THE BIG SIX #1: F R A N K E N S T E I N

Title page of the First Edition, published anonymously.

Considered by many to be the first Science Fiction novel, Mary Shelley's allegorical tale continues to function as metaphor on different levels and changes in society almost one-hundred-and-ninety years after its appearance. The novel's subtitle, The Modern Prometheus, reflects versions of Greek Mythology where Prometheus was the Titan who created humankind, stole fire from heaven and gave it to humans, thus incurring Zeus's eternal punishment. Victor Frankenstein, horribly punished for his crime against nature also causes others to suffer through his gift to science. Mary Shelley blamed Prometheus for bringing fire to humans, thus causing hunting and killing through the vice of eating meat; the Monster himself is a vegetarian.