English writer Shelley Mary: biography, creativity, personal life

Everyone probably heard about Frankenstein. But who invented it, is not known to many. We will talk about the British writer of the early nineteenth century - Mary Shelley (biography and interesting facts from her life are waiting for you below). It turns out that it was she who created this mysterious creepy image, which now is so mercilessly exploited by the creators of horror films.

What is known about Mary Shelley?

This beautiful elegant woman became famous not only for her work and for the world-famous novel, but also for interesting and complex twists of life.

Young Mary in 18 years to a dispute with George Byron and her husband created the world's first Gothic novel. This she became famous, after all, in fact, the girl introduced a new genre into literature.

Now the name of Frankenstein is associated with a lot of horror films. Few people know that the image created by a mad scientist creepy creature was invented not by "cine artists", but this beautiful spiritual woman - Mary Shelley. Photos of her portraits you will find in the materials of the article.

But not only creativity is known to Shelley. For connoisseurs of Romantic poetry, her surname will certainly remind the famous British romantic poet, George Byron's friend Percy Bysshe Shelley, with whom, according to all the canons of romanticism, a young beauty escaped from the paternal house.

Mary Shelley: a biography, a summary. Childhood

The writer was born in a suitable place for the future Queen of the Gothic novel - in the capital of foggy Albion, London.

Her full name is Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin. Thanks to her husband and the only beloved man, the poet Percy Shelley, she began to be called Mary Shelley. The years of the writer's life are 1797-1851.

The girl was born in the family of the well-known at that time feminists Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin, a journalist famous for his anarchist and atheistic views. The mother of the future writer died after complications of severe labor, leaving her father orphaned Mary and two-year-old Fanny (her daughter from a previous love affair).

His father, though grieving over the death of his beloved wife, but soon married again with his neighbor - the widow of Mrs. Clermont, who had two own children. The eldest daughter, Claire Clermont, became Mary's friend and even fled with her and her lover to France, and then to Switzerland, where she began to annoy the couple with her exaltation and obsession.

Despite the fact that education for girls at that time was considered completely superfluous, Mary's father gave her a decent knowledge base at home and helped her to learn a daughter.

Shelley Mary. Love and escape

When the girl was sixteen years old, she met a young poet Percy Shelley. According to biographers, he somehow, along with his wife Harriet came to the family store Godwin. There he saw Mary and, it seems, was fascinated by the girl from the first meeting, because he began to appear more often there, but without his wife. Shelley's marriage had already cracked at the seams, although three years ago he threw everything and fled with Harriet to France. There he took his sixteen-year-old Mary, who was in love with him, from his native home to madness. A few weeks later, lovers, but completely impoverished romantics, returned to the father of the future founder of the Gothic novel. But, to the surprise and chagrin of both, he was very much hurt by his daughter's act and said that he no longer wanted to see her.

Now the whole family must be provided with Shelley. Mary madly loved her named husband and did not grieve about life in the father's house. Although attempts to establish relations with his father were made in the future.

The romantic poet and future writer at first perfectly understood and supplemented each other. But over time, they began to disagree. Percy, proclaiming a pure, pure love in his poetry, was in fact quite light-minded about adultery, which shocked and offended Shelley Mary. Nevertheless, she retained her love and devotion to her husband for life.

Maturity and family

For a romantic youth, the time for bitter maturity for a writer has come. Her named husband could not become her official husband, since he was not divorced from Harriet. The poet was forced to provide children and a former wife, plus herself and Mary Shelley. Children in their relationship were born and died, which insanely wounded a young woman. Only the fourth son of the writer - Percy Florence - survived and saved her mother from despair.

In 1817, Shelly's wife Harriet drowned in a pond. Her children, Mary and Percy wanted to shelter, but the public obscured by dirty rumors poet did not allow this.

Sister Mary, Fanny, committed suicide. In her 19 Shelley Mary saw enough to know what despair, pain, abandonment and spiritual loneliness are. It was these feelings she instilled into her hero-monster in the novel.

Creation

Mary Shelley, born in a family of talented and freethinking parents, probably could not choose a different path. In her memoirs, she often admitted that since childhood she had "stung paper" with different stories. Before the novel "Frankenstein, or Modern Prometheus," she wrote a lot. Among her early works should be allocated an unfinished novel called "Hatred."

Young Mary Shelley (her biography is briefly outlined above) was entertaining her husband with her essays, but many researchers believe that Percy was unfriendly towards the more serious steps of his wife in literature. Perhaps he was afraid that Mary could outshine him with her successes.

Friendship with Byron

As you know, Percy Shelley was a close friend of George Byron.

