Who was Mary Shelley?

        In my opinion, it is unexpected that a female would be the creative spirit behind a gruesome, tragic tale of man and monster. So, who was Mary Shelley and what inspired her to write Frankenstein? Born in the latter years of the eighteenth century, Shelley was raised  by her English father, a political philosopher, and mother, a feminist. By looking into Shelley's childhood, some of the essential themes in Frankenstein come to light such as the role of parenting in birth and creation. Shelley's mother died shortly after her birth. From this point, she was raised by her father. When Shelley was of the tender age of seventeen, she became involved with one of her father's companions Percy Bysshe Shelley. They traveled together throughout Europe and eventually married in the year 1816. Diverging upon another point, I think that Mary Shelley probably was influenced a lot by her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley , a prominent Romantic poet. He kept close company with other key writers like Lord Byron, Leigh Hunt, and Thomas Love Peacock. His work includes undertones of “joyous ecstasy” and “brooding despair”. His major themes included rebellion against authority, relationships with nature, and the power of imagination. These themes are also present in some way or form in Shelley’s writings. We see that Victor and the creature share a peaceful retreat in the form of the natural world that surrounds theme. Also, Victor’s partaking in t the creature can be interpreted as a rebellion against the laws of nature and of divine entities. Thus, we can see the at Mary Shelley’s head was in many places when creating Frankenstein. The influences she may have had in writing this gothic piece are as far and many as the very themes that persist throughout the novel.

        Back o Mary Shelley’s life, after several failed attempts to have children, Mary and Percy gave birth to their single and only living child in 1818. Only a few years later, Percy Shelley drowned during a tragic storm leaving Mary Shelley widowed. Her last years alive, Shelley suffered tremendously from a brain tumor that ultimately took her life at the age of 53. Mary Shelley's own life can almost be viewed as a tragedy just as her character Victor Frankenstein. Even throughout her writing process, Shelley was faced with the suicide of a half-sister and Harriet Shelley, Percy Shelley's wife. With so much hurt in her life, it is no wonder Shelley's  most famous work Frankenstein was of the Gothic genre.The insurmountable experiences of death may have influenced the isolation and alienation that their character's Victor and the monster feel throughout the novel. Also, Shelley often commented on the theme of birth and creation. Upon researching the author, it seems to me that this reoccurring theme may have been influenced with her own tumultuous struggle with conception and birth. It is apparent that Shelley's personal had deep influences on her work. Even the them of rebellion could be tied to Mary and Percy's scandalous relationship. I think more is to be discovered about the ties between Frankenstein and Shelley's own life.