Frankenstein is a classic piece of literature that was written originally in 1818 by Mary Shelley. Many scholars have argued about what Shelley was trying to accomplish when she authored her famous novel, some looking at the roles of gender, some looking at implicit meaning of good v. evil, etc. However, by simply rhetorically analyzing what is right in front of us, we can notice deeper details about Shelley’s writing that allude to multiple things. For example, the real title of this story has a second half: Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus. Prometheus was a Greek god that betrayed the other gods of Olympus. He wanted so badly to be adored and revered – worshipped, even - above all the other gods that he let himself be blinded to the consequences of his own actions. He then stole fire from the gods and gave it to the humans to elevate himself. However, when the other gods found out, they were terribly angry and he was severely punished; Zues damned him for all eternity to be chained to a rock and to have his liver eaten by birds every night, which would then regrow the following day. Prometheus lost everything he had worked so hard to achieve because he refused to be content. When Mary Shelley calls Frankenstein the modern Prometheus before we have even picked up the book, it is clear that she crafted this book with a heavy theme of prometheanism. This is a concept that applies the story of Prometheus to the men of the world and focuses on what happens when they pursue their ambitions and goals with the end goal of becoming worshipped, adored, and revered, becoming a god among humans. By conveying Victor Frankenstein’s destructive behavior through his ever-growing and reckless ambition, Mary Shelley reveals her criticism of prometheanism and the dangerous consequences it holds.
By using Viktor’s own account of his emotions behind his long and difficult journey of his creation, Mary Shelley criticizes his reckless ambition, symbolically showing the reader the potential consequences of prometheanism. Victor, after a straining two-year process, finally achieves what he wanted for his own personal glory. However, he was blinded by his own ambition and took it too far, creating something that was terrifying and sickening. This is shown through his inner monologue about his creation: “I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelley, 55). This shows the passion and determination the scientist had for his project, but that it was too far. He did not know what was in store for him; he was too blinded by his reckless pursuit of glory. He wanted to be adored, worshipped, held above the rest of humankind, and all for his scientific ambitions. But this urge that fueled his creation created what Victor considered to be a monster and set the path for his own destruction. His recklessness is what overall caused him to lose everyone and everything that he loved. Even later in the novel, the creature clearly threatens Elizabeth when he says “It is well. I go; but remember, I shall be with you on your wedding night” (Shelley, 168). However, Victor is too blinded and self-inflated to see the true nature of this threat. This quote again shows the recklessness in which the scientist blindly acts without stopping to think about the consequences his actions will have. This is what the creature says when Frankenstein physically tears apart his one chance for love and happiness. Not only did his choice of blindly creating the creature have consequences that set up his path to destruction, but he recklessly chose to destroy the creature’s happy ending; the one thing that he asked for. By destroying the creature’s wish without a second thought behind it, Victor seals both his own fate and the creature’s. This one action leads to the tragic deaths of Clerval and Elizabeth, which in turn breaks Frankenstein and makes him a wretched man filled with hatred and vengeance. These two quotes not only show the calamitous tendencies of Frankenstein, but the reckless way in which he pursues his aims.
Mary Shelley uses Victor’s unlearned lessons to warn the men in her society about the true dangers and consequences that blind ambition holds. In the end of the book, when Walton’s crew begs to return home whenever they are free from the ice, Frankenstein bashes them and calls them cowards. He says “ye need not have come thus far and dragged your captain to the shame of a defeat merely to prove yourselves cowards. Oh! Be men, or be more than men. Be steady to your purposes and firm as a rock” (Shelley, 215). During this part of the novel, Mary Shelley is wrapping things up and showing Frankenstein as a man that wasted the ending of his noticeably short life chasing after what he so carelessly designed. We know from previous parts of the novel that the scientist created his own misfortune by his recklessness. However, when we look at this quote, we see that he is still so blinded by his pursuit and ambition that he refuses to learn from the consequences and misfortune he has caused for himself in the past, and is even willing to risk destroying the lives of more innocent men in his wild quest for gaining a god-like status among humans. This is Shelley warning the patriarchal figures in her society to be careful on their path to power; that they do not end up with the same fate as Frankenstein. Through this warning, we see Shelley’s criticism of prometheanism. She could even be arguing that unchecked ambition, which grows into that desire to be worshipped or adored as something greater, is a root problem in society. When one has these attributes, they set themselves up for failure, and in their own journey of self-destruction, they can also easily shatter the lives of the people around them. As was stated earlier, Elizabeth and Clerval are the ultimate example of this. They forfeited their lives in Victor’s journey towards that desired higher status. This is why Shelley is so heavily critical of prometheanism throughout her writing. There are a high number of people who are blinded by their own ambition and desires and therefore go about things in a reckless way, costing the people around them a steep price. It sounds terrifying in a book, but the possibility of it happening in our reality was extremely high, and still is, even if it is just metaphorically. Because of this frightening possibility, Shelley is arguing that it is important that we learn and move on from our mistakes, unlike Frankenstein. We need to be more cognizant of our actions and the people around us that they affect. By writing a passionate speech from Frankenstein about ambition and glory, even while he lies on his death bed, Shelley shows that if you do not adapt and change from your mistakes and circumstances, your misery will only grow. This ultimate warning of prometheanism is the underlying motive of her heavy critique of the theme.
Through Shelley’s writing choices, we see her intense criticism of the reckless behaviors that create prometheanism and her warning of the destructive consequences it holds for those who do not know when to stop in their pursuits and for those who do not learn from their mistakes. Even Victor consummates his crimes by paying the ultimate cost - his own life. He died at such an early age – 25 – and had little to show for it because of his actions. No friends, no family, no love. He had one great achievement, but it ended up being something he kept a secret because of the horror he felt at his creation. We can look closer at Frankenstein’s character and how he was written and realize that he is never ashamed or horrified of his pursuit of glory or of his own desire and the consequences it had. His attempt to transcend human nature caused his own ruination, and this is not something he realizes. He blames the creature for all his problems without realizing that his misery was completely self-inflicted from an unhealthy obsession with being superior to the rest of his fellow human creatures. Not only did he destroy his own life, but the lives of all that surrounded him. He even let loose what some could consider a monster into the world to do as it pleased. These reckless actions and the topic that they support (prometheanism) are what Mary Shelley so heavily criticizes against, for the sake of keeping peace in the lives of all in both her society and ours. In conclusion, when Victor Frankenstein wanted to be a god instead of a man, he fell far from grace, and ended up becoming more of a ‘Lucifer.’ This is Mary Shelley’s argument of what prometheanism does to people, leading her to warn the men in her society, and even in ours, of the dangerous consequences this unchecked ambition and ego can have; not only on themselves but on the people around them.
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