Frankenstein Today: The Postgenomic Prometheus

As the power of gene technology reaches human DNA, we fear that the subjects of genetic engineering might somehow become monstrous, something other than human. The fear of creating a monster received perhaps its most famous expression in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The questions Shelley raises return with greater urgency now that the Human Genome Project and our growing pharmacological toolkit give scientists unprecedented powers. Yet the questions may also lead us to expand our view of what is human.

Frankenstein: Or, the Modern Prometheus, by Mary Shelley (1818)
Dr. Victor Frankenstein seeks to create a living being out of dead parts. But the living being he creates is neither human nor beast but a hideously formed monster. The doctor faces a choice: Should he destroy the monster, or should he set it free and even create its mate, as the monster demands?

For historical background, see the National Library of Medicine’s online exhibition “Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature” at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/frankenstein/frankhome.html.

Discussion Questions
1. Why does Shelley call Dr. Frankenstein the “Modern Prometheus”? What were the aims and motivations of Frankenstein? How do his aims compare with those of scientists in today’s postgenomic world?

2. What makes Frankenstein’s creation “monstrous”? Some modern critics argue that the monster’s evil was not inherent but was the product of Frankenstein’s rejection of him. Do you agree? How do Frankenstein’s reasons for rejecting his creation compare with objections raised to genetic research and gene therapy?

3. Could modern gene technology create monsters or monstrous situations? For example, if we genetically engineer animals to “donate” replacement organs for people, would we create a partly human monstrosity?

The X-Files: “Post-Modern Prometheus” (1997)
In this updated parody of the Frankenstein story, the famous pair of FBI investigators, Dana Scully and Fox Mulder, are called to a rural southern town to investigate a mysterious monster. The monster, called the Mutato, was created by a mad scientist who used his genetic research on the fruit fly Drosophila. But as Scully and Mulder proceed with their investigation, they end up wondering: Who is the greater danger, the Mutato or the humans that hunt him?

This episode is available on a DVD collection of the X-Files’ fifth season.

Discussion Questions
1. What are the motives of the scientist Dr. Pollidori, who created the Mutato? How do his motives compare with those of Dr. Frankenstein?

2. Unlike Dr. Frankenstein, who digs up body parts from a cemetery, Dr. Pollidori digs up genes from the fruit fly. Considering what we know of genomes, why would the fruit fly be a likely place for scientists to look for molecular clues to improve human health?

3. Throughout the episode, the camera draws visual comparisons between humans and animals. What questions does the camera raise about the nature of humans and animals? What parallel questions are raised by our emerging view of human and animal genomes?

4. Like Frankenstein’s monster, the Mutato desires a mate—and gets in trouble for the way he pursues one. In the end, how does the X-Files episode suggest society should treat people who have genetic traits that are considered undesirable?

Mirabile, by Janet Kagan (1991)

In this book, which consists of a series of short stories that can be read individually, Kagan presents a cheerful, family-oriented embrace of “Frankenstein-like” genetic engineering. Families of colonists have seeded a distant planet, Mirabile, with plants and animals that were extensively engineered for the purpose of colonization. Some of the organisms were designed to sequester the genomes of other species within their own noncoding DNA. The hidden species were expected to be useful in later stages of colonization (for example, a strain of wheat hides the genomes of honeybees and red deer.) But what happens when the carrier organisms mutate and seed the hidden species, leading to unpredicted variations?

For a copy of this book, contact Joan Slonczewski at slonczewski@kenyon.edu (limited quantity available).

Discussion Questions
1. What were the motives of the gene scientists who created the agricultural strains with hidden genomes? How do their aims compare with those of Dr. Frankenstein and with those of contemporary agricultural scientists?

2. Considering our latest view of genomes, would it be possible to hide the entire genome of one organism inside the “extra DNA” of another? How much of the human genome appears to be extraneous? How did this extraneous DNA get there?

3. The story “Loch Moose Monster” opens with daffodils seeding predatory cockroaches—an example of the genetic “mistakes” called Dragon’s Teeth. But the developmental plan of plants differs fundamentally from that of animals. How might we suppose that a plant could developmentally “seed” animals? Do the genomes and development programs of plants and animals share common features?

4. How does the Mirabilan colonist Mama Jason respond to the appearance of the unexpected “monsters”? Do the creatures provide unexpected benefits? What conflicting values does she attempt to reconcile? How do these values resonate with our own debates on genetics and the environment?

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