that followed. It is most often believed that Prometheus was the creator of humanity from primeval earth and water. He taught mortals all the human arts and was their protector. Prometheus would sacrifice himself when stealing fire back for man in order for mankind to be civilised. (fire is often associated with civilisation).
In the novel Frankenstein, author Marry Shelley depicts character Victor Frankenstein as a scientist with a strong passion for forbidden knowledge and finding the answers to life through science. Though his intentions are good this leads him to the creation of a monster. Throughout the novel Frankenstein is constantly encountered by obstacles that test his passions for science and responsibility for his creation. For Victor it seems that the choice to abandon the monster is the easier path, rather than taking care of his creation. In the beginning of the book, right after the creation of the monster, Victor fled his home to get away from the creature, only to return and find that it had escaped.
In Mary Shelley’s tragedy Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein indulges his desire to create new life out of dead matter by entering a “Faustian Bargain”. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines the term “Faustian“ in ”Faustian Bargain” as made or done for present gain without regard for future cost or consequences (as related to the legend of Faust, who was a fictional magician who enters a compact with the devil in order to gain knowledge at the expense of his soul). Victor Frankenstein undertakes a “Faustian Bargain” because at first he yearns for the “present gain” of knowledge and ability when creating the monster, but only does so due to his obliviousness of the future consequences, and soon after completing the project regrets even embarking on it. This is clear when comparing and contrasting Frankenstein’s thought process and actions before and after his creation is born. While in the process of creating the monster, Frankenstein is both completely obsessed with his project, and, does not consider the consequences before it is alive.
"The accomplishment of his toils" is the creature, created from human body parts Frankenstein harvested from graveyards (34). Frankenstein’s motivation for creating this abomination is his desire to play God: "It was the secrets of heaven and earth that [he] desired to learn; and whether it was the outward substance of things or the inner spirit of nature and the mysterious soul of man that occupied [him]" (22). As Frankenstein becomes consumed in his
In Frankenstein, “The Monster” is Frankenstein's creation. The creature possesses all of the qualities that humans suppress, or should suppress, as children: villainy, murderous thoughts, revenge, etc. Some people would have thought that Frankenstein wanted to replace his dead mother. Instead of doing what every other man does, marry someone like his mother, Frankenstein rejected Elizabeth, who was physically like his mother and had a history like that of his mother. Frankenstein wanted to recreate his mother, but instead he made a creature comprised of the socially repressed elements of Frankenstein (the monster) and his wish for his mother.
As a romantic novel, Frankenstein responds to the encroachment of rationalism and the Age of Enlightenment, specifically the unknown repercussions of man’s hubristic pursuit of knowledge. Shelley’s apprehension to science, influenced by the late 18th century industrial revolution and galvanism, is encapsulated by Frankenstein as he ‘infuse[s] a spark of being,’ forming a creature that ultimately destroys him. This is an intertextual reference to the subtitle of the novel, “The Modern Prometheus”, evoking the Greek myth of man’s desire to become god and paralleling the disastrous consequences stemming from ambition. Additionally, the epistolary structure of Walton’s letters acts as a framing device to Frankenstein’s destruction, foreshadowing the result of his own journey. Shelley utilizes Walton as a foil to Frankenstein drawing comparison
The Monster in the Lab Coat Many literary critics have long argued a question regarding Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: Who is the real monster? One can argue that, throughout the novel, it is Victor Frankenstein, the overly ambitious scientist, who is the true monster. Victor Frankenstein is depicted as a callous creator who shows no empathy to his own innocent creature. Frankenstein fails his responsibility as a creator and abandons his creation to a life full of abhorrence. The creature has infinite potential, but it is Frankenstein’s prideful nature and negligence that makes the creature become “monstrous”.
Shelly suggests science is dangerous because of the enticing discovery of creation, striving for the ability to interchange death to life. She shows this enticement by Dr. Frankenstein’s utter infatuation with his occupation, he finds himself “engaged, heart and soul, in the pursuit of some [new] discoveries.” Shelly displays the thought of science to be problematic when Dr. Frankenstein confesses that “I knew well, therefore, what would be my father’s feelings; but I could not tear my thoughts from my employment, loathsome in itself, but which had taken an irresistible hold of my imagination.” Shelly shows that Dr. Frankenstein is so enticed by the thought of restoring life upon the dead, that he
Frankenstein was the first science fiction and Gothic novel, a remarkable work showing a profoundness and criticism of science, which still has influence today. The Modern Prometheus is the subtitle of Frankenstein, and this obviously shows the strong connection between Victor Frankenstein and the Greek god Prometheus. Both of them act as creators of life, but they have very different qualities. The time periods, when their stories were created, people had different attitudes about nature, so the themes of the stories reflect the time in which they were written. Frankenstein and Prometheus both act as a god or a creator.