Mythological approach in Frankenstein

Name:   Bharat Bhammar

Roll no:   04

Batch Year:   2014-15

Semester:   2

Paper no:   05 (The Romantic Literature)

Submitted to:   S.B.G Dept. of English

                           M.K.K.S.Bhavnagar University        

Mythological approach in Frankenstein

           Marry Shelley was one of the most shining stars of the Romantic Age. Her full name was Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin. Mary Shelley was born in Somers Town, London, England, on the 30th of August 1797. When Mary Shelley was four years old, her father married Mary Jane Clairmont, their neighbor, who had already two children of her own. His new wife was disliked by most of Godwin's friends and she and Mary did not get along. She was the daughter of William Godwin, a journalist, philosopher and novelist, and Mary Wollstonecraft, educator and feminist philosopher which was to die only 11 days after her birth, from puerperal fever. She and her four years older half-sister Fanny Imlay were raised and educated by her father who encouraged them to write from early age. Mary Godwin's mother died when she was eleven days old; afterwards, she and her older half-sister, fanny Imlay, were raised by her father.

          When Mary was four, Godwin married his neighbor, Mary Jane Clairmont. Mary was encouraged by her father to write letters and she took an early liking to writing. She was also encouraged to embrace her father's sociopolitical liberal views and theories and was mostly informally educated, at home. Mary Shelley became an essayist, biographer, short story writer, and novelist, famous for her novel Frankenstein: or the Modern Prometheus, from 1818. Similar to her mother, Shelley led a complicated private life and suffered much ostracism due to her affair with the married man Percy Bysshe Shelley, which was later to become her husband.

          Shelly also lost three of her children prematurely until the birth of her only surviving child Percy Florence, born in 1819. Shelley's husband also died prematurely sailing into a storm. In 1814, with seventeen years old, Mary Shelley started a relationship with Percy Bysshe Shelley, one of her father's political admirers and a married man. Percy was also helping Godwin financially and, due to his admiration for Godwin's political thought; he was alienated from his aristocratic surroundings. Percy and Mary Shelley started meeting secretly at her mother's grave and when her father discovered, he tried to finish the relationship, without success. Mary Shelley was pregnant in 1822 and they moved to Villa Magni, an isolated place at the Bay of Lerici. There Claire learned that her daughter Alba had died in a convent at Bagnacavallo.

          Mary Shelley was herself depressed in such isolated surroundings, miscarried and almost died from it. Percy spends more time with his Jane Williams, whom he idolized, than with his debilitated wife. The other playtime for Percy was a new sailing boat which ended up on killing him in a storm. Following the death of her husband, Mary Shelley spend much of her time translating poems by Byron but her finances were in precarious state. She moved back to England where she stayed first with her father and was later able to live alone, thanks to an allowance by Percy's father, Sir Timothy Shelley. They disagreed over her son's education which made her financial situation complicated yet again. She enjoyed a stimulating social life in the circles of her father but was still ostracized by many for her relationship with Percy.

        Between June 1812 and March 1814, Mary lived with relatives in Scotland. It was upon her return visits to London when she met Percy Bysshe Shelley, who idolized her father, and their relationship began. Mary and Percy left England for France in June 1814 to begin a life together. Shelley was still married to his first wife, Harriet Westbrook. Within four years of being married, Percy met Mary, and a new marriage was proposed as soon as the first marriage was dissolved. In late 1814, Mary and Percy returned to England and lived in hiding to avoid his first wife and previous back debts. It was at this time that Percy petitioned Mary's father William for relief of his debt.

          Mary Shelley's most famous novel, Frankenstein: or the Modern Prometheus, was released anonymously when she was only 21 years old. Only from its second edition, five years later, was her name to appear as the author. It was initially thought that the author was her husband Percy, as the book was dedicated to William Godwin, his political hero. The work came out of a competition proposed by Lord Byron in the summer of 1816 so as who could write the best horror story. The central idea came to Shelly in a dream where she saw a student putting together parts of a man's body and working through a big engine to animate it. She first wrote a short story but Percy encouraged her to expand it into a novel. The novel had at the center of its plot a failed attempt at artificial life, by the scientist Frankenstein, which produced a monster. The work is considered to be a mixture of science fiction, gothic novel, and having elements from the Romantic Movement.

         Let’s clear the definition of myth and mythology before elaborating the mythological approach in Frankenstein in detail.

