The story of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is similar to that of a Greek tragedy and precisely to the myth of the titan Prometheus. The characters as well as the plot are all similar between the two stories. Many argue that Frankenstein is based on the myth of Prometheus. I will try to show that there are many different parts of Frankenstein that are remarkably similar to the myth and to draw a comparison between the two stories. The story of Prometheus is similar in many ways to that of Frankenstein. In Frankenstein, Victor uses all his wits to create life. He had followed the ancient arts of natural science and accomplished something that no mortal had ever done before, which was to bring life into this world through scientific means. The problem is that he did it without God's consent. He went against God's will even though this was not his original intent. His act of playing God made him suffer a lot. His entire family was decimated by death to fulfill creation's desire to win his father's love and support. Victor would have to suffer for his decision to play the role of God and bring something into this world that was not meant to be created. In the Prometheus myth, Prometheus was a titan. They were the first major gods after the creation of life by the ancient gods including Chaos and Gaia. After a great rebellion in the heavens by the sons of the titan Cronus, most of the titans were cast out of heaven except for Prometheus. Prometheus helped the current gods led by Zeus gain power. He eventually lost favor with Zeus as he attempted to help the human race on earth which Zeus detested. Zeus wanted to start over with creation and was waiting for the human race to become extinct. Prome...... half of the sheet ......ein seems to follow that of the Prometheus myth to the letter. There was the idea of creating/protecting life, the result was suffering, and the suffering was followed by the release of the main character's bonds both physically and mentally. Frankenstein is simply a more modern Prometheus myth with various twists and a more extensive plot. It is no coincidence that the comparison has been made between Frankenstein and the myth of Prometheus. I believe Shelley wanted to show that the choices we make have consequences. Even if there are altruistic reasons for doing something, we must be ready to accept whatever comes with it. Frankenstein is remarkably parallel to the Prometheus myth in every sense of the word. Hardly Cited Works, Robin. The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology. London: Routledge, 2004.Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1994.
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