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Allusions In Frankenstein

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In literature, examining the nature of the characters and occurring events can help one digest the author’s worldview as well as his or her moral stances. Interactions between these characters that are presented with a morally ambiguous predicament, prove to be constructive when acquiring the writer’s stance; such is found in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. Through the use of allusion and the evaluation of the relationship of a creature and its creator, Shelley establishes the framework of her own morality through two different characters－Victor Frankenstein and his monster. Frankenstein’s subtitle is the Modern Prometheus. Both titular characters have successfully designed a new living creature, although with different responses and outcomes. Through this intertextuality, Shelley conveys her personal view of man to keen readers. Unlike Frankenstein, the titan was genuinely pleased with his work, humankind. In the end, Prometheus stole fire from Zeus for the benefit of his creation. The crime ultimately resulted in the punishment for the violator. He was doomed to be tied on top of a mountain and have an eagle devour his liver every day for eternity. Frankenstein, however, is immediately appalled by his own handiwork and berates it by claiming the monster to be a “ daemoniacal corpse to which I [Frankenstein] had so miserably given life” (56). The scientist’s attitude towards his own work results in the innocent creature becoming a bloodthirsty monster. Shelley depicts

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