Myth is the word, which came to existence in the mid 19th century. Because earlier it was known as Mythos. It is a Greek word. Myth means story or word.

Myth can be defined as

                               

                                 “A traditional story, especially one concerning the early history

                                  Of a people or explaining a natural or social phenomenon, and

                                  Typically involving supernatural beings or events”.

William Blake defines myth as

                      “Myth is fundamental, the dramatic representation of our deepest

                       Instinctual life, or primary awareness of man in the universe,

                       Capable of many configurations, upon which all particular opinions

                       And attitudes depend”.

Another definition of Myth is as given below

                                     

                                       “Myths are symbolic tales of the distant past that concern          

                                        Cosmogony and cosmology may be connected to belief

                                        Systems or rituals, and may serve to direct social action and          

                                        Values”.

Now let’s have a glance on the definition of Mythology.

                                        A set of stories or beliefs about a particular person, institution,

                                        Or situation, especially when exaggerated or fictitious”.

      Myth critics concerned to find out those mysterious elements that inform certain literary works and that elicit, with almost uncanny force, dramatic & universal human reactions. Study of myth reveals about the mind and character of people. Myths are symbolic projections of people’s hopes, values, fears and aspirations. There are many misconceptions about myth in reality myth reflects more profound reality.

     Traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the worldview of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon. Myths relate the events, conditions, and deeds of gods or superhuman beings that are outside ordinary human life and yet basic to it. These events are set in a time altogether different from historical time, often at the beginning of creation or at an early stage of prehistory. A culture's myths are usually closely related to its religious beliefs and rituals. The modern study of myth arose with early 19th-century.

Myth of Prometheus

         In Greek mythology, Prometheus, a Titan, stole fire from Mount Olympus and gave it to humanity, for which presumption he was eternally punished by Zeus, king of the gods. In Roman legend Prometheus also created mankind out of clay. In Hebrew legend the golem was a clay man, animated through cabalistic magic to perform certain tasks; but if the person animating the golem had selfish motivations, the golem eventually turned on its creator. For many centuries people have built and been fascinated by automatons—human or animal figures that perform repetitive motions through some clockwork mechanism. But contrarily to Prometheus, a good god that brought knowledge and freedom to humanity, the same thing can be found here in this novel like Doctor Frankenstein is a flawed character, neither good, nor evil but certainly blind by his selfish ambition to equal god. Dr Frankenstein is the archetype of the classical mad scientist but also the embodiment of our scientific age.

       Here, to be the part of the tragedy Shelley describes is how Frankenstein spends much of his time running away from his monster. This result is the monster murdering members of Frankenstein's family in retaliation to the doctor’s lack of pledge. The neglect of responsibility shows that Frankenstein was not ready for the results of his ambition. Instead of trying to help or destroy his creature, he keeps fleeing, warding off his responsibilities, so does science today which quest to unveil nature’s secret one after one leads to disaster. Genetically-modified organisms and clones are the modern Frankenstein monsters.
Before dying, Frankenstein states,

                            "Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous
                             Is the acquirement of knowledge, and how happier the man is who believes his
                             Native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his  
                             Nature
                             Will allow" (Shelley Ch-53).

       Here Shelley is describing the tragedy that accompanies ambitious aspirations. In this sense, she is commenting on the romantic sentiment of her times.

        Now, the mythological approach can be observed in the Frankenstein as The original, full title for the Mary Shelley novel is simply, as Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus. The subtitle refers to ancient Greek mythology and is very interesting. It thematically connects the novel to myths of mankind's creation and fall, both the Greek and Judeo-Christian. The latter is evident in the numerous allusions throughout the story to Milton's Paradise Lost - a poetic retelling of the myths of Satan's fall from grace and Adam's and Eve's expulsion from Eden. The allusive complexity of the novel draws a parallel between Victor Frankenstein and the Titan, Prometheus; at the same time, Victor is likened to God and his Creature is variously equated with the fallen Adam and Satan.

