Mary ShelleyAugust 10,

1797 to

February 1, 1851

Born/Died in London, England

Early Years• Her parents (Mary Wollstonecraft and William

Godwin) were relatively famous for their time.

• Their wedding was prompted by Mary Wollstonecraft’s unexpected pregnancy.

• Her mother died (10 days after Mary was born) of a fever which was commonly associated with childbirth in the 18th c.

• Mary had a half-sister, Fanny Imlay (the illegitimate daughter of Mary’s mom). – Fanny’s father, Gilbert Imlay, never married Mary– Gilbert grew bored of Mary and abandoned her and the child– Mary attempted suicide twice before moving on with her life– She met William Godwin in 1796

Cinderella Complex???• Mary’s father met Mary Jane Clairmont, a widow with

two young children. • Mary Jane Clairmont was a difficult woman with a

quick temper and a sharp tongue, and she quarrelled frequently with her husband.

• Mary Jane disliked the amount of attention that Mary, as the daughter of the two most famous radicals of the time, received from visitors to the Godwin household.

• She made Mary do many of the household chores, invaded her privacy, and restricted her access to her father.

• She also ensured that her own daughter, Jane Clairmont (better known as Claire Clairmont), received more education than Mary Godwin, as she contrived to send her to boarding school.

Mary meets Percy• Mary left home because of her

wicked step-mother in 1812 and lived with a family friend, William Baxter of Scotland.

• She returned home later that year.• Here she met her father’s friend,

Percy Shelley, and his wife, Harriet.• Two years later (after several

“walks” by her mother’s grave), they declared their love for one another.

• William Godwin WAS NOT AMUSED!!!

1814• Percy’s suicide attempt (he couldn’t live

without her) convinced Mary to run away with him (taking Mary’s step-sister [Claire] with them).

• They could not marry because Percy was still married to Harriet (did I mention that Harriet was pregnant with Percy’s 2nd child?).

• Upon returning, Mary’s father abandoned her, and Percy’s father “cut him off” financially.

Disappointment

• Mary soon discovered that Percy was interested in having a VERY OPEN relationship, but continued to pursue the ideal family life with him.

• HOWEVER…• Mary’s first child was born prematurely and died

within 2 weeks of birth (1815).• Mary’s second child, William, died of malaria at

the tender age of three (1816-1819).• Mary’s third child, Clara, died of dysentery within

a year of her birth (1817).

Switzerland and Frankenstein

• In May 1816, they traveled to Switzerland with their son (he was still alive) and Mary’s step-sister, Claire Claremont.

• They visited the “scandalous” Lord Byron with whom Claire had an affair and became pregnant.

• The group spent a rainy night telling scary stories.

• Not only did Mary create Frankenstein, but a Dr. John Polidori wrote a story which he later entitled “The Vampyre” (supposedly this had a significant influence on Bram Stoker’s Dracula)

• How do we know all of this? Letter Writing and Journal Writing were VERY, VERY COMMON!!!!

Shocking News….

• They returned home from Switzerland in September 1816.

• Fanny, Mary’s half-sister, committed suicide less than a month later (she overdosed on an opiate known as laudanum).

• Harriet, Percy’s 1st wife, drowned herself less than three months later.

• 20 days after Harriet’s death, Mary & Percy were officially married.

1822• The illegitimate child of Claire (Mary’s step-sister)

and Lord Byron died of a fever at the age of 5 in a convent where Lord Byron had sent her to be educated.

• Percy Bysshe Shelley drowned at sea on July 8, 1822; he was only 29 years old.

• Just about a month before his death, he saved Mary from bleeding to death when she miscarried during her fifth pregnancy.

• After Percy's death Mary developed a strong friendship with Jane Williams. Jane, however, committed herself to Thomas Hogg (Percy’s friend who spent a “good deal of time” with the Shelley's).

• Jane betrayed Mary by spreading malicious tales to their friends about how Mary's "coldness" and "temper" had made Percy unhappy in their last year together.

The End• Mary spent her last years dedicated to

Percy’s memory (despite his scandalous ways).

• Mary also took care of and supported her father until his death in 1836.

• Good News: She did have one surviving child by Percy in 1819 (his name was Percy Florence); he lived until 1889.

• Mary died of a brain tumor in 1851; she was 53 years old.

Characters in Frankenstein:Robert Walton:

Seeking friendship and a passage to the

North Pole

Margaret Saville: Robert’s sisterand confidante

Characters in Frankenstein

Caroline & Alphonse Frankenstein

Victor Frankenstein

Ernest Frankenstein

Elizabeth LaVenza

William Frankenstein

Adopted…

Characters in Frankenstein

Family Friends…

Henry Clerval

JustineMoritz

Characters in Frankenstein

Old Man DeLacey

Agatha & Felix

Safie