The fact that Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was given the alternate title of “The Modern Prometheus” has always puzzled me. So being as mildly obsessed with mythology as I am, I started to consider just why Victor Frankenstein was casually likened to an ancient Greek titan Prometheus.

When I previously thought about Frankenstein, I saw oppositions between the titan and the man. Reading Frankenstein as a mythological homage would require one to view it as a cautionary tale about the consequences of trying to have the power of a god. However, when Prometheus pulled his tricks he already had the power of a god, or more accurately a titan. This power gave him the ability to mistreat the gods and steal fire. He is an immortal being and known by the Olympians as quite the trickster, although his offences towards the gods were often in favour of the humans.

The most common myth known concerning Prometheus is the one in which he steals fire for mankind, got locked away for this offense, and then was  forced to have his liver repeatedly eaten by an eagle. Although, there is a longer preamble to this myth that should be considered for this comparison to Frankenstein. Prometheus was punished for stealing that fire that Zeus was specifically withholding because Prometheus had essentially played a prank.

This reaction angered Prometheus as he was very fond of humankind. Therefore, he stole back the fire from the gods for the humans to use. In my eyes, this is a very stark difference between Frankenstein and Prometheus. The titan is motivated towards his actions by the desire to help those he cares for; whereas Victor Frankenstein is motivated by his own desire to surpass what is known science.  The overall character motivations create a divide in my mind between the two characters. I believe that there is a very large, gaping distance between the desire to do something because you like or care about someone vs. the desire to do something simply because you want to see if you can.

Another thing to think about is the idea that Prometheus cares for his creations. There are certain myths in which Prometheus himself created mankind, or at least a specific surviving age of it. This creation of mankind goes hand in hand with the care for them, and the overall desire to provide them with what they need i.e fire.

When you look at the relationship between Frankenstein and what he creates, the first thing you get is terror. No desire to protect or help, simply an instant regret for having created what he sees as an atrocity. The fatherly nature that Prometheus takes towards humans is a key part of his being known and remembered—along with the trickery and intelligence. I feel like looking at the overall story of Frankenstein, that there may be a tad bit of a different outcome there. Considering that Frankenstein himself left his monster to fend for himself in a countryside where if he was seen, he was feared and possibly attacked. Granted, the monster was able to learn to speak and the basic ways of the world, but that was with no help from his creator, nor did it allow him to be accepted in the world.

Now let’s discuss what is known as common knowledge about Frankenstein, which is that from classic horror to Scooby-Doo Halloween specials, Frankenstein’s monster has been terribly afraid of fire. So why did Mary Shelley decide to connect her creature that has such a terrible experience with fire to the one who brings fire to human beings? This, I propose , must have to do with the monster’s interaction leading to knowledge about the world. This connects to the fact that Prometheus is known to be a titan  of great intelligence, and the fact that fire hurts is one of the first things that Frankenstein’s monster learns about the world. I think it is significant to note here, that fire is a connection to the monster instead of Frankenstein, the main character of the book.

There are a handful of these connections between Victor and Prometheus as well, like them both being, or thinking that they are, the smartest of their kind, and their connection to creation. However, I truly do think that there is more that is noticeably opposite about the two. The blatant disregard for his creation drives a wedge between Victor Frankenstein and the titan who taught his son how to save humanity. A translation of Prometheus’ name brands him to be the “fore-learner” over his brother, whereas Frankenstein gains his knowledge through greed and not necessity. In my mind the allusion to the mythology in the title of Frankenstein is simply not justified with the extent of the differences between Frankenstein and Prometheus.

Contributed by Riley Switzman.