          Mary Shelley includes several types of intertexuality throughout her classic novels “frankenstein”.shelley gives another title to her novel, which can be called as the Modern Prometheus. She weaves the Greek myth of Prometheus into the plot of this novel Frankenstein through the character of fankenstein.This character holds true as a “modern Prometheus” displayed by his family roots, his passion for knowledge, his creation of life, and the eternal suffering brought upon him. Frankenstein and Prometheus’s intentions were for good. Unfortunately they let their pursuit knowledge get the better of them. They attempted to play the role of god, because in the myth of the Prometheus it is indicated that Prometheus stole the fire from the God and gave it to human kind so it is a kind of desire to get something for the sake of sacrifice, while in the novel of Frankenstein, Victor creates the monster and it is a kind of challenge to god. So they both failed to do therefore they paid a hefty price. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein shows us the danger involved in playing god as well as tampering with the nature life and death.

        The final and strongest parallel between Frankenstein and Prometheus lies within aftermath of their creations. Both Frankenstein and Prometheus suffered to great degrees, as did those around them. Moments after Frankenstein birthed his Monster and then he started to regret in doing so. He states moments after, “But now I had finished, the beauty of dream vanished, and the breathless horror filled my heart”. Angered by the rejection of his creator and those of the human race, Frankenstein’s monster seeks ultimate revenge on his creator. The creature begins his revenge by killing Frankenstein’s younger brother, and framing Justine, the family housekeeper, for his murder. He then kills Henry Clerval; Frankenstein’s best friend.ge finally ends with the killing of Elizabeth, Frankenstein’s wife on their wedding night. The monster successfully killed every person who Frankenstein was close too. And if the pain of losing all who he loved was not enough as it is, Frankenstein had to live with the unbearable guilt of being the sole source of all their deaths.prometheus is equally punished by Zeus for stealing fire to human kind. Bound to unbreakable irons, Prometheus was chained to the top of the Caucasus Mountains. Every day an eagle swooped out of the sky and ate his liver. At night his immortal liver grew anew, but every day the eagle returned and he had to suffer again. Therefore, Frankenstein and Prometheus both brought forth eternal pain and suffering upon themselves and those associated with them.

       Prometheus was also a myth told in Latin but was a very different story. In this version Prometheus makes man from clay and water, again a very relevant theme to Frankenstein, as Victor rebels against the laws of nature (how life is naturally made) and as a result is punished by his creation. Prometheus, a Greek Titan who sculpted man from clay and then stole the light of fire from the gods to give to man, these acts can be attributed to the enabling of civilization and the gift of knowledge man acquired from him. Zeus punished Prometheus; bound to stone while an eagle each day would eat away Prometheus's liver. Suffering this agonizing torment Prometheus would face his punishment for eternity. “Prometheus became a figure who represented human striving, particularly the quest for scientific knowledge, and the risk of overreaching or unintended consequences. In particular, he was regarded in the Romantic era as embodying the lone genius whose efforts to improve human existence could also result in tragedy

Myth of Narcissus

      The myth of Narcissus in which the legend is there. A tale told by Roman poet Ovid.Eacho, a young girl who falls in love with Narcissus. In Greek mythology, the myth of Narcissus can be noticed. It tells that Narcissus was a hunter from the territory of Thespiae in Boeotia who was renowned for his beauty. He was the son of a river god named Cephisus and a nymph named Lyriope. He was exceptionally proud of what he did to those who loved him. Nemesis noticed and attracted Narcissus to a pool, wherein he saw his reflection and fell in love with it, not realizing it was merely an image. Unable to leave the beauty of his reflection, Narcissus died. Narcissus is the origin of the term narcissism, after this story this term came into existence.

      The myth of Narcissus is one of the most known Greek Myths, due to its uniqueness and moral tale; Narcissus, was the son of River God Cephisus and nymph Lyriope. He was known for his beauty and he was loved by God Apollo due to his extraordinary physique. The myth of Narcissus comes in two different versions, the Greek and the Greco-Roman version, as both Conon the Greek and Ovid, the Roman poet, wrote the story of Narcissus, enhancing it with different elements.

         According to Conon, Aminias, a young man fell in love with Narcissus, who had already spurned his male suitors. Aminias was also spurned by Narcissus who gave the unfortunate young man a sword. Aminias killed himself at Narcissus’ doorstep praying to the Gods to give Narcissus a lesson for all the pain he had provoked. Narcissus was once walking by a lake or river and decided to drink some water; he saw his reflection in the water and was surprised by the beauty he saw; he became entranced by the reflection of himself. He could not obtain the object of his desire though, and he died at the banks of the river or lake from his sorrow. According to the myth Narcissus is still admiring himself in the Underworld, looking at the waters of the Styx.

