The Modern Prometheus modern design twist on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein | Page 40

The Modern Prometheus

“Be calm! I entreat you to hear me before you give
vent to your hatred on my devoted head. Have I not
suffered enough, that you seek to increase my misery?
Life, although it may only be an accumulation of
anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it. Remember,
thou hast made me more powerful than thyself; my
height is superior to thine, my joints more supple. But I
will not be tempted to set myself in opposition to thee.
I am thy creature, and I will be even mild and docile to
my natural lord and king if thou wilt also perform thy
part, the which thou owest me. Oh, Frankenstein, be not
equitable to every other and trample upon me alone, to
whom thy justice, and even thy clemency and affection,
is most due. Remember that I am thy creature; I ought
to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom
thou drivest from joy for no misdeed. Everywhere I see
bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded. I was
benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me
happy, and I shall again be virtuous.”
“Begone! I will not hear you. There can be no
community between you and me; we are enemies.
Begone, or let us try our strength in a fight, in which
one must fall.”
“How can I move t hee? Will no entreaties cause
thee to turn a favourable eye upon thy creature, who
implores thy goodness and compassion? Believe me,
Frankenstein, I was benevolent; my soul glowed with
love and humanity; but am I not alone, miserably alone?
You, my creator, abhor me; what hope can I gather from
your fellow creatures, who owe me nothing? They spurn
and hate me. The desert mountains and dreary glaciers
are my refuge. I have wandered here many days; the
caves of ice, which I only do not fear, are a dwelling to
me, and the only one which man does not grudge. These

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