Frankenstein and Its Classics: The Modern Prometheus from Antiquity to Science Fiction (Bloomsbury Studies in Classical Reception)

Frankenstein and Its Classics is the first collection of scholarship dedicated to how Frankenstein and works inspired by it draw on ancient Greek and Roman literature, history, philosophy, and myth. Presenting twelve new essays intended for students, scholars, and other readers of Mary Shelley's novel, the volume explores classical receptions in some of Frankenstein 's most important scenes, sources, and adaptations. Not limited to literature, the chapters discuss a wide range of modern materials-including recent films like Alex Garland's Ex Machina and comics like Matt Fraction's and Christian Ward's Ody-C -in relation to ancient works including Hesiod's Theogony , Aeschylus's Prometheus Bound , Ovid's Metamorphoses , and Apuleius's The Golden Ass . All together, these studies show how Frankenstein , a foundational work of science fiction, brings ancient thought to bear on some of today's most pressing issues, from bioengineering and the creation of artificial intelligence to the struggles of marginalized communities and political revolution. This addition to the comparative study of classics and science fiction reveals deep similarities between ancient and modern ways of imagining the world-and emphasizes the prescience and ongoing importance of Mary Shelley's immortal novel. As Frankenstein turns 200, its complex engagement with classical traditions is more significant than ever. Cover page 1 Halftitle page 2 Series page 3 Title page 4 Copyright page 5 Contents 6 Preface 8 Contributors 11 Illustrations 14 Introduction: The Modern Prometheus Turns 200 16 Frankenstein and Its Classics: The Case of Plutarch 20 The Frankenstein Tradition: The Case of Scalzi (and Jared) 24 Frankenstein ’s Classical Receptions and Twenty-First-Century Questions 26 Outline of the Volume 29 Notes 33 Part One Promethean Heat 38 1 Patchwork Paratexts and Monstrous Metapoetics: “After tea M reads Ovid” 40 Monstrous Metapoets: Ovidian Frankensteins 41 Monstrous Metamorphoses: Matter unform’d and Ovid 44 Patchwork Paratexts: “Prometheus mixt” 47 Notes 55 2 Prometheus and Dr. Darwin’s Vermicelli: Another Stir to the Frankenstein Broth 57 Galvanic or Organic? Two Films 57 Which Prometheus? 59 Erasmus Darwin’s Giants 64 Little Worms and Dr. Darwin’s Vermicelli 66 Magi and Alchemists 70 Conclusion 71 Notes 71 3 The Politics of Revivification in Lucan’s Bellum Civile and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein 74 The “Galvanic Process”: Lucan’s and Shelley’s Monsters 75 Lucan on the Corpse of the Res Publica 78 Shelley and the French Revolution 81 Notes 88 4 Romantic Prometheis and the Molding of Frankenstein 91 Newton’s Return to Nature and Percy Shelley’s Queen Mab 93 Pantheons and Modern Prometheis 97 Notes 102 5 Why the ‘Year without a Summer’? 106 Introduction 106 The Eruption 106 The Aftermath 109 Conclusion: Mary Shelley in 1816 113 Glossary 114 Notes 115 6 The Sublime Monster: Frankenstein , or The Modern Pandora 117 Introduction 117 Ars poetica: Hesiod’s Pandora 118 How to Make a Monster 120 Technology of the Sublime: Hesiod 122 Deformity and/as the Kantian Sublime 124 Technology of the Sublime: Longinus 126 Conclusions: The Creature as Genius loci of the Sublime Landscape 128 Notes 130 Part Two Hideous Progeny 136 7 Cupid and Psyche in Frankenstein: Mary Shelley’s Apuleian Science Fiction? 138 Introduction 138 Historical Connections via Paratextual Evidence 141 Cupid and Psyche in Frankenstein: Forms and Themes 144 Cupid and Psyche at the End of Human History: The Last Man 150 Conclusions: The Future of Frankenstein ’s Classical Receptions; or, Mary Shelley’s Apuleian Science Fiction? 153 Notes 155 8 The Pale Student of Unhallowed Arts: Frankenstein, Aristotle, and theWisdom of Lucretius 160 Notes 166 9 Timothy Leary and the Psychodynamics of Stealing Fire 168 Literary Activism, or Hacking the Promethean Myth 170 Timothy Leary; or, the Modern Victor Frankenstein 172 Unmasking the Monster: Magic Mushrooms and the Neuropolitics of Empathy 176 Reanimating Leary’s Legacy 182 Notes 183 10 Frankenfilm: Classical Monstrosity in Bill Morrison’s Spark of Being 185 Introduction 185 Antiquarianism, Recombination, and Reanimation in Spark of Being 187 Monsters in the Mirror, Monsters on the Screen 194 Conclusion 199 Notes 201 11 Alex Garland’s Ex Machina or The Modern Epimetheus 205 Notes 218 12 The Postmodern Prometheus and Posthuman Reproductions in Science Fiction 221 Thinking with Prometheus1 221 The Modern Prometheus 223 Postmodern/Posthuman Prometheus 228 Ancient Prometheus 237 Notes 238 Other Modern Prometheis: Suggestions for Further Reading and Viewing 243 Short Stories, Novels, and Plays 243 Film 248 Television 251 Bibliography 253 Index 282 "Frankenstein and Its Classics is the first collection of scholarship dedicated to how Frankenstein and works inspired by it draw on ancient Greek and Roman literature, history, philosophy, and myth. Presenting twelve new essays intended for students, scholars, and other readers of Mary Shelley's novel, the volume explores classical receptions in some of Frankenstein's most important scenes, sources, and adaptations. Not limited to literature, the chapters discuss a wide range of modern materials-including recent films like Alex Garland's Ex Machina and comics like Matt Fraction's and Christian Ward's Ody-C-in relation to ancient works including Hesiod's Theogony, Aeschylus's Prometheus Bound, Ovid's Metamorphoses, and Apuleius's The Golden Ass. All together, these studies show how Frankenstein, a foundational work of science fiction, brings ancient thought to bear on some of today's most pressing issues, from bioengineering and the creation of artificial intelligence to the struggles of marginalized communities and political revolution. This addition to the comparative study of classics and science fiction reveals deep similarities between ancient and modern ways of imagining the world-and emphasizes the prescience and ongoing importance of Mary Shelley's immortal novel. As Frankenstein turns 200, its complex engagement with classical traditions is more significant than ever."--Publisher's description