Mary Wollestonecraf

t Shelley

Mary Wollestonecraf

t Shelley

~ Born in London, August 30,1797

~ Only child of two intellectual radicals

~Father-William Godwin, Philosopher Enquiry Concerning Political Justice:Condemned all human institutions as corrupt and believed reason would lead mankind to an ideal state

~ Born in London, August 30,1797

~ Only child of two intellectual radicals

~Father-William Godwin, Philosopher Enquiry Concerning Political Justice:Condemned all human institutions as corrupt and believed reason would lead mankind to an ideal state

Mary WollstonecraftMary Wollstonecraft

~ Feminist, authorA Vindication of the Rights of Women:Argued for emancipation and attacked the social and economic system

~ A loving mother to her daughter, Fanny

~ Feminist, authorA Vindication of the Rights of Women:Argued for emancipation and attacked the social and economic system

~ A loving mother to her daughter, Fanny

“My little darling is indeed a sweet child […] her eyes follow me everywhere […] She is all vivacity and softness-yes, I love her more than I thought I should.”

“She was a worshipper of domestic life. She loved to observe the growth of affection between me and her daughter [Fanny], then three years of age, as well as my anxiety respecting the child [Mary] not yet born. Pregnancy itself […] is the source of a thousand endearments […] A little ride into the country with myself and the child, has sometimes produced a sort of opening of the heart, a general expression of confidence and affectionate soul”

“My little darling is indeed a sweet child […] her eyes follow me everywhere […] She is all vivacity and softness-yes, I love her more than I thought I should.”

“She was a worshipper of domestic life. She loved to observe the growth of affection between me and her daughter [Fanny], then three years of age, as well as my anxiety respecting the child [Mary] not yet born. Pregnancy itself […] is the source of a thousand endearments […] A little ride into the country with myself and the child, has sometimes produced a sort of opening of the heart, a general expression of confidence and affectionate soul”

Mary’s birthMary’s birth

“The child was born at twenty minutes after eleven at night. . . [but four days

later] every muscle of the body trembled, the teeth chattered, and the bed

shook under [the mother, Mary Wollstonecraft]. This continued probably for

five minutes. She told me, after it was over, that it had been a struggle

between life and death, and that she had been more than once, in the

course of it, at the point of expiring.”

Mary Wollestonecraft died ten days after her daughter’s birth

“The child was born at twenty minutes after eleven at night. . . [but four days

later] every muscle of the body trembled, the teeth chattered, and the bed

shook under [the mother, Mary Wollstonecraft]. This continued probably for

five minutes. She told me, after it was over, that it had been a struggle

between life and death, and that she had been more than once, in the

course of it, at the point of expiring.”

Mary Wollestonecraft died ten days after her daughter’s birth

~ Her father had high expectations for her intellectual potential, but his philosophical endeavors left him little time to raise Mary and he re-married when she was 4

~ “I was nursed and fed with a love for glory […] to be something great and good was the precept given me by my father.”

~ Mary’s stepmother was a cruel woman who neglected Mary and her half-sister Fanny in favor of her own children

~ Mary was headstrong, disinterested in domesticity, and was frequently whipped for impertinence

~ Her father had high expectations for her intellectual potential, but his philosophical endeavors left him little time to raise Mary and he re-married when she was 4

~ “I was nursed and fed with a love for glory […] to be something great and good was the precept given me by my father.”

~ Mary’s stepmother was a cruel woman who neglected Mary and her half-sister Fanny in favor of her own children

~ Mary was headstrong, disinterested in domesticity, and was frequently whipped for impertinence

~ From an early age Mary was surrounded by famous philosophers, writers, and poets

~ She excelled in her lessons and could hold her own in adult conversation often with the great minds of her time from a remarkably early age

~ At 8 she began reading the writings of her mother; by 10 she had memorized every word

~ She spent hours at her mother’s grave, reading or eating meals

~ From an early age Mary was surrounded by famous philosophers, writers, and poets

~ She excelled in her lessons and could hold her own in adult conversation often with the great minds of her time from a remarkably early age

~ At 8 she began reading the writings of her mother; by 10 she had memorized every word

