Frankenstein also alludes to fables such as “Prometheus: Bringer of Fire”, “Paradise Lost” and “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and it is through the discussion of these Intertextual references, along with the protagonists’ characterisation that this interpretation of the pursuit for knowledge and its consequences is achieved. Frankenstein alludes to “Prometheus” and through these two texts; readers are shown how the pursuit for knowledge has its consequences. The parallels that are seen between Prometheus and Victor are exposed as soon as Victor’s narrative begins.
The first chapter describes the type of family that Victor grew up with. His ancestor’s had been “for many years counsellors and syndics; and his father had filled several public situations with honour and reputation” (Ch. 1).
This type of upbringing closely relates to the upbringing Prometheus had – raised with the gods, he, like Victor was brought up in a world of power, knowledge and wealth. As Victor’s narrative continues, the correlation between him and Prometheus grows further as he describes his youth and his increasing desire for knowledge.
This Intertextual link is crucial in allowing the reader to see Victor’s true character in the relation he has to Prometheus as he is well known in Greek mythology to have been extremely passionate for knowledge. This thirst for knowledge led to the ability for both Prometheus and Victor to create life – Victor in creating his creature and Prometheus, the creator of mankind; bringing forth man from clay. This intertext’s importance is therefore seen because both of these ‘higher beings’ defied even higher powers in their indulgent quest for knowledge and boundaries.
The Term Paper on The Modern Prometheus Victor Frankenstein
... similarities between the mythical story of Prometheus and that of Victor Frankenstein ends. Victor and Prometheus both "created" man for completely different ... man. Even though both Frankenstein and Prometheus give their creations "forbidden fire," or knowledge, it is their reasons for ... to give to man. Similarly, Frankenstein "steals" the knowledge that he gives his creation, playing the role of ...
Also, these indulgencies are further depicted when it becomes clear that Victor is seeking some type of worship from his creation: “A new species would bless me its creator and source many happy and excellent natures would owe their bring to me” exclaimed Victor. (Ch. 8) As the interpretation states there are consequences in the pursuit for knowledge, and readers are able to see how Frankenstein mirrors Prometheus, Victor’s downfall is expected.
Prometheus defies Zeus by tricking him and stealing fire from him after it was prohibited. As punishment, Zeus chains Prometheus to a rock and has his liver eaten daily by an eagle – and it grows back to be devoured again the next day. This is significant in how it relates to Victor’s own never ending demise, which comes in the deaths of everyone he’s close to. The isolation and deep distress Prometheus suffers emphasises Victor’s mirrored situation as their thirst for knowledge resulted in these consequences.
The Intertextual link between “Prometheus” and Frankenstein reinforces the interpretation of how the pursuit for knowledge results in consequences. “Paradise Lost” written by John Milton contains many similarities with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. ”Paradise Lost” portrays an angel – referred to as Satan, tempts God’s human creation to do wrong, damaging their relation with God. This is somewhat alike Frankenstein as the creature seeks revenge on Victor, his creator, to feel grief and sorrow.
The characters in Frankenstein are a collection of those in “Paradise Lost”. Victor parallels Eve in the Garden of Eden in that they would do whatever it took to gain the knowledge of all things, while the Creature corresponds to Satan because they both wanted to break free from their creators and receive a chance at their own decisions. Shelley alludes to “Paradise Lost” in order to establish a connection between the Creature and Satan when the creature tries to ‘sympathise with his feelings and cheer his gloom’ (Ch. 15).
However in an earlier chapter, Shelley suggests an affiliation between the Creature and Satan and the both make a vow to destroy something good. In the beginning of Frankenstein, Victor was warned of the consequences of his gluttony, whereas Satan deceived Eve into a desire too strong to give up. Eve’s role in the Garden of Eden caused her to feel subordinate and she presumes that if she could show Adam that she can work on her own, then she could build confidence in herself. When the serpent, Satan, deceptively attacks her, she is susceptible to his devices.
The Essay on Frankenstein Victor Monster One
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Victor Frankenstein is the main character in this story. Often people mistook the name Frankenstein and think that that is the monster's name. However Victor Frankenstein is the young and eager scientist that participates in the unholy act of the creation. Victor Frankenstein was very interested in natural philosophy and Chemistry. Victor once said:" I look to the past ...
