Mary Shelley and Frankenstein, the Modern Prometheus Essay Example
Mary Shelley and Frankenstein, the Modern Prometheus
" that man's desire to understand and control the world around him is conditioned by his inability to understand and control himself." (Shelley vii). History is replete with examples of self-appointed saviors of man who have felt that it was their duty to improve the pathetic day-to-day existence of mankind. These men believe themselves to be heroic, even visionary and that they alone truly know best what will serve the best interest of mankind. Their mission seems so grand and even essential, that ordinary laws and rules, even moral principles no longer apply to them. The consequences or the end result seem irrelevant, and their actions, justified by insisting "it was done to make life better" become an end in and of themselves. Two of the best examples in literature of this phenomenon can be found in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and in the several myths of the Ancient Greek's legendary Prometheus.
Although there are plenty of characters throughout history that fit the description of these less than virtuous traits, Mary Shelley's purpose for writing the novel was to try to make sense of what she could not fully understand herself. "This attempt to rationalize the supernatural is vital to Mary Shelley's purpose, which is to show that evil has no autonomous existence of its own, independent of the human life upon which it preys, but that it is of human origin, a distortion of the human nature."(Shelley vii). There are several interpretations of the name Frankenstein. To many in American culture, the name has come to symbolize the creation of life in a laboratory, rather than by God or natural evolution. Frankenstein has also come to be a metaphor for when science goes too far, such as controversial procedures/experiments that push the envelope on human morality and what is scientific innovation for the good of mankind versus playing God. A modern example of a controversial field currently funded with millions
" that man's desire to understand and control the world around him is conditioned by his inability to understand and control himself." (Shelley vii). History is replete with examples of self-appointed saviors of man who have felt that it was their duty to improve the pathetic day-to-day existence of mankind. These men believe themselves to be heroic, even visionary and that they alone truly know best what will serve the best interest of mankind. Their mission seems so grand and even essential, that ordinary laws and rules, even moral principles no longer apply to them. The consequences or the end result seem irrelevant, and their actions, justified by insisting "it was done to make life better" become an end in and of themselves. Two of the best examples in literature of this phenomenon can be found in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and in the several myths of the Ancient Greek's legendary Prometheus.
Although there are plenty of characters throughout history that fit the description of these less than virtuous traits, Mary Shelley's purpose for writing the novel was to try to make sense of what she could not fully understand herself. "This attempt to rationalize the supernatural is vital to Mary Shelley's purpose, which is to show that evil has no autonomous existence of its own, independent of the human life upon which it preys, but that it is of human origin, a distortion of the human nature."(Shelley vii). There are several interpretations of the name Frankenstein. To many in American culture, the name has come to symbolize the creation of life in a laboratory, rather than by God or natural evolution. Frankenstein has also come to be a metaphor for when science goes too far, such as controversial procedures/experiments that push the envelope on human morality and what is scientific innovation for the good of mankind versus playing God. A modern example of a controversial field currently funded with millions