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Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797-1851) :
Introduction:
Mary Shelley was an British Novelist and Gothic fiction writer. She was known as the her Gothic novel 'Frankenstein;or,the modern prometheus'. She also edited and promoted the work of her husband, the romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley. Her father was the political philosopher William Godwin and her mother was the philosopher and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft.
"My dreams were all my own;
I accounted for them to nobody;
annoyed- my dearest pleasure
when free. "
Her Works:
● Mary Shelley's most famous works are:
1. 'Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818)' :
Genre: Gothic, science fiction, horror
Plot: Victor Frankenstein creates a living being from dead body parts. The creature, rejected by society and its creator, turns to revenge.Click here
Themes: Creation and responsibility, isolation, nature vs. nurture, ambition
Most famous quote: "I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel."
2. 'The Last Man' (1826) :
Genre: Science fiction, dystopian, apocalyptic fiction
Plot: Set in the late 21st century, a plague wipes out most of humanity. The novel is deeply personal and melancholic.
Themes: Loss, mortality, loneliness, fate
Often considered one of the first post-apocalyptic novels.
3. 'Valperga (1823)' :
Genre: Historical fiction
Plot: A fictionalized account of the life of Castruccio Castracani, a 14th-century Italian prince.
Themes: Power, politics, romance, female independence
● Other Notable Works
'The Mortal Immortal' (1833) – A short story about a man who lives forever and regrets it.
'Lodore (1835)' – A novel focused on women’s education and social roles.
'Falkner (1837)' – A story about guilt, forgiveness, and emotional redemption.
Early Life :
Born: August 30, 1797, in London, England
Full Name: Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin
Parents:
Mother: Mary Wollstonecraft – a pioneering feminist and author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
Father: William Godwin – a political philosopher and novelist known for An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice
Mary was born into a radical and highly intellectual household. Her parents were prominent Enlightenment thinkers who championed social reform, reason, and individual rights.Tragically, Mary’s mother died just 11 days after her birth, due to complications from childbirth. This loss had a lasting impact on Mary, both emotionally and creatively she often idealized her mother and felt her absence deeply.
● Education and Intellectual Environment:
Mary received no formal schooling but was educated at home by her father, who encouraged her to read widely. She had access to his vast library and interacted with many of his influential visitors, including poets, philosophers, and scientists.Notable visitors included Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, and others from radical and literary circles.Her reading included literature, science, history, and Gothic novels.
● Tense Family Life
Her father remarried when she was four, to Mary Jane Clairmont, a woman Mary reportedly disliked. The household became crowded and emotionally tense, and Mary often felt alienated.
● Escape to the Continent with Percy Bysshe Shelley
In 1814, at the age of 16, Mary began a romantic relationship with Percy Bysshe Shelley, one of her father's political admirers and a married man at the time. The couple eloped to Europe, along with Mary’s stepsister Claire Clairmont, sparking scandal and disapproval.They traveled through France, Switzerland, and Germany.Mary kept detailed journals and continued writing, reading, and reflecting.Their travels included a fateful stay in Geneva in 1816, where she conceived the idea for Frankenstein.
● Personal Tragedies
Mary’s early life was also marked by a series of personal tragedies.She lost her first child in infancy in 1815.She endured the deaths of more children in the years that followed.She faced social exile due to her relationship with Percy.
Her Marriage Life:
Mary Shelley's marriage to Percy Bysshe Shelley was both romantic and tragic, filled with passion, loss, and intellectual companionship. Here's an overview of their relationship and married life;
Mary Godwin (later Shelley) met Percy Shelley in 1814 when she was 16 years old.Percy was already married to Harriet Westbrook, but he was deeply drawn to Mary’s intelligence and free-spirited nature.In July 1814, Mary and Percy eloped to Europe, along with Mary’s stepsister Claire Clairmont, despite her father's disapproval and society’s condemnation.
Percy Shelley's first wife, Harriet, died by suicide in December 1816.Shortly afterward, Percy and Mary officially married on December 30, 1816, to legitimize their relationship and children.Their marriage was intellectually rich. They shared ideas about literature, philosophy, and science.
Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein during their stay in Geneva in 1816, influenced by discussions with Percy and others, including Lord Byron.Percy supported Mary’s writing and edited much of her work.The couple had four children, but only one, Percy Florence Shelley, survived into adulthood.The deaths of their children brought immense sorrow and affected Mary deeply.
In 1822, Percy drowned in a sailing accident off the coast of Italy.Mary was widowed at 24 years old and never remarried.She dedicated much of the rest of her life to preserving and promoting Percy Shelley’s literary legacy.
Writing style:
Mary Shelley’s writing style most famously showcased in Frankenstein is rich, evocative, and deeply reflective. Her style is rooted in Romanticism, yet also influenced by Gothic literature, Enlightenment ideals, and early science fiction. Here's a breakdown of the key elements of her writing style:
● 1. Elevated and Formal Language:
Shelley often employs elegant, formal diction with complex sentence structures. Her vocabulary is rich and at times archaic, reflecting the literary conventions of the early 19th century.
