1.

Don’t play God

The subtitle of the novel, ‘A Modern Prometheus’, a Greek myth which warns about the
dangers of ambition and transgression. Like Prometheus, the protagonist of the novel,
Victor Frankenstein, takes something sacred to the Gods, the power to create life.
However, unlike Prometheus, his intentions are not to serve mankind but to become
superior and gain a God-like status. Victor Frankenstein could be described as having a
‘god-complex’, likely due to his sheltered upbringing, he is arrogant and narcissistic, this
is reflected in his goals of becoming a godlike figure. He often fantasises of being
worshipped, stating that “A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many
happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me”. Frankenstein’s thirst and desire
for knowledge and power and his hubris ends up being his hamartia, or fatal flaw, leading to
his downfall and demise and making the novel a cautionary tale about transgressing our roles
and being greedy for power.

Adam McCullough claims that the subtitle, ‘A Modern Prometheus’, refers to “the realms
of the over-reaching and crucially, male creative force” which is a consistent theme
within the novel which has three male protagonists, each with their own ambitions or
driving forces.

7. Monsters aren’t born monsters

- Creatures’ initial innocence suggests you’re not born a monster
- The Creature arguably became the way he was through his treatment, or mistreatment
rather
Vic sage, a professor at the university of east Anglia who wrote extesivenly on the gothic
tradition, claims the creatures initial innocence suggests you are not born a monster, they are
created. The gothic genre conventions
Definition of a monster is something inhumane, something or someone that has no regard for
human life or nature, which is good. Monster in literature is often used to describe violent
men who have committed horrible acts like murder or rape. Throughout the novel,
Frankenstein's creation is often referred to as a monster, yet throughout the novel, the
creatures compassion, morality and thirst for knowledge is conveyed. The only reason hes
referred to as a monster is because of his scary and unnatural appearance. His ‘ yellow skin
scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries… his hair was of a lustrous black… his
teeth of a pear;ly whiteness but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast
with his watery eyes…his shriveled complexion and straight black lips". Society
judges the creature before hes even allowed to show his true nature. His character
and conventions are supressed from being shown to society due to people fear of
him and his appearance. This prevented the creature from having any parental
interactions, or any positive interactions at all.

"The trait of kindness moved me sensibly . I had accustomed, during the night, to
steal a part of their store for my own consumption but when I found out that in doing
this I inflicted pain on the cottagers, I abstained."

Science can go too far

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