~ She spent hours at her mother’s grave, reading or eating meals

~ Because of Mary’s fragile health and her stepmother’s hostility, she left home in her early teens and lived with friends of her father’s

~ When she returned to London she met the poet Percy Shelley, an admirer of her father’s and frequent guest at their home

~ Their intellectual kinship developed into love, but he was married and her father barred the poet from his home

~ Because of Mary’s fragile health and her stepmother’s hostility, she left home in her early teens and lived with friends of her father’s

~ When she returned to London she met the poet Percy Shelley, an admirer of her father’s and frequent guest at their home

~ Their intellectual kinship developed into love, but he was married and her father barred the poet from his home

Percy Bysshe ShelleyPercy Bysshe Shelley

The Necessity of Atheism (1811)

Queen Mab (1813) History of Six Weeks Tour,

with Mary Godwin (1817) Alastor (1816) Ode to the West Wind

(1819)

The Necessity of Atheism (1811)

Queen Mab (1813) History of Six Weeks Tour,

with Mary Godwin (1817) Alastor (1816) Ode to the West Wind

(1819)

~ 1814: They refuse to be separated and elope when she is only 16; Percy is 21

~ 1815: Their first child, a daughter, is born prematurely and dies a few days later

~ 1816: Their son William is born,

~ 1814: They refuse to be separated and elope when she is only 16; Percy is 21

~ 1815: Their first child, a daughter, is born prematurely and dies a few days later

~ 1816: Their son William is born,

Geneva Summer of 1816Geneva Summer of 1816

A rainy night in June 1816 Villa Diodati on the shores of lake Geneva Lord Byron, Dr. Polidori, Claire Clairmont,

Percy Shelley, and Mary Shelley Byron, Polidori and the Shelley’s: “We will

each write a ghost story.” Shelley’s only one finished, but Polidori

takes an idea Byron proposes and later writes the first vampire novel.

A rainy night in June 1816 Villa Diodati on the shores of lake Geneva Lord Byron, Dr. Polidori, Claire Clairmont,

Percy Shelley, and Mary Shelley Byron, Polidori and the Shelley’s: “We will

each write a ghost story.” Shelley’s only one finished, but Polidori

takes an idea Byron proposes and later writes the first vampire novel.

Lord Byron and Claire ClairmontLord Byron and Claire Clairmont

Chronology of FrankensteinChronology of Frankenstein June 15-17, 1816-the ghost story competition June 16 – the “waking dream”; composition

begins soon after December 30 – Mary and Percy marry after

Percy’s wife commits suicide May 14, 1817 – Frankenstein completed September 1, their daughter, Clara Shelley born March 1818, Frankenstein is published

anonymously 1831, Frankenstein with Shelley’s introduction

published

June 15-17, 1816-the ghost story competition June 16 – the “waking dream”; composition

begins soon after December 30 – Mary and Percy marry after

Percy’s wife commits suicide May 14, 1817 – Frankenstein completed September 1, their daughter, Clara Shelley born March 1818, Frankenstein is published

anonymously 1831, Frankenstein with Shelley’s introduction

published

~ 1817: At the age of 19 she writes Frankenstein and gives birth to her second daughter, Clara

~ 1818: Frankenstein published anonymously, Clara dies

~ 1819: Son William dies, son Percy is born

~ 1822: Shelley drowns

~ 1851: Mary dies in her sleep at the age of 54

~ 1817: At the age of 19 she writes Frankenstein and gives birth to her second daughter, Clara

~ 1818: Frankenstein published anonymously, Clara dies

~ 1819: Son William dies, son Percy is born

~ 1822: Shelley drowns

~ 1851: Mary dies in her sleep at the age of 54

Genre: Novel– Framed narrative– Epistolary narrative

Traditional Gothic element: emphasis on fear and terror

Modern Gothic elements: – emphasis on dark side of human psyche– Expose/explore unconscious world of desires/fears– Interest on breakdown of boundaries– Exploration of forbidden– Excess and transgression– Emphasis on horror within man

Genre: Novel– Framed narrative– Epistolary narrative

Traditional Gothic element: emphasis on fear and terror

Modern Gothic elements: – emphasis on dark side of human psyche– Expose/explore unconscious world of desires/fears– Interest on breakdown of boundaries– Exploration of forbidden– Excess and transgression– Emphasis on horror within man

The Gothic NovelThe Gothic Novel

~ The Gothic novel dominated English literature from its conception in 1764 with the publication of The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole to its 'supposed' demise in 1820.

