Frankenstein, Disability, and the Myth of Prometheus

My third and final installment of Frankenstein essays, in which i get a little too personal

A Detour into Greek Mythology

Before we talk of Frankenstein, I would like you to take a trip down a different route. The road of mythology itself. Specifically, Greek mythology. Trust me, it all makes sense in the end. Bear with me!

In Greek mythology, Prometheus is the titan who, by a request from Zeus, creates human beings. Prometheus and Zeus were very close and he was the only titan who was spared by zeus’ wrath during the battle of the titans. Afterwards though, Zues had one single request from Prometheus, and that was never to give fire to his creation. Now, according to the wonderful Stephen Fry, who wrote Mythos detailing this exact myth, argues that the fire mentioned in that myth is not merely the literal ability to create fire, but rather The fire. The fire that burns in all humans. Emotions, creativity, even self awareness. Or, it could easily just be the ability to create actual fire. Both interpretations of those myths arrive at the same conclusion: Zeus was afraid of his own creation, and whether it is the fire of creativity or the fire that helps us cook, both are dangerous for the gods of olympus. Because regardless of what you interpret, the result would still be human advancement. Through fire we have been able to stay safe, cook better food, and even create weapons.

Prometheus on the other hand, despite agreeing to those conditions in the first place, was dissatisfied. He saw what humans would actually be without advancement. Without self awareness or without the ability to think for themselves. Without fire, humans were good for only one thing: endless worship of a deity. But Prometheus saw the potential of his creation and decided to steal it from Zeus. Now, my exact memory of how he steals the fire is sort of murky, but what I do remember is that Zeus, when he glanced down from Olympus, saw a flicker of light. Humans were using fire! And he immediately knew who was to blame. So, Zeus being Zeus, decided this needs some far more serious consequences. You see, Zeus was absolutely livid at the fact that his best bud Prom (yes, i am calling him Prom because why not?) could betray him like that! So, Zeus decides that the best way to punish the dude was to chain him to a rock in a mountain, and then have an eagle eat his liver, which was thought to be the root of human emotions in ancient greek, every day because it would grow back.

Why Frankenstein is the Modern Prometheus

When i first read frankenstein, i couldn’t really figure out why it had the title Frankenstein, or the modern prometheus because while i was similar with the myth of Prometheus, i could not figure out why Mary shelley decided to name her novel “the modern Prometheus” of all things. That is, until I truly examined the myth myself.

Frankenstein Through the Lens of Critical Disability Studies

In the study of critical disability, known as “critical disability study”, Frankenstein is often studied a lot as a novel because as we all know, the book deals with a lot of body image issues. There are plenty of passages that hint at dysmorphia and other such issues.¹

And as for the myth of Prometheus? Well, as it turns out, Prometheus is often viewed as a figure of endurance and rebellion. He is a figure that is known for enduring so much bodily pain and yet never gives up. His entire mythology is based around disfigurement.²

Lord Byron paints him as someone who uses his silence and his own sight as a rebellion against authorities that bound him to be forever tortured.

“Titan! To whose immortal eyes

The sufferings of mortality,

Seen in their sad reality,

Were not as things that gods despise;

What was thy pity’s recompense?

A silent suffering, and intense;

The rock, the vulture, and the chain,

All that the proud can feel of pain,

The agony they do not show,

The suffocating sense of woe,

Which speaks but in its loneliness,

And then is jealous lest the sky

Should have a listener, nor will sigh

Until its voice is echoless.”

The myth of Prometheus posits that suffering is not a loss of power. In reality, you too can rebel in your own ways.

And as we can see in Frankenstein, the monster truly is the modern Prometheus. He was subjected to eternal torment by his creator, and seeks to find salvation from his pain by confronting him. Just like Prometheus, the creature is subjected to his own metaphorical chains in the mountains. Except that his liver is not eaten by an eagle but rather society itself. Another way that the creature is similar to Prometheus is his body image. Throughout the novel, there are pages upon pages of the creature reflecting on who he is as a being. He sees the beauty in the world and laments his own existence. This dichotomy of perception is also present in the myth of Prometheus since he himself is a creature tormented and disfigured. One thing to note here is that while Prometheus’s torment is metaphorical, our creature’s is very much real. He cannot escape society. He will forever have to live with his torment.

Personal Reflections on Disability and the Creature

Now, I would like to tell you all something about myself. I suffer from cerebral palsy. And moreover, I suffer from its effects on the abilities present to me. On top of that, i suffer from many mental health issues. I am not sure so i am not going to claim to be, but i am pretty sure i have some form of autism and ADHD. I have severe social anxiety which causes me to almost never interact with people, resulting in me never having any proper real friendships outside of a few people in my life. I am not outgoing, i prefer to live alone in my tiny room, minding my own business. I don’t like the world. I don’t like the multitudes of prejudices that exist, i don’t like the childish and immature behavior of people who should know better, and I don’t like what we do to each other. The wars, the bickerings, the drama. I want none of it. Majority of interactions i’ve had with people have been concluded with the fact that i am not able to relate to them. I have no social cues, and my interests are not aligned with most folks. And yet, I also love humanity. I love the way we can build each other up, the epic feats we can achieve in our lives and the world at large. We can truly be great, if we were not held back by our own actions. This is echoed greatly in the novel when the creature expresses the contradictions of humans.

This, combined with my own relationship with my own body due to cerebral palsy, makes me feel deeply for any character that expresses those feelings. And none have made me feel as close to them as the creature from Frankenstein. Sure, i am not out here murdering folks in the name of vengeance (yet) but i can understand almost every single expression echoed by the creature. His agony and torture are as dear to me as they are fantastic. To me, he’s the most perfect character to represent anyone going through these struggles.

“Increase of knowledge only discovered to me more clearly, what a wretched outcast i was.”

Hope Through Rebellion

Despite this though, there is hope. How? Well, let’s look back at the story of Prometheus for a minute. According to scholars, the Prometheus of lord byron is not merely stuck in torment and agony for eternity. He fights back. And it is only through fighting back can we break our metaphorical chains and be free. Lord Byron himself was a disabled man. He had an injury on his foot that made it difficult for him. So when he wrote that poem, he didn’t just write it to express his desire to free himself from that bodily prison, but to actively seek out other means of freedom. For me, i fight back from my illness by simply trying to do as much as i can by myself. I don’t want this one thing to he a hindrance on my life. Sure, i may not be able to experience much in life but the stuff that i can experience, i will. For others, it could be something else. Maybe fighting back simply means getting more accessibility in your life. That is also one form of it. In conclusion, life may be miserable, but it is definitely worth living for. Even if you are a creature made out of pure selfish and arrogant reasons put together and held by several sead organs.

“How mutable are our feelings? And how strange is that clinging we have for life, even in the excess of misery?”

1. “Its Own Concentred Recompense”: The Impact of Critical Disability Studies on Romanticism

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/b345/39951e9cb2f6bf5603817e6cb6a5592ab3b4.pdf

2. Its Own Concentred Recompense The Impact of Critical Disability Studies on Romanticism

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/b345/39951e9cb2f6bf5603817e6cb6a5592ab3b4.pdf