      The myth presented by Ovid the poet is slightly altered. According to this myth, Narcissus’ parents were worried because of the extraordinary beauty of the child and asked prophet Teiresias what to do, regarding their son’s future.Teiresias tell them that the boy would grow old only if “he didn’t get to know himself”. When Narcissus was sixteen he was walking in the woods and Nymph Echo saw him and felt madly in love with him. She started following him and Narcissus asked “who’s there”, feeling someone after him. Echo responded “who’s there” and that went on for some time until Echo decided to show herself. She tried to embrace the boy who stepped away from Echo, telling her to leave him alone. Echo was left heartbroken and spent the rest of her life in glens; until nothing but an echo sound remained of her. Nemesis, though, the Goddess of Revenge, heard the story and decided to punish Narcissus. From this point the stories are similar; Narcissus sees himself in the pond and he is amazed by the beauty of the reflection. Once he figured out that his love could not be addressed, he killed himself.

       Mary Shelley has given another title to this novel is "Modern Prometheus", but she could also have referred to it as the Modern Narcissus. Victor presents, in fact, all the important characteristics of the narcissistic personality disorder as defined in the myth of Narcissus. Who has having sense of self-importance, preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success; exhibitionism; cool indifference or feelings, and interpersonal disturbances, including exploitativeness, alternation between over idealization and devaluation, and lack of empathy. Moreover, Victor demonstrates the paradoxical nature of narcissism, where self-love exists with self-hate, and fragile self-esteem results in a sense of entitlement, the expectation of receiving special favors from others without assuming reciprocal responsibilities. In addition to, we may say that Victor pursues fantasies of unlimited power and glory with monomaniacal intensity. He experiences the profound depression often accompanying a narcissistic disorder, dejection, loss of interest in the external world, inability to love, and a lowering self-esteem, culminating in an expectation of punishment. It is as if he has internalized a poisonous object, the Creature, who is now consuming his heart.

Myth of Paradise Lost

The story of Adam and Eve, Creation and the fall clearly refers to Frankenstein's ambition as a scientist and his disobedience against God as the supreme creator. There are also many references to Satan and his defiance of his Creator which are relevant to an understanding of the monster's behavior .In both these cases, the references to the Bible stories are filtered through the monster's reading of Milton's Paradise Lost. References to Prometheus, who in Greek and Roman mythology is named as the creator of humanity and who also defied the gods by teaching humans a number of important crafts, show that Mary Shelley is not presenting her story in exclusively Christian terms.

In this novel the myth of paradise Lost can be noticed. Because, Victor is cast in the role of the Judeo-Christian God as Creator, which places the Creature in the role of Adam. Shelley signals this right from the very beginning with a quotation from Paradise Lost in the paragraph

Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay

To mould me man? Did I solicit thee

From darkness to promote me? 

        These lines are spoken by Adam, in his anguish, to God, but could just as easily be spoken by the Creature, who is also tormented, to Victor Frankenstein. The Creature, however, is not tormented because of any transgression of his own. He is a fallen, outcast Adam as a result of Victor's transgression and the callousness of humankind. Tragedy does not befall the main characters because Frankenstein tries to play God and, therefore, earns His wrath and punishment, as some simplistically think. The tragedy results from his failure to properly care for his creation by leaving it to the mercy of a human race that fears what it does not understand and judges people by superficial appearances. This leads to rejection and profound isolation for the Creature and turns his basically noble nature into something vengeful. In his dark and vengeful scenes, the Creature is re-cast in the role of Milton's Satan, who rails against the God who rejected him and plots to avenge himself upon that God. It will be helpful, here, to examine some specific examples of the numerous references to Milton's masterwork that can be found in Shelley's great gothic novel.

            Thus, the Creation-Fall trope is worked out through a complex series of variations and transformations, in which Victor moves through the roles of Prometheus, God and Adam, and his Creature shifts from Adam to Satan and, even God. These shifts are signaled by shifting allusions to ancient Greek mythology, as well as to the various parts of Paradise Lost, the greatest poem in the English language about the myth of man's creation and fall. This allusive complexity makes the reading of Frankenstein a very rich experience for the reader, and cements its reputation as one of the greatest novels of the 19^th century. So; at last I want to say that many myths are indicated in the novel, which makes this novel unique one. Therefore one can see this novel from the mythological perspective.