These malicious deceptions describing the omniscient power only deepen her thirst for knowledge. Satan then constructs an argument stating that if God requests that Adam and Eve to not commit sin, then how would they be able to tell what is right and wrong if God keeps them ‘low and ignorant’. This act leads to the destruction of man, just as how Victor’s desire led to his ending. Through the use of allusions, which lead to the intertextuality of the novel Frankenstein and “Paradise Lost”, Mary Shelley creates an awareness of the danger of the uncontrollable desire for knowledge.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein are allegories to the inevitable desolation in contradicting God and nature through acquisition of forbidden knowledge. In “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” the Rime tells the tale of a wedding guest confronted by an ancient mariner who tells a chilling tale of his expedition to the South Pole where he shot down an innocent and peaceful albatross, used throughout the poem as a symbol of nature and purity – and the supernatural vengeance that followed.
He thus doomed himself to an existence in which he must travel the land eternally telling his tale. In Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein is plagued by his monster created in what can be deemed a mockery of God, overstepping and realising only too late that the knowledge he sought was not meant for man. This trespassing of God in the unjustified thirst for knowledge is shared between each of the texts. There are also other links between the poem and Frankenstein, such as the involvement of the Southern Pole.
Frankenstein begins with letters from Watson, who was also an Antarctic mariner, entailing his travels to the ice cap where he meets similar troubles as the ancient mariner did when he first shot down the albatross. This is due to the symbolic nature of the arctic continent as a desolate and stripped place. Further linking the two texts together is the guilt that Victor and the mariner feel after the deaths that follow their actions. Both not only feel guilty for causing the deaths of the people close to them, but feel guilty for surviving when they died.
The Essay on Frankenstein Character Empathy Reader Shelley Monster
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, is a novel, which explores many of the characteristics of gothic romanticism. Dreary gothic settings, a focus on the supernatural, love, and nature, are all key elements of this novel. It also delves into the topic of the human emotion, bringing the reader to a closer understanding of each character. Shelley often relates the depression or burdens of the characters ...
Through contradicting God and nature through the acquisition of knowledge, Shelley and Coleridge create the interpretation of knowledge resulting in consequences and downfalls. Frankenstein was written during an early phase of the industrial revolution, at a time of dramatic advances in science and technology. The coming of the industrial revolution was the beginning of an age where the impossible suddenly seemed possible. With the arrival of new technology, the world saw the dawn of early Capitalism.
This period of industrialisation emerged in Great Britain in the mid 1700’s and by the 1850’s Western Europe was well on its way to becoming a globalised and industry-dominated entity. Frankenstein reflects fear of the scientific revolution and symbolises many aspects of the revolutionary spirit of the era. In the novel, Shelley demonstrates how man’s search for hidden knowledge could eventually lead to downfall and chaos. She wrote Frankenstein as a warning against the expansions of modern man in the industrial revolution.
Shelly was making a statement towards the early stages of the industrial revolution and that the monster itself represented the rise of industrialisation and the dominance of ‘man over nature’. Shelley speaks of what knowledge would do, in this case what technological advancements would do, and represents it as the Creature. In context, as the novel Frankenstein was written during the times of the industrial revolution, it can relate to the interpretation of how knowledge can have severe consequences, and during the industrial revolution, knowledge represents the technological advancement.
The Essay on Frankenstein Versus Prometheus Play God
Frankenstein Versus Prometheus What do a god and a crazy doctor have in common Nothing right! Wrong! In the stories Prometheus and Frankenstein the protagonists are very alike in many ways. They both tried to play god, steal, and they both get punished for what they did. In the stories Prometheus and Frankenstein the protagonists both tried to play God in their own way. They did this by trying to ...
Therefore Shelley is trying to show readers the outcome of the industrial revolution if it went too far, and how the pursuit for knowledge has its risks giving readers an awareness of the dangers of knowledge. Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein can be interpreted in many ways, one of them is that the pursuit of knowledge will result in a truly defying consequence. This interpretation is created through the allusion of other texts such as “Paradise Lost” by John Milton, “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and “Prometheus”.
Through these Intertextual links, readers are able to see the correlations between Victor, the Creature, Prometheus, Adam and Eve, God, Satan and the mariner, the desire for knowledge is shown in these texts resulting in severe consequences for the major characters. John Milton’s “Paradise Lost” is a biblical allegory which alludes to Frankenstein where the Creature and Satan can be compared presenting their consequences in each. This is also achieved by comparing Victor with Prometheus.
Both Victor and Prometheus create life with their knowledge, resulting in the never-ending punishment for Prometheus and the demise of Victor. The interpretation of the pursuit for knowledge is also created as Frankenstein is an allegory for the industrial revolution – a warning that seeking too much power can be dangerous. These conventions together, demonstrate how pursuing for knowledge and desiring it will lead to severe consequences.