~ Characterized by sensationalism, melodramatic qualities, and the supernatural.

~ The Gothic novel dominated English literature from its conception in 1764 with the publication of The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole to its 'supposed' demise in 1820.

~ Characterized by sensationalism, melodramatic qualities, and the supernatural.

Gothic MotifsGothic Motifs

Drew many of its intense images from the graveyard poets intermingling a landscape of vast dark forest, concealed ruins with horrific rooms, monasteries and a forlorn character who excels at the melancholy.

Drew many of its intense images from the graveyard poets intermingling a landscape of vast dark forest, concealed ruins with horrific rooms, monasteries and a forlorn character who excels at the melancholy.

Famous Gothic NovelsFamous Gothic Novels

~ Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto (1764)

~ Ann Radcliffe's The Italian or The Confessional of the Black Penitents (1797),

~ Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818)

~ Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto (1764)

~ Ann Radcliffe's The Italian or The Confessional of the Black Penitents (1797),

~ Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818)

Lasting Influences Lasting Influences

~The influence of the Gothic novel is felt today in the portrayal of the alluring antagonist, whose evil characteristics appeal to one’s sense of awe, or the melodramatic aspects of romance, and in the Gothic motif of a persecuted maiden forced apart from a true love.

~The influence of the Gothic novel is felt today in the portrayal of the alluring antagonist, whose evil characteristics appeal to one’s sense of awe, or the melodramatic aspects of romance, and in the Gothic motif of a persecuted maiden forced apart from a true love.

Romantic MovementRomantic Movement

~ The development of the Gothic Novel from the melancholy overtures of sentimental literature to the rise of the sublime in the graveyard poets had a profound impact on the budding Romantic movement from Wordsworth to Shelley.

~ The development of the Gothic Novel from the melancholy overtures of sentimental literature to the rise of the sublime in the graveyard poets had a profound impact on the budding Romantic movement from Wordsworth to Shelley.

Romantic Elements:– Concern with corruption of social institutions– Preoccupation with the role of the poet and the

workings of nature– An interest in nature

Romantic Elements:– Concern with corruption of social institutions– Preoccupation with the role of the poet and the

workings of nature– An interest in nature

~ The astounding features and use of the sublime and the overt use of the supernatural, profoundly influenced the style and material of the emerging romantics.

~ The effects of the Gothic still reverberate though modern literature from Joyce Carol Oats to Ann Rice.

~ The astounding features and use of the sublime and the overt use of the supernatural, profoundly influenced the style and material of the emerging romantics.

~ The effects of the Gothic still reverberate though modern literature from Joyce Carol Oats to Ann Rice.

Renewed InterestRenewed Interest

~ The literary motifs set forth by Horace Walpole can be found scattered throughout all forms of literature, yet the Gothic Novel has been left to molder in libraries in obscurity and except in rare instances, the novel has all but vanished from the canon of western literature.

~ The literary motifs set forth by Horace Walpole can be found scattered throughout all forms of literature, yet the Gothic Novel has been left to molder in libraries in obscurity and except in rare instances, the novel has all but vanished from the canon of western literature.

Themes– Birth and Creation– Promethean Ambition– Alienation– The Family & Domestic Affection– The Double– The Destructive Power of Revenge– Critique of Society– The Monstrous and the Human

Themes– Birth and Creation– Promethean Ambition– Alienation– The Family & Domestic Affection– The Double– The Destructive Power of Revenge– Critique of Society– The Monstrous and the Human

Symbols Analogy & Allusion Gothic Elements Structure and Point of View Characterization Irony Foreshadowing Antithesis

Symbols Analogy & Allusion Gothic Elements Structure and Point of View Characterization Irony Foreshadowing Antithesis