As the subtitle of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein suggests, the tragic story of Victor Frankenstein and his creation takes elements of classical myth and reinterprets them through advances in science "modern". Against the backdrop of the scientific revolution, Shelley's novel addresses perennial dilemmas that have been addressed through the medium of myth. Although science and myth often seem at odds with each other, consider that much ancient fiction deals with unfulfilled, often fanciful, human ambitions that have since been realized. For example, the legend of Icarus describes man's desire to dominate the sky through flight, an ambition that became reality thanks to the invention of the airplane. Likewise, Frankenstein satisfies the human desire to create life through artificial means. However, Shelley suggests that such technological progress can have serious moral implications. Although science gives man the ability to realize his secular ambitions, Shelley shows that we should look to classical myths as precautions against the irrational use of scientific power. Shelley uses the story of Frankenstein, the "modern Prometheus," to demonstrate the consequences of transcending natural limits and usurping divine authority. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Shelley's most explicit mythological reference is the often overlooked subtitle of his novel, which describes Doctor Victor Frankenstein as a contemporary parallel to Prometheus. Prometheus, whose name means "foresight" (Prometheus), is a rebellious titan of the Greek pantheon, said to be the creator of man. According to legend, Prometheus intended man to be a being capable of imitating the gods, an idea similar to that expressed in the Genesis account, although distorted by the subsequent disapproval Prometheus' divine creations receive from Zeus. Prometheus further angers the gods when, seeking a gift for his creation, he steals divine fire and brings it to mortal man. As punishment for his transgression, Prometheus is chained to a rock, where an eagle descends daily to consume his liver. The most obvious parallel between Victor Frankenstein and Prometheus is that they both illicitly create a human being. It should be remembered that Prometheus is not a god himself, but a Titan who takes on the task of creation to mock the gods of Mount Olympus. Likewise, Doctor Frankenstein usurps divine authority by creating a man through scientific means. Frankenstein's ambitions towards divinity are also strongly implied in his name, Victor, which can be interpreted as a subtle nod to Milton's Paradise Lost (Prometheus). Since the novel opens with a quote from Paradise Lost, and the monster is then seen reading the epic, it is clear that Shelley intended for his readers to draw a connection between Paradise Lost and Frankenstein. Therefore, it has been suggested that the name Victor refers to one of Milton's recurring titles for God in Paradise Lost, "The Conqueror". Shelley then implies that, through his bungled experiments, Victor Frankenstein seeks to play the role of God. Perversely, Frankenstein strives toward what sociologist Erich Fromm calls "transcendence" - "the act of transforming one's accidental role and passive of 'creature'". into that of an active and purposeful 'creator'" (Allen 182). All people recognize that mortal life comes with certain limitations. For the most part, these limitations revolve around the extent to which the human mind and body can impose own will on the outside world. To compensate for the perceived inability tochanging one's environment, an individual tends toward transcendence (Allen 182). In a healthy context, the drive towards transcendence will manifest itself through creative forms such as art or music (Allen 182). However, Fromm warns that striving to overcome natural limits can also lead to countercreative impulses. "How does man solve the problem of transcending himself, if he is not capable of creating, if he cannot love?" Fromm writes, "There is another answer to this need for transcendence: if I cannot create life, I can destroy it. Destroying life makes me transcend it" (Fromm 37). This negative attempt to overcome human constraints is also present in Shelley's Frankenstein. Frankenstein, in trying to overcome his own limits as a created being, decides to project those same limits onto another entity by creating his own creature. Frankenstein hopes that the birth of the creature will cause a change of roles, in which the creature is the limited, created being, and the scientist is the transcendent creator. As evidenced by its prevalence in world mythology, this desire for divine power is central to human nature. Frankenstein studies the works of medieval alchemists Albert the Great and Paracelsus, who inspire his diabolical experiments. Throughout the Middle Ages, alchemists pursued powers capable of transforming one substance into another. Of course, the alchemist's highest goal was to transform non-living materials into a living being ("To penetrate the secrets of nature"). Jabir, a famous Islamic alchemist, spoke of an art he called "takwin" - the artificial creation of life through alchemical means (Alchemy). Similarly, Jewish mystical texts speak of rabbis who sought to create Golems, living beings fashioned from mud or clay and given life through the mystical application of the Divine Name. The theme of "playing God" is explicit in the Golem