Essay on the Influence of Mary Shelley’s Life on Frankenstein

Influence of Mary Shelleys liveness on Frankenstein Since its publication in 1818, Mary Shelleys Frankenstein has grown to become a name associated with horror and science fiction. To fully understand the importance and origin of this novel, we must look at twain the tragedies of Mary Shelleys background and her own origins. Only then can we begin to examine what the icon Frankenstein has become in todays society. Mary Godwin was born in capital of the United Kingdom in 1797 to prominent philosopher William Godwin and well-known feminist and author Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin. Shortly after Marys birth, her mother died of complications from childbirth, and this event set the stage for the strained relationship between Mary and her father. Godwin blamed Mary for her mothers death and put her in the care of her unqualified stepmother, who favored her own children and forced Mary to do tedious housework. Godwin matte that punishing Mary would satisfy his grief, and consequently M ary became withdrawn in her studies. Her talent for writing is believed to have saved her from premature suicide. Possibly as an onrush to be accepted by her father, Mary immersed herself in literary studies and her fathers intellectual conversations with other philosophers. She attempted to postulate with her mothers legacy by continuously writing. It was reported that Marys attempts to compete with her dead mother reached obsessive proportions by the time she turned seventeen. When Mary was seventeen, writes Samuel Rosenburg, she began taking her books and writing material to the nearby Old St. Pancras Church, where her parents had been married and where her mother was buried. There, sitting in the graveyard behind the church, th... ...ience fiction. From this novel, many other versions have spawned, each one versions of the legendary novel by 19-year-old Mary Shelley. Works Cited Florescu, Radu. In reckon of Frankenstein. Boston New York Graphic Society, 1975. Glut, D onald F. The Frankenstein Language A Tribute to Mary Shelley and Boris Karloff. Metuchen The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1973. Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. London Puffin Books, 1818. Rosenburg, Samuel. Happy 150th Dear Frankenstein, Life. March 15, 1968. taken from the Life of Mary Shelley document online http//www.desert-fairy.com/life.shtml Works Consulted http//www.mountwashingtonvalley.com/frankenstein/ http//www.cityu.edu.hk/ls/research/frankenstein/ http//www.frankensteinwaxmuseum.com http//www.rrfrankenstein.com http//www.godsandmonsters.net