The novel "Frankenstein" can be seen to have been inspired by events and experiences in Mary Shelley's own life. Discuss!

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The novel "Frankenstein" can be seen to have been inspired by events and experiences

                                        in Mary Shelley's own life. Discuss!

Mary Shelley's young age while writing the novel "Frankenstein" in 1816 seems not to be distinguished with serious life experience which could influence her world famous work. This first impression proves to be wrong when reading her biography. We find a lot of personal, literary and political-philosophical factors forming her mind.

The life of the tender woman is marked by grief from the very beginning. It is not impossible that she has carried some feeling of guilt because only a few days after she has been born her mother dies. The arrival of the new daughter instead of bringing happiness to the family throws it into deep despair. It is possible to link this first tragic event in Mary Shelley's life with the thoughts of Frankenstein before his death: "I, not in deed, but in effect, was the real murderer."(p.90). Later after the discovery of the body of Henry Clerval, analysing Frankenstein's bitter conclusion, we could build our reflection into the same direction. Why not assume a subconscious guilt to have followed Mary Shelley all her life? She could think that her half-sister might not have committed suicide if their mother has been alive. The next tragedy - finding Henrietta (P.B. Shelley's wife) drowned - could also be associated. Psychologically it is not an exception for a wife abandoned by her husband to kill herself. A nearly direct reminder of a possible self-accusation by the writer is the first person form of the Frankenstein narrative: "I called myself the murderer of William, of Justine, and of Clerval" (p. 171). A similar collection of negative features could lead us towards the sinful heroes of Godwin's book "Caleb Williams", 1794, (Kindle. M.) The claims of Caleb about himself are very close to those of Shelley's hero: "My offense has merely been a mistaken thirst for; knowledge"

It seems the shadow of the dead parent has haunted Mary even without any actual memory of
the funeral of her dead mother. Impressions are apparently included in the idea for the similar
picture over the mantle-piece in Frankenstein's library which has "represented Caroline
Beaufort in an agony of despair, kneeling by the coffin if her dead father." (p.75). It is
understandable that Mary is acutely depressed after losing her first baby just one year before
the beginning of the writing of "Frankenstein". According to the notes in her Journal (Hindle
M. p.xv) it has been very difficult for her to accept this death and she has had dreams that by
rubbing the baby before the fire it could come back to life again. Obviously such a vision is
prominent in the whole novel, subtitled "The Modern Prometheus", being impressed not as
much by Aeschylus's version of the legend as by Ovid's one. The English author includes in
it many of the progressive ideas of her epoch, especially those coming from science. There is
firm evidence of Mary Shelley's substantial education and profound interest in the latest
biological research. She is attracted by the contemporary work of the physician Dr. Erasmus
Darwin and the chemist Sir Humphry Davy, just as Frankenstein is impressed by an early
experience with electricity.

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The young woman has not been a stranger to active political life either, due to the direct involvement of her father in it. We could link all the conservative attacks against him with the reaction towards the monster.

Under the sway of the French Revolution, William Godwin shows explicitly his atheism, i.e. his differentiating from everyone. Inheriting and sharing her father's unusual ideas, the daughter displays her insight in the novel about creating life in contrast with the wide spread tradition.        

The-influence of her history studies is transformed into Frankenstein's over sophisticated conclusions about some important world happenings. Pondering ...

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