Frankenstein Case

In Mary Shelly's novel, Frankenstein, "The Modern Prometheus", and in the legend of the Titan, Prometheus, both protagonist share many similarities. Both Frankenstein and Prometheus seek to create life, even though both are going against the rules of their day. Both suffer unintended consequences that result from their creations, the suffering is both personal and effects those around them most profoundly. In the end both suffer, physically and mentally from their creation and their desire to go against god and the basic premise of the way life is created and their suffering is carried out in exile. Mary Shelly finished Frankenstein in 1818 and there is no doubt that she used the myth of Prometheus to base her novel.

Prometheus was a Titan who fought for the Olympians when they rebelled and this won their favor; especially Zeus who sat at the throne of immortality.( Stewart ) Zeus was the leader of the Olympians and controlled fire and controlled all that happened on earth. Prometheus created humans using lumps of clay and shaping them to look like the gods, with the breath of life they became living beings. Zeus disliked the creatures but could do nothing after they had been created so instead he stuck them on earth and denied them immortality. With the coming of the ice age Zeus assumes that man will die off of natural causes. Prometheus felt sorry for the human race so he begged Zeus for fire but it was not granted. Prometheus felt as if there was nothing left to do so he traveled to Olympus and stole the spark of fire from Hephaestus and then brought it back to earth. Fire enabled man to not only survive, but to flourish, and the age of invention soon followed, Prometheus is credited with providing man with knowledge that led to farming, language, astronomy and even to live happily.(Stewart)

Prometheus is quickly caught by Zeus and is punished for his act of defiance against the gods. Zeus decides to punish Prometheus personally and commands Hephaestus to chain Prometheus to the peak of Mount Aetna where he spends near eternity in anguish, his flesh is ripped apart and liver eaten daily by Zeus's eagle only to grow back with each passing day.(Stewart) Not finished, Zeus then decides to punish man. Knowing that with fire, man will survive and flourish, Zeus has Hephaestus create the woman Pandora who's purpose is to unleash evil, disease, poverty, war and other troubles on mankind. This is not what Prometheus hoped for mankind and he would live for eternity knowing that his defiance of Zeus brought this down on man. Pandora would ensure that man new as much misery as he new happiness.( O'Brien)

Frankenstein was a young man who was obsessed with achieving natural wonders. Frankenstein was consumed with learning chemistry, biology especially as it related to the decaying of natural organisms. In his desire to learn about life, Frankenstein first feels he must learn about death, "To examine