How Did Mary Shelley Influence Society

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Society and its influences is something that no one can control and can influence people’s lives greatly. This is the case with Mary Shelley and her life as an author of many books, specifically her most famous book, Frankenstein. Frankenstein follows a scientist by the name of Victor Frankenstein who, when taken control by his desire for discovery, creates a life in the form of a terrifying monster. Abandoned by his master and thrown away by society, the monster kills Victor, his family and eventually himself in revenge for his isolation. Shelly’s life was very interesting as she was the daughter of two of the most influential figures in society at the time, Mary Wollstonecraft, author of, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, and her father …show more content…

Not only were there a ton of books for Shelley to read but a lot of other authors would drop by to visit her father which made the environment constantly academic. This is also how Shelly met her lover, Percy Shelley who was a romantic poet who often visited Shelley’s father. Due to these conditions Shelley was always learning new things as there were a lot of diverse types of literature she was exposed to and, inadvertently, she was being influenced because of the environment her parents laid out. The monster in Frankenstein also learned about society through literature because of his parent figure. “I can hardly describe to you the effect of these books. They produced in me an infinity of new images and feelings, that sometimes raised me to ecstasy, but more frequently sunk me into the lowest dejection (Shelley 116).” The monster was forced to learn about society and the world through literature because Victor abandoned him. Shelley’s life and career were influenced off the books of her parents, this lifestyle of being self-taught bled onto the story of Frankenstein. Shelley wrote her way of learning into the monster to perhaps describe the feeling of isolation as both lacked some parental figure. The monster was alone in society as he was rejected by everyone and through reading he taught himself on the wonders of human society just as Shelley did. Not only did Shelley learn about society through the foundation her parents built the loss of her mother was very important towards Shelley’s

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