doppelganger

According to the editors of the book, The Annotated Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Shelley’s life might have led her to create a monster. Mary was rejected by her father and step-mother. It was painful losing her first child, and she was an outcast in society. Because of abandonment, painful events and social criticism, Mary created Frankenstein’s monster. Rejection might have led Mary to create a monster. Mary’s parents wanted a boy, but were disappointed when they found out they were having a girl. Also, Mary’s mother died shortly after her birth, which was tragic for her father. Mary felt that her father held her responsible for her mother’s death. Though Mary’s father financially supported her, he needed help with parenting. Later, her father married Mary Clairmont, who had children before the marriage. Clairmont felt that Mary was a problem child. To relieve the tension in the household, Mary’s father sent her away to Scotland, to live with one of his admirers. Not only was Mary rejected by her father; she was rejected by her step-mother as well. “No wonder, Shelley mentions being rejected from its first breath, in the book, The Annotated Frankenstein (Shelly 6). Frankenstein abandoned his creation, as Mary was abandoned by her father and step-mother. Shelley lived a painful life, because of the loss of her first child. While Mary was writing The Annotated Frankenstein, her child died after a few weeks, and was buried unnamed. Mary was distraught. Early that spring, she recorded in her diary, “ ‘Dream that my baby came to life again…― that it had only been cold and that we rubbed it by the fired and it lived’ ” (Shelley 10). Coincidentally, the exact dream appeared frequently in the book, as a symbol for fire or life. Also, it is ironic that the infant is unnamed, like Frankenstein’s monster. It is not odd that being abandoned led Shelley to create a monster. Society played an important role in the creation of Mary’s monster. She was an