Consolidated sister Mary, Claire, was recklessly in love with the young lord, who was destined to become the founder of Romanticism, and literally pursued him. Unlike the purity of morals, the poet soon responded to the wooing of the hysterical girl, and they became lovers. Soon this couple was born a girl - Allegra, whose fate, because of extravagance and windy parents was tragic.

With Byron, the story of the creation of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is also connected, and so early and unpredictable was Percy's death (he died when he drove George Byron's yacht "Ariel") at the age of 29.

The history of the novel "Frankenstein, or Modern Prometheus"

When looking for a shelter loving Mary and Percy moved to Switzerland, their neighbor was the fate of Byron. Long rainy evenings by the fireplace friends told each other terrible stories. Once they decided to compete in the writing of creepy short stories. As a result of the dispute, the "Frankenstein" Mary Shelley appeared. The date of "birth" of the work is approximately 1818.

"Frankenstein, or Modern Prometheus." What is the novel about?

"Frankenstein" became the flagship in the genre of a gothic and fantastic novel. In 1818 the work was published anonymously. Only in 1831 the creator gave him his name.

So who is this Frankenstein, whose name was mistakenly the nominal nickname of the terrible monster, and the image inspired talented people to create many fantastic films?

In fact, Frankenstein is not the monster itself, but its creator.

Once a learned metaphysician, Victor, with a name already known to us, performed a very complex and dangerous experiment. He aspired to study the most secret corners of science. Once he managed to discover the secret of life and death. Knowledge gave him the opportunity to revive the dead body. In anticipation of the brilliant discovery, he did this and got a result that horrified him. The creature created by him seemed so terrible to the scientist that he escaped from his laboratory and out of the city.

The plot of the main work of Mary Shelley

The narrative begins with the moment when the explorer and gold digger Volton goes to the North Pole. On the way, he finds an exhausted and insane person. On the ship, he talks about his terrible experiment.

He was able to create and revitalize the giant, but was so scared that he threw it in the lab and fled. After a while, Victor learned about the death of his younger brother. William was brutally murdered. And although Justine's maid was declared his murderer, Frankenstein knew who was really to blame. Guessings were confirmed when, on returning home, he found his monster there.

And then a meeting took place between the creator and the subject of his experiments. The creation told that for a long time there lived in a shed of one man and learned to speak there. The monster was insanely lonely and wanted to make friends with the blind old man. But the old man's children severely beat him, taunting him with a terrible look. Rushing desperately, the monster found Victor's diary, from where he learned about the history of his creation.

After a long conversation, the monster asked to create a friend for him. They left for a remote island, where Victor went to work. When the new creation was almost created, he suddenly realized the danger of this union of two beings and destroyed the "bride". The enraged monster fled and killed Frankenstein's close friend - Henri.

Victor returned home and married his first love - Elizabeth. On the wedding night, a monster entered the bedroom and killed her. Victor's father died of the blow. So suddenly the whole family of the scientist was lost. Frankenstein vowed to kill the monster and rushed after him in pursuit of the North Pole. The monster disappeared, and Victor found Volton. The historian, shocked by history, turned his ship back. On the way Victor died, and on his ship the researcher found the monster himself. The monster confessed that he repents and wants to commit suicide. With this oath on his lips, he escaped from the ship.

Place of novel "Frankenstein, or Modern Prometheus" in World Literature

As we have already said, the work was the first in its genre. How Edgar Poe created the genre of the detective, so Mary Shelley wrote the first Gothic novel in the world. Her work produced a sensation in a small company consisting of poets Byron and Shelley. Roman, in addition, had quite a serious success almost immediately after the publication. And to this day he has not lost his literary as well as historical value.

Writing in a completely new way, Mary Shelley, whose husband and children were her inspiration, created her novel for argument. As a result, he put it on a par with the great novelists of world literature.

With his success, Frankenstein is obliged to masterfully write out the images of a brilliant scientist who was able to create something great, but did not find the strength to answer for his creation, and the monster, who, despite its terrible appearance and bloodied hands, seeks people, wants to become Friend and lover. The monster understands that humanity will not accept it, because it is completely different. His evil deeds are a splash of pain and suffering, a mute reproach to the creator who so cruelly did to him.

The writer leaves the end of the work open, gives the chance to the readers to think out for themselves what will happen to the eerie, unnecessary creature. The creator died, but his deeds will live in a monster, who also knows how to suffer and feel sad and seeks a place in the human world.

Finally

The English writer Mary Shelley lived a life of sorrows and troubles. But she managed to keep a bright, pure soul and faith in love. It was love that was the goal of her life. In the name of love of art, Mary created and her amazing novel about Frankenstein and his monster, which is still read and studied with pleasure.

Mary was a worthy wife of a great writer and a talented author.