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Mary Shelley and Frankenstein, the Modern Prometheus
"Â…that man's desire to understand and control the world around him is conditioned by his inability to understand and control himself." (Shelley vii). History is replete with examples of self-appointed saviors of man who have felt that it was their duty to improve the pathetic day-to-day existence of mankind. These men believe themselves to be heroic, even visionary and that they alone truly know best what will serve the best interest of mankind. Their mission seems so grand and even essential, that ordinary laws and rules, even moral principles no longer apply to them. The consequences or the end result seem irrelevant, and their actions, justified by insisting "it was done to make life better" become an end in and of themselves. Two of the best examples in literature of this phenomenon can be found in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and in the several myths of the Ancient Greek's legendary Prometheus.
Although there are plenty of......

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