The story of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is similar to that of a Greek tragedy and namely the myth of the
titan, Prometheus. The characters as well as the plot are all similar between the two stories. Many have
argued that Frankenstein is based on the Prometheus myth. I will attempt to show that there are many
different parts of Frankenstein that are remarkably similar to the myth and draw a comparison between
the two stories. The story of Prometheus is similar in many ways to that of Frankenstein. In Frankenstein,
Victor uses all of his acumen to create life. He had followed the ancient arts of the natural sciences and
achieved something that no mortal had done before which is bring life into this world through scientific
means.
He was forced to suffer for all of eternity until the arrival of Hercules. His liver was eaten each day by an
Eagle and at dawn it would grow back only to be eaten again. Frankenstein and Prometheus attempted to
bring life to this world, but without the consent of God, they were made to suffer for their acts. Another
part of Frankenstein that seemed to be similar with the Prometheus myth was that both primitive man and
the creation of Victor were both basically given life by science. Even though primitive man was already
created, fire is what provided them with continued life and allowed them to grow and prevent their
extinction. Victor’s creation was given life by electricity. As electricity went through the creation’s body,
it was brought into existence. Fire is a representation of the old sciences and electricity seems to represent
the new age. Both fire and electricity play a major role in lives of the characters and are equally important
in both stories. The characters of Frankenstein were also very similar to that of the Prometheus myth. The
main characters which are Victor and Prometheus are very similar. They are both very intelligent. Victor
is praised for his aptitude and is considered one of the greatest minds at Inglostadt. He had surpassed most
of his peers and was on pace for a great future. Professor Waldman, who was one of Victor’s professors,
even stated that “he has outstript us all.” (Shelley 44) Prometheus was
