Across books · Theme
Ambition and Pride
Victor's hubris in attempting to play God and his relentless ambition to achieve greatness lead to his downfall, paralleling the myth of Prometheus and the dangers of overreaching.
Ambition and Pride appears as a literary theme in 3 works in the BetterReads curated set. Each book develops the idea in its own plot, voice, and historical moment — the links below open the book-scoped theme guide beside the text.
Victor's hubris in attempting to play God and his relentless ambition to achieve greatness lead to his downfall, paralleling the myth of Prometheus and the dangers of overreaching.
Ambition is portrayed as a destructive force that leads to isolation and spiritual ruin, as seen in 'Tamerlane' where the pursuit of power and glory corrupts love and humanity.
Destructive ambition and excessive pride drive many plots, from the vengeful rivalry between families in 'Metzengerstein' to the intellectual arrogance that leads to ruin, as critiqued in the biographical sketches of Poe's own 'hard wish to succeed' and its consequences.
In each book3 titles
frankenstein_se
Victor's hubris in attempting to play God and his relentless ambition to achieve greatness lead to his downfall, paralleling the myth of Prometheus and the dangers of overreaching.
Open theme guide →
poetry_4_se
Ambition is portrayed as a destructive force that leads to isolation and spiritual ruin, as seen in 'Tamerlane' where the pursuit of power and glory corrupts love and humanity.
Open theme guide →
short_fiction_14_se
Destructive ambition and excessive pride drive many plots, from the vengeful rivalry between families in 'Metzengerstein' to the intellectual arrogance that leads to ruin, as critiqued in the biographical sketches of Poe
Open theme guide →