here that the similarities between the mythical story of Prometheus and that of Victor Frankenstein ends. Victor and Prometheus both “created” man for completely different reasons and intentions. In the story of Prometheus, Zeus (God) gave him the task of creating man as a reward for his loyalties in the war with the Titans. Frankenstein, on the other hand, chose to give life to inanimate materials on his own. He was not given the “God-like” ability to create life by “God,” he chose to do so by his own free will. Whereas Prometheus was asked to create man, Frankenstein did it for completely different, selfish reasons. It is because of these reasons that the subtitle of The Modern Prometheus truly becomes defined. Frankenstein exemplifies the self-absorbed nature of the “modern” man because of these reasons. Instead of following the lead of Prometheus, Frankenstein decides to give life to his creation because he wants to do what no other scientist has done before. When he is attending the University of Ingolstadt, Frankenstein is under the tutelage of two different scientists, M. Krempe and M. Waldman. It was through listening to M. Waldman that the idea of the human frame and the process of life (Shelley, p. 50) enraptured Frankenstein. From there, he quickly progressed to having the idea of creating the change from death to life, where he describes:“a light so brilliant and wondrous, yet so simple, that while I became dizzy with the immensity of the prospect which it illustrated, I was surprised that among so many men of genius who had directed their inquiries towards the same science, that I alone should be reserved to discover so astonishing a secret” (Shelley, 51). It is clear that Frankenstein's intentions in creating life where one had ceased to exist before were based on his desire to do something that no other scientist had been able to do. This overriding a...
