Andrey
asked:
Why Victor Frankenstein is compared to the Prometheus in original title "Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus"? He didn't give something useful or significant to mankind. Yes, he suffered, as Prometheus did, but it's not the same reason and duration of suffering, for me. Or is it just a sarcastic remark from the author?
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The Usual
I've done a spot of background reading on this as it's a very good question and I had a vague feeling about it. You need to understand that a good education at the time involved a solid grounding in the classics, so Mary Shelley and her husband would have known more than the basics of the story.
So... Preamble over...
Once upon a time there was a Titan called Prometheus who usurped the power formerly reserved for the Gods and brought a gift of great power to mankind. Zeus (who had a horrible childhood and quite serious Issues) punished him in a suitably inventive fashion.
This is what you might call part one. You already know that, and if you think about it, it's exactly what Frankenstein is trying to do: to usurp the power formerly reserved to God, of creating life.
Part two: the Gods decide to restore the balance of power between themselves an man by creating a woman of whom you may have heard. They send Pandora down to Earth with a jar (or box) containing all the ills and instructions not to open it. Of course she does (think Adam and Eve) and all the nasties fly out and afflict the Earth.
Again you know this story, and if you apply it to Frankenstein you might see why Victor doesn't provide the monster with a bride.
Of course that's reading quite a lot into three words, but she was a very intelligent woman who knocked about with her husband Percy Blysshe Shelley, and with Lord Byron, so...
So... Preamble over...
Once upon a time there was a Titan called Prometheus who usurped the power formerly reserved for the Gods and brought a gift of great power to mankind. Zeus (who had a horrible childhood and quite serious Issues) punished him in a suitably inventive fashion.
This is what you might call part one. You already know that, and if you think about it, it's exactly what Frankenstein is trying to do: to usurp the power formerly reserved to God, of creating life.
Part two: the Gods decide to restore the balance of power between themselves an man by creating a woman of whom you may have heard. They send Pandora down to Earth with a jar (or box) containing all the ills and instructions not to open it. Of course she does (think Adam and Eve) and all the nasties fly out and afflict the Earth.
Again you know this story, and if you apply it to Frankenstein you might see why Victor doesn't provide the monster with a bride.
Of course that's reading quite a lot into three words, but she was a very intelligent woman who knocked about with her husband Percy Blysshe Shelley, and with Lord Byron, so...
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