Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley is generally credited with writing "Frankenstein," which was published in 1818, when she was 21. Scholars who have studied her and her husband are fairly sure that her husband, Percy Shelly, contributed at least some of the story. Here are some other things you might not know about Mary Shelley, who lived from 8-20-1797 to 2-1-1851:
- Her father and mother were philosophers, and her father was involved in politics
- She had a fairly good education, her family being relatively wealthy
- She had a 'wicked stepmother' after her biological mother died. Mary did not get along with her.
- Mary published a poem at the age of 10, by her father and stepmother's publishing house.
- Her stepmother and her father were feminists who believed in 'free love' and that marriage was an unnecessary social requirement, yet they were married.
- Here is a quote from her father about Mary at age 15: "She is singularly bold, somewhat imperious, and active of mind. Her desire of knowledge is great, and her perseverance in everything she undertakes almost invincible."
- Mary got involved with Percy Shelley while he was still a married man with a child and one on the way. She was 16 and he was 21. They used to meet in secret at a graveyard.
- People in their community looked down on them for having their 'affair.'
- While Percy was still married, Mary became pregnant with a child, a girl she would name Clara, who died by age 1. She had a second child she also named Clara, who died at barely one month, then William, who died at age 3, and her last child, Percy (named for his father), lived to be 70.
- Percy's first wife took her own life by drowning herself. Afterwards, Percy and Mary were married.
- They moved to Italy in 1818
- Lord Byron, a famous poet and politician, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Byron was one of their many friends. One evening as they sat around talking in Geneva, Switzerland, Lord Byron suggested each of them should write a ghost story. 'Frankenstein' was Mary's story
- Mary intended that Frankenstein would be just a short story, but eventually it became full-length novel.
- People tend to forget that the Creature didn't actually have a name, but the 'surgeon' who put the body parts together was named Victor Frankenstein.
- Mary's sister Claire supposedly became pregnant by Lord Byron and had a little girl.
- Percy also had affairs with several other women. Mary tried to be accepting, as they both were believers in 'free love,' but she really only loved Percy
- Mary came down with smallpox when she was 32. She and her husband strongly supported vaccinations at a time when it was a new concept. Fortunately, smallpox did not take her life. However, she only lived to be 53 and died of a brain tumor.
- The subtitle of "Frankenstein" is "The Modern Prometheus" Prometheus was a god in Greek mythology who created a man from clay. He also stole fire and gave it to man, so that society could progress.
- Frankenstein was published in 1818, giving only "Anonymous" as its writer. Women writers at the time always had difficulty being published, much less having written a horror story. In 1823, Mary's name was given as its author.
- In the book, Frankenstein is fascinated by electricity, especially the power of lightning. Keep in mind that the common use of electricity in homes and businesses didn't develop until about 1830. The novelty of it, and its use to "re-animate" the creature, is rather ahead of its time.
- Percy died by drowning at the age of 29. His schooner was capsized in a storm near Italy. This is ironic since his first wife had drowned herself. Mary, then, was a widow at age 24.
- After her husband's death, Mary moved back to England. It is rumored that she kept Percy's heart wrapped in a handkerchief for the rest of her life.
- Man toying with nature?
- What is 'life,' and can man 'create' a human being?
- Are there moral 'wrongs' about using different parts of a body to build a whole new creature?
- Why specifically was the Creature considered a 'monster'?
- Was it wrong to put the Creature on display as a freak?
- Why was it assumed the Creature would be violent or angry?
- Is it possibly a statement about how people want to destroy anyone who is 'different'?
- Why were people afraid of the monster?
- Why would the townspeople in the book eager to condemn or to praise Frankenstein for creating this being?
- How would it have ended differently if the townspeople had simply accepted the creature?
This picture is from "Bride of Frankenstein," 1935. The actress' name was Elsa Lanchester. It's interesting to note that this 'sequel' has Frankenstein creating a woman to be a mate/partner/bride of the first creature, and the character was named Mary Shelley.
Other books written by Mary Shelley:
"Valperga" - mixes fact with fiction, about a cruel tyrannical leader
"The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck" - a man pretends to be royalty and strives to escape the Tower of London
"Rambles in Germany and Italy" - a travelog of sorts of her travels in Europe
The Frankenstein castle, Germany. It is thought Mary visited this castle and used it as inspiration for the setting of her novel.
"Falkner" - a young woman's struggle against her tyrannical father
"Mathilda" (also known as Fields of Fancy) - this book deals with incest and suicide
"The Last Man" - the plot is based on a future world where disease has taken all the people except one
Considering these were written in the early to mid-1800s, the subject matter of some is quite current.
So there you have it, a brief look at the life of someone who wrote a book that's still so well-known today, and a perennial favorite Halloween character, from a story written in 1818. What will be written now that will still be well-known 151 years later?
Some of Mary's works are available for a free download to your computer or Kindle at Project Gutenberg http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=mary+shelley or Amazon.com.
The Monster: "Beware, for I am fearless, and therefore powerful."
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