Whether it be the 1910 horror film, Frankenstein, written and directed by J. Searle Dawley, or the 1974 comedy from Mel Brooks, Young Frankenstein, the image of the monster and his creator are forever etched into our minds. But with all the great adaptations to this fine story over nearly two centuries, we should not forget where and who the original concept came from. This is the story of Mary Shelley.
Mary Shelley, wikipedia
Mary Shelley’s Early Life
Mary Shelley was born on August 30, 1797, in London, England. Ten days later her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, past away from complications due to childbirth, leaving her father, William Godwin, alone to raise both her and her older half-sister, Fanny Imlay.
Her mother was an eighteenth-century English writer, philosopher, and advocate of women’s rights. During her brief career, she wrote novels such as Vindication of the Rights of Woman. The book stands behind the belief that women are not the ornaments to society or property to be traded in marriage, but they are human beings deserving of the same fundamental rights as men.
As Mary was growing up she was exposed to the ideas of both her mother and father. She also read many of her mother’s books including Vindication of the Rights of Woman.
Her father’s friends, such as poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, introduced Mary to many different elements of literature, enhancing her writing ability.
When she was four, her father married his neighbor, Mary Jane Clairmont, who already had two children of her own. Unfortunately, she favored her children over Mary. Her father grew distant as well, leaving Mary alone and unhappy. Due to her difficult family life, she spent most of her time with their friends, the Baxter family, in Scotland. They, unlike her father and new stepmother, taught her of love and were more like a family to her.
Percy Shelley by Alfred Clint, wikimedia commons
When she was sixteen, she met the man she would one day marry, Percy Shelley. Her father forbade them from marriage, but Percy threatened suicide if they did not elope. They rebelled against their families, stating that they both were prepared to ignore the law of the land and the rules of society.
At that time, Percy was already married to Harriet Shelley. When she found out about the elopement, she drowned herself in Lake Serpentine while pregnant with their first child. This was just the beginning of the deaths that would surround Mary Shelley throughout the rest of her life.
Shortly after the death of Harriet, Mary’s half-sister also committed suicide. It was rumored that she was also hopelessly in love with Percy.
Percy and Mary had two children, Clara and William, before their marriage on December 30, 1816. Born prematurely, Clara died after just thirteen days of life. William died at the age of three due to cholera.
After their marriage in 1817, they moved to Italy and had two more children, Clara Everina, who died within a year due to a fever, and Percy Florence, their only child to reach adulthood.
Frankenstein, Flickr
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
Her first vision of the monster Frankenstein came in a dream seven months before she and Percy married. Not very long after the dream, Mary started writing it on a stormy night when four people inside the house decided to see who could create the scariest story. It was this challenge that sparked the writing of Frankenstein, but there were many other influences which made the novel what it was.
Percy liked the short story so much he kept having her elaborate on it until it became a full-length novel, which was published in 1818.
Frankenstein was an instant hit, loved by many, even though people at that time did not believe that a woman could write a book that successful. It was believed by many that her husband had written it.
Even after success, her struggles in life continue
Even after the success of Frankenstein, her life’s struggles continued. Four years after its release, Mary was pregnant with another child, but again miscarried, almost losing her life along with the baby. It was that same year her husband died in a boating accident, leaving her alone to raise Percy.
Mary and her son returned to England where she continued to write short stories and poems, publishing Valperga and The Last Man.
She worked harder than ever, battling several illnesses along the way. Finally, the illnesses caught up with her on February 1, 1851. She died at the age of 54.
Mary’s Reflection in Frankenstein
Mary’s life had a huge influence on the book Frankenstein. These influences include her mother’s feminists outlook and her father’s idea that man’s obsession with perfection can ultimately end in ruin.
Mary’s favorite place to write was at her mother’s grave, which is part of the reason there are so many gothic elements in Frankenstein.
Mary spent many of her young years with the Baxter family in Scotland. They showed her the love and attention she wasn’t getting at home. This family is represented as the De Lacey family in Frankenstein. They teach the creature affection that his creator never taught him.
Mary also lost many people in her life, as did Victor Frankenstein.
Mary wrote: I dreamed that my little baby came to life again: that it had only been cold and that we rubbed it before the fire and it lived.
This was written about her son, William. This goes side by side with Victor’s passion to bring his mother back from the dead, as Shelly wants to bring her child back from the dead.
Nearly two-hundred years later, Frankenstein is considered one of the most influential horror stories of all time. The monster is known to all and still lives today in multiple versions of the film, Halloween costumes, and even commercial schemes such as Franken Berry cereal boxes.
Mary Shelly’s writing also influenced many of today’s horror writers such as Stephen King and Kevin Williamson. So remember, the next time you watch a horror film or read a horror novel there is probably just a hint of Mary Shelley hidden inside.
