Shelley and the Quest for Knowledge :: Biography Biographies Essays

Shelley and the Quest for Knowledge Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, was the daughter of the motif feminist, Mary Wollstonecraft, and the political philosopher, William Godwin, and the married woman 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 prestigious literary and political figures of the Romantic Age, it is non 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 come out of the closet 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 l ife considered chastely objectionable to society and harassed by family and financial burdens, acquire such a vast amount of knowledge in all fields of landing field that encompassed the important issues of her day? Through examination of biographical information and Mary Shelleys journal entries, we will be able to answer this question. Following, I also devise to highlight Mary Shelleys knowledge of literature with primary emphasis on the works studied by the monster in relation to his origins as thoroughly as Mary Shelleys. 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 Wollstonecrafts Vindication of the Rights of Women and Godwins Enquiry Concerning the Nature of Political Justice. Mary Shelleys mother died from complications shortly after giving birth to Mary. The infamy of her instauration was heightened by her fathers subsequent publication of Memoirs of the Author of the Rights of Women. In this work, William Godwin described many aspects of Mary Wollstonecrafts existence in great detail such as her family relationship with an American and subsequent birth of an illegitimate daughter, her suicide attempts, and the fact that she was already pregnant with Mary when William Godwin married her. To our late 20th Century sensibilities we may not approve of these behaviors but we certainly dont consider then shocking or extraordinary. The above mentioned events, however, occurred in the late 1700s and were not morally acceptable, were abhorrent to the conventions of society, and were certainly not to be discussed or published in a memoir.