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Mary Wollstonecraft ShelleyJenny Choi

+Early Life

Born as daughter of the philosopher William Godwin and surrounded by poets and novelists since early age

Born Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley in London, England on August 30, 1797

Her mother was Mary Wollstonecraft, an early and prominent feminist figure known for her works such as Vindication of the Rights of Woman.

She received advanced education for her gender, and was knowledgeable in wide variety of topics

+Marriage

"Marriage is usually considered the grave, and not the cradle of love." (The Last Man, 1826)

She married Percy Shelley, a poet and a follower of her father’s ideals

Percy Shelley was already married when the two met; they ran away and traveled throughout Europe. After Percy’s wife drowned herself, the two married despite criticism from the society. Mary’s father tried to thwart their relationship and did not speak to her for years after she married Percy.

+Percy Shelley

Percy’s circle of friends, including people like Lord Byron, affected Mary. While they were at Lordy Byron’s castle, Mary first started to write Frankenstein.

Believed in free love; indulged in many affairs, and encouraged Mary to do so as well

Originally a follower of William Godwin, Mary’s father, their relationship soured when William realized that Percy would not pay off William’s debt.

+Later Life

After Percy’s death, she was forced to write anonymously due to pressure from Percy’s father

Even with the stipend from her father-in-law, Shelley struggled financially; her latter works did not match the success of Frankenstein

Her later works are gaining renewed interest from modern feminists for her portrayal of powerful female characters.

She died from brain tumor on February 1, 1851.

+Literary Works

Frankenstein

The Last Man

Perkin Warbeck

Lodore

Falkner

Valperga

+Frankenstein:Modern Prometheus

Reflected public’s thoughts on Industrial Revolution and influx of new technology, warning against the over-reaching of the men who would try to play God and go against the nature

Frankenstein was her masterpiece; none of her other works quite reached the same popularity or endured the test of time

+From Frankenstein

“Oh! no mortal could support the horror of that countenance. A mummy again endued with animation could not be so hideous as that wretch. I had gazed on him while unfinished; he was ugly then; but when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion, it became a thing such as even Dante could not have conceived.”

-from Frankenstein, Mary Shelley

+Citations

http://www.worldhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display.aspx?categoryid=22&entryid=306457&searchtext=mary+shelley&type=simple&option=all

http://www.literature.org/authors/shelley-mary/frankenstein/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Shelley

http://home-1.worldonline.nl/~hamberg/

http://www.duluth.lib.mn.us/Programs/Frankenstein/ShelleyBio.html