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Mary Shelleys Influence On Frankenstein

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The tale of Frankenstein is universally known around the world. The origin of this can be found in the novel “Frankenstein” written by Mary Shelley. Even before she was born, Mary was destined to be a prodigious writer, being that both her parents were marvelous well-known writers. Her father, William Godwin was an English journalist and novelist. On the other hand, her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, argued for women rights in her writings. Mary Shelley was born on August 30, 1979 in the city of London, England. Sadly, her mother died ten days following her birth, but her work continued to influence Mary Shelley. However, Godwin remarried in 1801 to Mary Jane Clairemont, who was accompanied by her two children. In 1812, Mary met Percy Shelley …show more content…

Mary Shelley described it as “I saw with shut eyes, but acute mental vision, -the pale student of unhallowed arts standing before the thing he had put together, I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out…His success would terrify the artist; he would rush away from his odious handiwork, horror stricken” However, the novel was not only created from a dream; there were many influences in Shelley’s life that had an effect on the book. An example of this would be “Paradise lost” by John Milton, which illustrates creation of man and the “downward spiral” due to misbehavior. This can be seen in Shelley’s novel where Dr. Frankenstein disobeys God by thinking he can create life, which leads him to misery and death. Another influence is Mary Shelley’s life, which contain numerous deaths, such as her mother, half-sister, Percy’s wife, and her own children. This can be the reason as to why the Dr. Frankenstein experienced abundant deaths in his life. Also, Shelley might have heard about the legend of the castle near the German town of Darmstadt since they travelled through in on their way from

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