“I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body.”
● 2. Philosophical and Psychological Depth:
Shelley explores profound questions about morality, identity, ambition, and the human condition. Her characters especially Victor Frankenstein and the Creature grapple with deep internal struggles.
“What can stop the determined heart and resolved will of man?”
● 3. Descriptive and Atmospheric Imagery:
She uses vivid, often melancholic descriptions of nature to reflect characters’ emotions a hallmark of Romanticism. Settings like desolate mountains or stormy skies often mirror inner turmoil.
“The bleak damp air chilled my frame, and I shivered, even in the sun.”
● 4. Framing Narrative Structure:
Shelley frequently uses nested narratives or stories within stories. In Frankenstein, the story is relayed through Captain Walton’s letters, Victor’s first-person account, and the Creature’s narrative within Victor’s.
● 5. Gothic and Romantic Elements:
Gothic: Dark settings, isolation, horror, and the supernatural.
Romantic: Emphasis on emotion, nature, the sublime, and the individual spirit.
● 6. Emotional Intensity:
Her writing is often highly emotive, with characters expressing despair, obsession, joy, or horror in an almost theatrical fashion.
“I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel.”
● 7. Allusions and Intertextuality:
She references classical texts, mythology, and literature especially Milton’s Paradise Lost, which is central to Frankenstein. These allusions deepen the moral and philosophical layers of her work.
Themes of her Works:
Mary Shelley, best known for her groundbreaking novel Frankenstein (1818), explored a range of powerful and often dark themes throughout her work. Here are some of the most famous and recurring themes in her writing:
● 1. The Dangers of Unchecked Ambition and Knowledge
Key Work: Frankenstein
Victor Frankenstein’s obsessive pursuit of scientific discovery leads to tragedy, showing how ambition without moral responsibility can have disastrous consequences.Reflects Enlightenment and Romantic concerns about the limits of human understanding.
● 2. Creation and Responsibility
Key Work: Frankenstein
Raises questions about the responsibilities creators have toward their creations be they parents, scientists, or gods.The Creature is abandoned by Victor, which leads to suffering and destruction.
● 3. Isolation and Alienation
Key Works: Frankenstein, The Last Man
Many of Shelley’s characters suffer deep loneliness Victor isolates himself in his work; the Creature is rejected by society; The Last Man features the last human on Earth.Explores psychological and social consequences of being cut off from others.
● 4. Nature vs. Science
Key Work: Frankenstein
Romantic reverence for nature is contrasted with the cold rationalism of science.Nature offers beauty and solace, while science, in its misuse, brings horror.
● 5. Gothic Horror and the Supernatural
Key Works: Frankenstein, Mathilda
Her works often contain classic Gothic elements: dark settings, emotional intensity, mystery, and psychological terror.
● 6. Loss, Death, and Mourning
Key Works: Frankenstein, Mathilda, The Last Man
Personal grief deeply influenced Shelley (she lost several children and her husband).Her writing often meditates on the pain of loss and the human response to death.
● 7. The Role of Women
Key Works: Frankenstein, Mathilda, Valperga
Women in Shelley’s novels are often passive or victimized, reflecting the limited roles available to women in her time.Some works, like Mathilda and Valperga, explore women’s inner lives more deeply.
● 8. Political and Social Critique
Key Work: The Last Man, Valperga
Shelley's later works reflect her engagement with political themes: revolution, war, plague, and societal collapse.The Last Man is often interpreted as a critique of nationalism and imperialism.
Death:
Mary Shelley, the renowned English novelist best known for writing Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, died on February 1, 1851, at the age of 53.Mary Shelley died of a brain tumor (likely a meningioma), after suffering from increasingly poor health in her later years, including bouts of paralysis, severe headaches, and other neurological symptoms.She passed away in London, England, at her home in Chester Square.Mary Shelley is buried at St Peter’s Church, Bournemouth, in Dorset, England. She was laid to rest with the cremated remains of her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and the heart (literally) that had been saved after his death in 1822.
Reference:
Kuiper, and Kathleen. “Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley | Biography, Books, Frankenstein, Parents, and Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 Aug. 2025, www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-Wollstonecraft-Shelley.
Online Study Lovers. “#Pseb49 || Master Cadre Punjab English Preparation| Mary Shelley Biography and Works in Hindi.” YouTube, 8 Apr. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdcCrnDb0VU.
English literature & scholastic education. “Mary Shelley || Biography and Works || Explained in Hindi.” YouTube, 21 July 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=odCwf3iRBwA.
LITERATURE ONLY. “MARY SHELLEY LIFE AND WORKS.” YouTube, 19 Mar. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwlqZx015dw.
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