Shelley and the Quest for Knowledge :: Biography Biographies Essays

Shelley and the Quest for Knowledge bloody shame 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 acquaint with Lord Byron, Samuel T. Coleridge, and other literary figures such as Charles and Mary Lamb. surround 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 gigantic 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 gild and harassed by family and financial burdens, acquire such a large amount of knowledge in all fields of study that encompassed the beta issues of her day? Through examination of biographical information and Mary Shelleys daybook entries, we will be able to answer this question. Following, I also jut out to highlight Mary Shelleys knowledge of literature with primary emphasis on the works studied by the monster in relation to his origins as well as Mary Shelleys. Mary Shelley was born with notoriety precisely by being named Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin. Her parents were well known and somewhat rum 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 expectant pitch to Mary. The infamy of her existence was heightened by her fathers subsequent publication of Memoi rs of the origin of the Rights of Women. In this work, William Godwin described many aspects of Mary Wollstonecrafts existence in corking detail such as her 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 marital her. To our late 20th Century sensibilities we may not approve of these behaviors entirely 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.