Thoughts on…Frankenstein
THE MODERN PROMETHEUS
Mary Shelley, at age nineteen, penned what has turned out to be one of the most popular novels of all time: the inspiration for hundreds of movies, TV spin-offs, and countless stage adaptations, as well as staying in continuous print in more languages than Shakespeare. Frankenstein has become synonymous with the horror genre. Even my adaptation received recognition as one of the 10 best new plays in American regional theatre when it premiered in 1998.
So what is it that is so enduring about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein? One only need look to the subtitle of the book – often left out in modern publication – for the answer to that question: Frankenstein: or The Modern Prometheus.
Prometheus, a Greek mythological character, is a Titan largely known as the champion of humankind who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to the mortals. He was punished for his actions by being bound to a rock while a great eagle ate his liver every day only to have it grow back and be eaten again the next day. This, thematically is the difficulty of being human and the drudgery of every day life which is part of human existence. So the subjects and theme of Mary Shelley’s books go back to the very essence of philosophical and theological debates in Western culture. What is the meaning and purpose of human existence?
However, Shelley’s story is must less esoteric than a philosophical debate on the meaning of existence. She speaks to the core of existence – the spark of life – which makes her fictional novel more and more relevant everyday. In her book, Victor Frankenstein literally creates life using electricity – the notion made popular by Benjamin Franklin’s experiments with lightning. Victor plays with “fire” and finds that he can artificially create man, circumventing the normal process of creation.
Of course, the modern parallels are easy to see. We have continued to “play with fire” as we have continued to look for artificial means of creating and sustaining life in the modern world. Further, Shelley’s Victor Frankenstein, having found the method for creating life, intends to destroy his creation. But he cannot do so. Even as today we, who create life, try to extend life beyond its ability to sustain itself.
We are the Modern Prometheus. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein lives today. We experience the consequences of “playing with fire” almost daily in our lives, with people we know, in the politics of health insurance and in decisions which prolong lives. Will we ever learn the lessons taught to us almost 200 years ago by Mary Shelley and thousands of years ago in Greek mythology?
Richard Rose –Adapter and Director, Frankenstein