Frankenstein and Blade Runner

Shelley's Frankenstein  (1818)  has as a secondary title, The Modern Prometheus. This comes from classical Greek mythology ( about 500 B.C) and tells us much about the PURPOSE of the novel.

Prometheus was the god who stole fire from the chief God Zeus and give it to the mortals. Zeus punishes him by sending down an eagle every day to eat his liver. 

What this story symbolises as a myth - where myths are psychological truths - is that to gain knowledge is to take power into one owns hands. It is a responsibility.

Both Frankenstein and Blade Runner present us with the responsibility that scientific knowledge and invention has given us. In Frankenstein, the monster seeks a partner not unlike a human but Dr Frankenstein denies him. In Blade Runner, the replicants, near perfect humanoid robots want more life...but cannot have it.