Question

In the story Frankenstein, we see the FIRE repeated as a symbol throughout the text, becoming an important motif of the story. Some examples of fire in the story include: Fire is a part of the story of Prometheus, it is implied that fire (lightening) is used in the creation of the monster, and the monster learns to use fire to his advantage after being initially burned by it. What could fire in the story symbolize?
the threat of global warming


the potential dangers of human invention


the happiness that the Monster is seeking


death

Answer 1

I would say that fire symbolizes the potential dangers of human invention.
I don't think that Shelley cared much about global warming - it wasn't a thing at the time. The monster is pretty much senseless, so I don't think the fire has anything to do with his happiness. Death also makes no sense here. We are told that the monster was created using fire (lightning) - and the monster turned out to be a very bad invention.