If you had to make a decision based on something that you did that could affect all of humanity, what would you choose? Would you choose the option better for you or better for humanity? The subtitle of Mary Shelley's book Frankenstein is "The Modern Prometheus." To be Promethean means to go against a greater power, disobey something that the greater power asks of you for the sake of humanity, and to be punished for your actions. Victor Frankenstein is Promethean. Victor Frankenstein fits my definition of what it means to be the "Modern Prometheus" because he created the creature by going against the forces of nature. An example of this is that Victor has the materials needed to bestow animation and he hopes that his attempts will lay the …show more content…
In the book, Victor is asked to give an account of the gentlemen who was found murdered but when he sees the body of the person murdered he discovers that it is his best friend Clerval. As a result he says, "Have my murderous machinations deprived you also, my dearest Henry, of life?"(218). In this quote, Victor shows Promethean qualities because just like how Prometheus was punished by Zeus by being tied to the rock and having the eagle tear out his liver, Victor was punished by the creature since the creature murdered his best friend Clerval. This is implied when Victor says "my murderous machinations" because it refers to how Victor created the creature. This is Promethean because this is a form of punishment for Victor as a result of creating the creature. The reason why both were punished were also similar because Prometheus was punished partly because he disobeyed the orders of Zeus and did not disclose the secret while Victor also had his friend murdered because he did not create the companion for the creature. So both Prometheus and Victor were punished because they disobeyed the orders from the previous paragraph. This is a third quality which shows that Victor is the "Modern