Past Tense

Upon the conclusion of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the audience was able to identify common literary analogies between this 18th century novel and antiquated Greek legends. Frequently, scholars have dubbed Frankenstein the ‘Modern Prometheus,” paralleling a rebellious Titans versus an egotistical scientist. In this Greek myth, a potent Titan denounces the omnipresent Zeus’s deference to obstruct mortals from development, by acquiring the nature of fire for them. Frankenstein was analogous to Prometheus, as he too wanted human’s ability to expand beyond rules of the divine. However, as a consequence of his rebellion, Prometheus was expelled to a perpetual curse, doomed to live in notoriety as an eagle devoured his liver prosaically, always re-conjured and consumed again and again. Similarly, as Prometheus was punished for his delinquency, so was Frankenstein as he was tortured by his ignominy and guilt in creating a creature that went against the laws of nature and beyond qualified humanity.

Present Tense

Abandonment seems to be the pivotal motivation behind Frankenstein’s monster’s desire for carnage and revenge, as he is repeatedly deplored by his creator and shunned by the human world. Frankenstein’s monster existence is a result of Frankenstein’s impudence to disregard the mundane limitations of mortality, the only reason for his creation being Frankenstein’s deplorable curiosity. Initially, Frankenstein rejects his creation and relegates him to a life of rejection and indifference. Consequently, the idiosyncrasy lives a life of inadvertent seclusion, though able to read and speak efficiently, incompetent of communicating with other living beings. Frankenstein’s invention abstains from society, timorous of instant aversion due to his hideous countenance. Thus, the brawny creature exacerbates, turning exceedingly malicious overtime, until the day he aspires retaliation against his master.

Future Tense

An apparent theme that will often reoccur in Frankenstein is the disputatious debate between mankind’s desires for intelligence versus the destructive power of over-abundant knowledge. Victor Frankenstein, even as a novice youth in the sciences, will come to yearn for the secrets of life, a longing that will soon become a obsession, removing all of Frankenstein’s scientific reserve. Eventually, by the course of a few years, Frankenstein will have created the very artifact of his preoccupation; a creature complied of corpse limbs that will defy all previous doctrines of theology and science. However, Frankenstein’s exultation will convert into revulsion, as he acknowledges the repugnant state of his own creation, born from his frivolous and flagrant pursuit of gen. Even Frankenstein’s design will suffer from precarious information, as he will read about the joys of life and companionship through books, the very tomes that will further illuminate his lonesome nature.