Shelley and the Quest for Knowledge
Shelley and the Quest for Knowledge
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, was the daughter of the radical feminist, Mary Wollstonecraft, and the political philosopher, William Godwin, and the wife of the Romantic poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley. Through these familial affiliations, she was also acquainted with Lord Byron, Samuel T. Coleridge, and other literary figures such as Charles and Mary Lamb. Surrounded by such influential literary and political figures of the Romantic Age, it is not surprising that as an adolescent, at the age of 19, she wrote Frankenstein. Though critically a failure, (British Critic,1818 and Monthly Review, 1818) the novel has never been out of print and has been translated into numerous languages. What is surprising, however, is the enormous body of knowledge contained in the novel. The novel contains references to the fields of literature, poetry, science, education, politics, history, and mythology. How did such a young girl, living a life considered morally objectionable to society and harassed by family and financial burdens, acquire such a vast amount of knowledge in all fields of study that encompassed the important issues of her day? Through examination of biographical information and Mary Shelley 's journal entries, we will be able to answer this question. Following, I also plan to highlight Mary Shelley 's knowledge of literature with primary emphasis on the works studied by the monster in relation to his origins as well as Mary Shelley 's.
Mary Shelley was born with notoriety simply by being named Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin. Her parents were well known and somewhat suspect individuals due to their radical political beliefs and writings, such as Wollstonecraft 's Vindication of the Rights of Women and Godwin 's Enquiry Concerning the Nature of Political Justice. Mary Shelley 's mother died from complications shortly after giving birth to Mary. The infamy of her existence was heightened by her father 's subsequent
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, was the daughter of the radical feminist, Mary Wollstonecraft, and the political philosopher, William Godwin, and the wife of the Romantic poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley. Through these familial affiliations, she was also acquainted with Lord Byron, Samuel T. Coleridge, and other literary figures such as Charles and Mary Lamb. Surrounded by such influential literary and political figures of the Romantic Age, it is not surprising that as an adolescent, at the age of 19, she wrote Frankenstein. Though critically a failure, (British Critic,1818 and Monthly Review, 1818) the novel has never been out of print and has been translated into numerous languages. What is surprising, however, is the enormous body of knowledge contained in the novel. The novel contains references to the fields of literature, poetry, science, education, politics, history, and mythology. How did such a young girl, living a life considered morally objectionable to society and harassed by family and financial burdens, acquire such a vast amount of knowledge in all fields of study that encompassed the important issues of her day? Through examination of biographical information and Mary Shelley 's journal entries, we will be able to answer this question. Following, I also plan to highlight Mary Shelley 's knowledge of literature with primary emphasis on the works studied by the monster in relation to his origins as well as Mary Shelley 's.
Mary Shelley was born with notoriety simply by being named Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin. Her parents were well known and somewhat suspect individuals due to their radical political beliefs and writings, such as Wollstonecraft 's Vindication of the Rights of Women and Godwin 's Enquiry Concerning the Nature of Political Justice. Mary Shelley 's mother died from complications shortly after giving birth to Mary. The infamy of her existence was heightened by her father 's subsequent
References: Bennett, Betty T. " Finding Mary Shelley in Her Letters." Romantic Revisions. eds. Robert Brinkley and Keith Hanley. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. 292-306. Bennett, Betty T Duyfhuizen, Bernard. "Periphrastic Naming in Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein." Studies in the Novel 27 (1995): 477-492. Feldman, Paula R Homans, Margaret. "Bearing Demons: Frankenstein 's Circumvention of the Maternal." New Casebooks - Frankenstein/Mary Shelley. ed. Fred Botting. New York: St. Martin 's, 1995. 140-165. Johnson, Diane May, Marilyn. "Publish and Perish: William Godwin, Mary Shelley, and the Public Appetite for Scandal." Papers on Language and Literature 26 (1990): 489-512. Marshall, David Pollin, Burton R. "Philosophical and Literary Sources of Frankenstein." Comparative Literature 17 (Spring 1965): 97-108. "Review of Frankenstein." British Critic 9 Apr "Review of Frankenstein." Monthly Review 85 Apr. 1818: 439. Shelley, Mary Sunstein, Emily W. Mary Shelley - Romance and Reality. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989.