Frankenstein…or, The Modern Prometheus has been published.
This novel, authored by the 21-year-old Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, is often referred to as the first science fiction novel in the world.
In the story crafted by Shelley, a scientist brings to life a creature made from dismembered bodies. This creature, which is both gentle and intellectually advanced, is monstrous in appearance yet is met with cruelty and rejection by its creator. In its search for companionship, it roams the earth and grows increasingly violent due to its inability to find a mate.
Mary Shelley conceived this narrative on a rainy afternoon in 1816, while staying in Geneva with her husband, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and their friend Lord Byron. It was Byron who suggested they each craft a gothic ghost story, but only Mary Shelley finished hers. Although it serves as a foundation for Western horror and has inspired countless films in the 20th century, the book Frankenstein delves far deeper than mere popular fiction. It investigates philosophical concepts and questions Romantic beliefs regarding the inherent beauty and goodness of nature.
The life Mary Shelley led was almost as chaotic as that of the monster she created.
Born to the free-thinking philosopher William Godwin and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, she tragically lost her mother just days after her birth. After conflicts with her stepmother, she was sent to reside with foster parents in Scotland during her teenage years and eloped with the married poet Shelley at the age of 17.
Following the suicide of Shelley’s wife in 1817, they married but spent much of their time living abroad to escape Shelley’s creditors. Mary Shelley bore five children, yet only one survived to adulthood.
At just 24, she faced the tragedy of Shelley’s drowning in a sailing incident. She subsequently took on the responsibility of editing two volumes of his literary works. Relying on a small allowance from her father-in-law, Lord Shelley, she sustained herself until her surviving son inherited his estate and title in 1844.
Mary Shelley passed away at 53 years old. Although she garnered respect as a writer throughout her life, today, only Frankenstein and her journals continue to be widely read.
