Mary Shelley was one of the few women in England who managed to achieve success in the public sphere of life in the first half of the 19th century. She had a writing talent and was also interested in her husband’s work. Her life story reveals an interesting family background, a lot of travel, a love of creativity, the loss of three children and many other things that are difficult to put together. How did a woman’s personal life affect her creativity? What are her works about? What can we learn about the lives of writers of that time considering the story of Mary Shelley? Learn more at london1.one.
A thirst for creativity inherited from her mother
Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (the author’s birth name) was the daughter of the famous feminist and philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft, who played an important role in the development of the struggle for women’s rights and created a large number of works devoted to this topic. Unfortunately, she died at the age of 38 a few days after the birth of her daughter because of postpartum fever (a very common phenomenon at that time). It happened in 1797. Therefore, Mary, along with her sister (mother’s first daughter by another husband), was raised by her father. He was a political philosopher and did everything possible to ensure a happy childhood for his daughters. The situation changed somewhat after William Godwin married a woman who also had two children. Mary hated her stepmother, although later she developed a good relationship with her stepsister Claire. Many of William’s friends also didn’t like his new wife, but the man had no other choice. His debts were gradually increasing and he feared for the future of his children. Besides, he was committed to marriage. In addition, he was a great father to Mary. She read her mother’s memoirs and books cherishing her memory since childhood. Although the girl didn’t receive a formal education (at that time, it was considered the norm for women), she had many opportunities for development and education thanks to her father. Young Mary studied with a tutor and read books every day. Later, she went to a boarding school for a while. Moreover, children visited various educational excursions with their father and spent a lot of time in libraries. Because of the early death of her mother, Mary couldn’t learn about her views on life personally. Still, at the age of 15, she could boast of a brave character and an inquisitive mind. Apparently, it was passed down as well as a passion for creativity. Mary started to write in her youth, but those first attempts didn’t seem ideal for her.
The writer’s personal life full of despair
Mary Shelley’s personal life was associated with many things unacceptable to the society of that time. A large number of tragic events greatly affected the writer’s physical and psychological health. She met her first and probably last love between trips to Scotland. Her father sent her there, hoping that she would learn philosophy. Mary really liked living in the family of William Baxter and his four daughters. She repeatedly mentioned that period in her works. She met Percy Bysshe Shelley during one of her returns home. He began to come to Mary’s father more and more often and even promised to settle his debts. However, Percy’s family didn’t share his son’s social and political views and didn’t agree to give him money for that. Thus, William Godwin never received the desired funding. Although Percy was married, he was secretly seeing Mary. The heart of a seventeen-year-old girl was filled with love. In June 1814, Mary confessed her feelings for Percy to her father but met his wrath in return. William Godwin, like any other father of the day, would never have allowed his daughter to have an affair with a married man. He tried to prevent their meetings and wanted to save Mary’s reputation. However, the lovers had other plans and fled to France the following month. Mary along with her sister Claire left her former life, while Percy Shelley abandoned his pregnant wife. At that time, they didn’t know what was awaiting them ahead.
Later, they went to Switzerland. Mary got pregnant during their trips. The situation required decisive action because the couple had almost no money. Therefore, they were forced to return to England. Mary’s father abandoned her after all of that. Then everything went awry. Percy’s wife gave birth to a child and pregnant Mary became increasingly ill. Her daughter, born prematurely in February 1815, died within a few weeks. The year 1816 brought cardinal changes in the life of the couple, in particular, two suicides. Firstly, the writer’s sister died, and in December, Percy Shelley’s wife was found dead too. These two stories hide many secrets. Nevertheless, Mary and Percy got married officially at the end of December.
Mary and Percy’s son who died of malaria
After some time, the couple’s relationship seemed to improve and they often moved from one country to another. One of these was Italy, where the couple stayed for a long period. Her husband wrote literary works and Mary helped him. Finally, she gave birth to two children, but their stay in Italy was also marked by their deaths. Her daughter Clara died in September 1818. Then her son William died of malaria in June 1819. All of that led to depression, which the woman could not overcome for a long time. On November 12, 1819, Mary gave birth to a son. Percy Florence was the fourth child and the only survivor. The son became the meaning of the writer’s life. In the summer of 1822, fate prepared a new test for Mary. Percy Shelley was caught in a storm during one of the trips on the new boat and his body was washed ashore a few days later.
Creative activity
After her husband’s death, the woman decided to devote herself to raising her son and writing. At first, she lived in Italy for a while, but the lack of money forced her to return to England. They moved to her father and stepmother’s house, as they changed their attitude towards Mary after her official wedding with Percy. Thus, her life became better. Mary even managed to get financing for her son from Percy’s father, although at first, he agreed to support the child only on the condition that the boy lived with his family. For a long time, the writer paid a lot of attention to her deceased husband’s publications. Starting in 1827, Mary began to realise her own creative potential. Thus, she wrote the historical novel The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck in 1830. In 1835, she published the popular novel Lodore. The writer’s creative path was influenced by her mother’s activities. For example, in 1837, Mary wrote the novel Falkner, which tells about a girl who wanted to get an education despite her father’s objections. However, her most popular work was Frankenstein. Later, it became the basis for many films.
Feminist views
Having read her mother’s books, Mary Shelley absorbed many feminist principles. She became one of them and also tried to help women who weren’t recognised by society. For example, Georgiana Paul was unlikely to be able to start a new life after she was deprived of the means of subsistence by her husband. Mary Shelley was sure that such cases were social injustice.