Many authors use a well-known historical figure to contrast the protagonist of their novel. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly is a great author who uses this method to compare a famous person to a fictional character. In her novel Frankenstein, she uses the subtitle “The Modern Prometheus”. Prometheus, the Greek god, and Victor Frankenstein, the creator of the Monster, have contrasting qualities and behaviors that allow them to go against God's will and attempt to create life. Prometheus, a Greek god, is the son of Iapetus and Themis. He was a guardian and protector of humanity and is widely known for his superior intelligence. He stole fire from the Greek god Zeus and gave it to mortals. This error caused the heroine Prometheus to suffer greatly. Zeus punished him for his offense and tied Prometheus to a rock, and every day an eagle came to eat his liver. Prometheus is both credited and blamed for playing a gigantic role in the creation of humanity. Prometheus stole fire from Zeus in order to help mortals because he befriended and took pity on them. At that time, humans were desperate for help and Prometheus wanted to see them reach their full potential instead of dying. Prometheus stole fire and showed humans how to use it because he was a very compassionate man and wanted to help. Prometheus is considered a gentle titan while Zeus is considered a dark god. Prometheus acted according to what the future held for him because he had the gift of foresight. He knew that humans would need help to survive, and he was the titan who brought help in the form of fire. Prometheus represented a man “playing God,” just like Victor Frankenstein. You two...... middle of paper...... his home and laboratory and took care of Victor. He wanted to gain godly powers so much that it was too stressful for Victor. He withdraws from society and develops an unhealthy obsession with getting revenge on the monster. This ultimately leads to his death after telling his story to Robert Walton. Mary Shelly was absolutely right when she compared Frankenstein to “modern Prometheus.” Frankenstein and Prometheus were similar in character and how they wanted to help humanity, even if one of the protagonists went too far. They both attempted to be like God by creating life and suffered the consequences of their actions. Mortal humans needed saving, so two intelligent and gentle men came to help them. Did they try to become too godlike or were their attempts to help the mortals of the world justified ??