British author Mary Shelley is known for writing the infamous ‘Frankenstein’. She made a notable contribution to making women’s literary contributions more acceptable in British society. She had other works to her name apart from ‘Frankenstein’ but they never gained popularity. A biopic based on her life was also released in 2018.
Mary published her first ever poem at the age of just ten which was followed by her other works including ‘Lodore’, ‘Faulkner’, ‘Mathilde’, and ‘The Last Man’ along with a few others. She wrote numerous short stories and travelogues as well.
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Mary Shelley: Early Life and Literary Interests
Born in London on August 30, 1797, to William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft both of whom were literary stalwarts, Mary developed a keen interest in writing from a young age. She was self-educated and her interests were encouraged by the environment she lived in. Her father’s acquaintances and friends like Charles Lamb, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Samuel Tylor Coleridge greatly influenced her.
In 1812, Mary met Percy Shelley and the two started a controversial love affair as Percy was already married and was even expecting their first child. Mary was just 16 when she ran away with Percy to France and Switzerland but they did not get married until 1816. Two years later Mary gave birth to a daughter and then a son a year later. Unfortunately, both her children died and she suffered from a nervous breakdown. However, the worst was not yet over for Mary as in 1822, she suffered a miscarriage and Percy Shelley died by drowning.
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The Birth of Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’
‘Frankenstein’ tells a terrible tale of scientist Victor Frankenstein who ends up giving life to a monstrous, unnamed creature. Mary was 18 when she had a dream that changed her entire life. On a holiday in Lake Geneva with Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, and John Polidori, the group of four entertained themselves by staying indoors and reading ghost stories. Later, Lord Byron set a challenge that they would each come up with their own story and vote for the winner. Mary then wrote a story based on her dream and Byron described it as “a wonderful work for a girl” and she decided to make it into a novel thus giving birth to ‘Frankenstein’.
Mary’s life was a series of tragedies as she witnessed the death of her mother at a young age, lost both her children and her half-sister committed suicide. It was Mary’s ardent desire to bring back her loved ones that inspired several themes in ‘Frankenstein’. This gothic novel became famous for various reasons and one of them was that it founded a new genre of science fiction and the trope of the mad scientist. ‘Frankenstein’ explored such dark themes that it was considered masculine and was published anonymously as was common for most works by women during that time.
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