According to the Greek poet Hesiod, the Titan demi-god Prometheus was responsible for the creation of men. He manufactured them from clay, from the natural earth. When Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus, she left little doubt that the creator of the monster, Victor Frankenstein, by making a living creature from inaminate parts was a new Prometheus. But her metaphor extends beyond the immediately obvious. In Hesiods myth, Prometheus had an inflated sense of self importance and was determined to be adored by men. Because men had no control over fire they were destined to remain mere animals. The forbidden knowledge of fire, the most basic and natural form of energy was the domain of the god, Zeus. The ego-centric Prometheus became obsessed with devising a means by which he could procure fire and with no other motive in mind than glory, he cunningly stole fire from Zeus and gave it to a grateful mankind. Prometheus trickery was bound to invite catastrophe. Zeus retribution was swift and twofold. Firstly, with the help of Hephaestus, Hermes and Aphrodite, he fashioned out of clay the first woman, Pandora. Thereafter, men would no longer be born directly from the earth; now through women, they would undergo birth by procreation, and consequently old age, suffering and death. She was given a box which contained all manner of misery and evils and was responsible for letting them escape, to torment humankind forever. Secondly, Zeus caught Prometheus, chained him to a rock, and each day an eagle would visit him and feed on his liver. Prometheus liver, however, replenished itself overnight, so he was condemned not so much to a single act of punishment but to perpetual torture. This is the price of tampering with nature. Prometheus ultimate downfall was caused, not by a poorly executed theft, but by the driving force of his own self-interest. By characterising Prometheanism, Mary Shelleys Frankenstein is a critique of male ...
