His incredible strength and endurance prove him far superior to any human.

Still, the question remains: who in Frankenstein is the modern Prometheus.

This Greek god steals the sacred fire of Mount Olympus and gifts it to humanity.

The supreme god Zeus condemns Prometheus to eternal punishment for his treachery against the gods.

Because hes immortal, he heals by night, only to endure the same torture the next day and every day throughout all eternity.

So why would Shelley use this subtitle for her famous novel Who exactly is the modern Prometheus in Frankenstein Is it Victor Frankenstein - or his monster.

Prometheus dares to give to humans what had before belonged only to the gods: the sacred fire.

The sacred fire provides warmth and sustenance, but it also allows mankind to forge tools and weapons.

It frees us from our dependence on the good pleasure of the gods for our survival.

Victors Era His Eagle Prometheus name means forethought, but his successor, Victor, is also able to think ahead, planning and carrying out what once only the gods had been able to do.

The rapid advance of scientific knowledge characterizes the late 18th century, known as the Age of Enlightenment.

It was believed that there was nothing science couldnt do, nothing man couldnt achieve.

Locking himself for weeks at a time in his lab, he uses Enlightenment science to steal the sacred fire of immortality from the gods and, in the process, free humans from their dependence on the gods.

In Shelleys novel, things work out for Victor almost as badly as they did for poor Prometheus.

Victor, too, endures daily punishment for overstepping his boundaries.

He trifles in matters that perhaps humans dont have any right to trifle with.

In the process, he brings about what he had tried to conquer: one by one, his loved ones are murdered by that which was to defeat death.

Victor must endure the tearing away, piece by piece, of the family and friends who are blood and bone to him.

Victor waits for each new loss, just like Prometheus in the nighttime waits for a new day of agony to begin.

Both men know the torture that is to come, which is perhaps the greatest punishment of all.

Prometheus fire provides humans with free will, making them more than the playthings of the gods.

In his first hours on Earth, Victor rejects him, and he is driven into the forest by terrified townspeople.

He learns to survive on his own, wholly independent of the man who made him.

How Is Frankenstein Like Prometheus