Promethian Devices In Frankenstein Essay

Promethian and Faustian Presences in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein A myth may be defined, however loosely, as an answer to an otherwise unanswerable question, in some cases due to the incomprehensibility of such an answer. It cannot be denied that Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) poses a number of such unfathomable questions, largely concerning that which separates men from gods, and the point at which supposedly beneficial ambition becomes mindless and destructive obsession. The best alternative for an answer to these unanswerable questions comes in the form of resolutions in the myth of Faustus and the myth of Prometheus. Allusions to these myths are blatantly obvious in the actions, reactions, and reflections of the protagonist, Victor Frankenstein. More specifically, Shelley's fluid incorporation of the
myths of Faustus and Prometheus can be seen in Victor's reckless pursuit of powers not meant for mortal hands, and the violent retribution he received from such ambition, which eventually led to his inevitable downfall. The myth of Faustus, written by Christopher Marlowe (1590); tells the story of Dr. Johann Faustus, who makes a pact with the devil Mephistophilis in order to gain ultimate knowledge under the condition that he surrender his being to the devil after twenty-five years. Faustus, of course, ignores the responsibility gained with such power, and abuses his gift for the entire twenty-five years until he loses his soul to Mephistophilis. The irony within this myth is that despite his vast knowledge, Faustus never realized the error of his ways, nor did he repent for what he had done. Almost instantly, similarities between Dr. Frankenstein and Dr. Faustus are clear: both of them became blinded and guided by their own ambitions. At one point, Frankenstein even admits both his recklessness and his stupidity concerning his plight, which is intentionally similar to that of Faustus': "...I ardently desired the acquisition of knowledge... now my desires we complied with, and it would, indeed, have been folly to repent" (Shelley 41). In such a statement, the resemblance between the indefatigable and ignorant minds of Frankenstein and Faustus are clearly visible. In addition to their inclinations and attitudes, similarities also arise in Faustus' and Dr. Frankenstein's predicaments. To elaborate, Frankenstein, like Faustus, finds himself cursed by the object of his ambition, which he confesses to Robert Walton during his story: "...I was cursed by some devil, and carried about with me my eternal Hell." (Shelley 179-180) It can be inferred the Frankenstein's use of the word "devil" is directly related to the fact that Dr. Faustus was actually cursed by a devil. Similarly, the myth of Faustus also relates to the repercussions which Victor Frankenstein receives as punishment for his shortsighted ambitiousness. For example, both Victor and Faustus eventually found their misery delivered to them by the product of greed, lust, and arrogance; the emotions which symbolically formed the Frankenstein monster, and the emotions for which Mephistophilis stood for. Another such similarity is that both Victor and Faustus could not have avoided their fates unless they had completely and utterly abandoned their objectives (in which case, neither of the representative pieces of literature would have been very interesting). In both works, there is strong evidence that nature, or some other intangible entity, is vehemently opposed to the idea of man indulging himself to the degree which Faustus and Frankenstein so negligibly do. Respectively, such justice comes in the form of the twenty- five year time limit imposed on Faustus' abilities, and the Frankenstein creature's hatred for man (and his creator, in particular). Frankenstein himself even reflects on his knowledge concerning the inevitability of nature's retribution: "Destiny was too potent, and her immutable laws had decreed my utter and terrible destruction" (Shelley 37). However, the actual punishment given to Faustus and Frankenstein differs in some respects; as Faustus simply met his fiery end in the depths of Hell, while Frankenstein endured the psychological pain from the deaths of all his family before he himself actually died, thus reflecting an "evolution" in the themes of literary time periods, as they delve deeper and deeper into the human psyche, just as Frankenstein delves farther and farther past the boundaries of mortals. In addition to the myth of Faustus, Shelley also chose to incorporate the Greek myth of Prometheus into her work for its obvious likenesses. In the myth of Prometheus, Prometheus is an immortal who creates man from clay, then steals fire and gives it to him as a gift. For such a crime, Prometheus is chained to a rock for eternity, and the first woman (Pandora) is given to man in order to ruin him. Initially, it is apparent that Frankenstein is the novel's mirror-image of Prometheus, and the most distinct correlation between the two characters is that they both create life. The only difference in this regard is that Prometheus constructs man from clay, while Victor must build his creature using decayed body parts. In the same way, both Victor and Prometheus give their creations some gift, which allows the creations to become more powerful than their creators. In this way, the gift of fire, which Zeus regards as making man able to defy the gods, is directly akin to the superhuman strength and endurance which Frankenstein's creature commands (although Victor's gift to his creature is more accurately portrayed as life, rather than strength). Likewise, the myth of Prometheus also relates to Victor Frankenstein's punishment, in the sense that both protagonists were punished for their crimes against the natural order of the
world.
Again, Victor's punishment proves to be much more psychological than that of Prometheus, but this does not detract from the wholeness the stories' connections. Also, resemblances exist within the reason for which Victor and Prometheus were punished. To clarify, both characters were punished for having rebelled against some higher authority; in Victor's case, this authority was nature or destiny, while Prometheus rebelled against the will of Zeus. However, the major relationship between Victor's downfall in Frankenstein and the downfall of humanity in the myth of Prometheus occurs between Pandora and Frankenstein's creature. This relationship is first made evident in the fact that both Pandora and the creature are inherently innocent, and enter the world with good intentions. However, both characters are quickly introduced to the evil nature of mankind, and forever change the lives of the people around them (recall that Pandora opened the box which contained all the evil emotions of man, releasing them into the world). In this way, the creature that Frankenstein created is directly related to Pandora, despite his obvious lack of
femininity. It is incontestable that Mary Shelley's incorporation of the myth of Faustus and Prometheus into Frankenstein in any way diminishes the message being conveyed throughout the entirety of the novel. After all, the profound questions raised by the actions of Victor Frankenstein have never (and may never) be answered by humans, so what better way to try to do so than to make references to past attempts at answers? The presence of the two myths in Frankenstein simply make for a way in which Shelley can "prove" what she is saying within the fabric of her novel. Having said that, it is obvious that the myths are relevant to the themes of the novel, with special attention paid to the limits of ambition and "destiny's immutable laws," which are most accurately represented in Victor Frankenstein's reckless pursuit of power, and the punishment he receives for having done so.