legends because the modeling of man from clay imitates God's creation of man in the Book of Genesis. Furthermore, alchemists routinely sought magical objects that granted immortality, variously called "the panacea", "the elixir of life", or "the philosopher's stone" (alchemy). In Shelley's novel, the newly discovered power of electricity provides the means to create and prolong life. Thus, Frankenstein reflects the meeting of science with the mythical tradition of alchemy. At the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, attempts were already underway to revive lifeless bodies through the use of electricity. When the first wife of Shelley's husband Percy drowned, the London Society attempted to revive her through the use of electricity and artificial respiration ("Penetrating the Secrets of Nature"). More notable, however, were the experiments of the 18th-century Italian physician Luigi Galvani who began to discover the electromagnetic basis of the nervous system ("Penetrating the Secrets of Nature"). A kind of popular mythology developed around Galvani's experiments, and in Shelley's time the word galvanism "implied the release through electricity of mysterious life forces ("Penetrating the secrets of nature")." Reflecting on Galvani's experiments, Mary Shelley speculated that "perhaps a corpse would be reanimated; Galvinism had proved such things (Frankenstein)." In Shelley's novel, contemporary advances in science bring the magician's archaic ambitions into reality. Shelley's work raises the question: is science a “new” worldview or simply the realization of ancient aspirations? This is a question that Christian writer C.S. Lewis will later attempt to answer in his science fiction novel, That Horrible Force. Lewis, perhaps taking inspiration from Shelley, presents the scientist as a sort of modern magician,who employs technological methods in place of mystical powers to control the forces of nature. This view is highlighted in Lewis' novel by the fact that the scientific organization NICE plans to resurrect and work cooperatively with the sorcerer Merlin. Lewis, however, adds a religious dimension to the topic only hinted at in Shelley's work. Since sorcerers of previous generations worked under the influence of demons, Lewis hypothesizes that science, pursued outside of an ethical context, may allow evil forces to acquire powers that were once only dreamed of. In criticizing unethical scientific practice from a Christian perspective, Lewis brings to light a new dimension of meaning that is also present in Shelley's thought. Work. Frankenstein suggests that when man uses science for selfish and impulsive ends, there are serious moral consequences. From a theological point of view, the desire to create life in one's own image is a symptom of man's fall into sin. This is implied in Genesis 5:3: “When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image, and his name was Seth.” In a twisted way, Frankenstein's monster is his offspring, the corrupted child of his misplaced ambitions. Symbolically, Doctor Frankenstein is cast as Adam of Paradise Lost, disgraced due to his desire to usurp God's creative sovereignty. The monster serves as a metaphor for the corrupt human race, created in Adam's image. Although depicted in monstrous terms, the creature is the pitiful victim of Frankenstein's failed experiment. Forced to live the consequences of a sin he did not commit, the creature can only quote Paradise Lost and ask himself: "why did you make me like this?". A second feature of Adam's fall that subtly parallels both the Prometheus myth and Shelley's Frankenstein. it is the imparting of forbidden knowledge to mankind. According to Greek myth, Prometheus steals the fire of the gods and brings it to the newborn human race, causing his own doom. Traditionally, light and fire are symbols of knowledge, as evidenced in colloquial phrases such as "to shed light on the matter". In the story of Genesis, the serpent introduces the knowledge of "good and evil" into man, thus facilitating his fall from innocence. The serpent of Eden plays a role similar to that of Prometheus in his attempt to “steal” the fire of knowledge and place it in the hands of man. A further parallel is established when we recognize that the name Lucifer – often associated with Satan – literally means “light-bearer”; that is, the illicit bearer of the light of Divine Knowledge, which he attempts to give to man. This second parallel has important ramifications for Shelley's Frankenstein. Writing in an era when science was generally viewed with great enthusiasm, Shelley clearly places Doctor Frankenstein in the role of the serpent who offers the world miraculous knowledge, but with disastrous consequences. Like Prometheus and Lucifer, Frankenstein attempts to "steal" what belongs to the realm of the Divine, the ability to create life. In this parallel lies one of Shelley's most disturbing observations. If Frankenstein takes on the role of Satan, then Shelley intends for his readers to recognize that the consequences of Frankenstein's experiment will reach far beyond his sphere of influence. Like the serpent in the garden, Frankenstein has opened Pandora's box, the effects of which will corrupt and destroy the rest of humanity. In the unbridled use of scientific knowledge, Shelley recognized that the seed of a second "fall from paradise" had already been sown. 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