Marry Shelley :: essays research papers

bloody shame Wollstonecraft Shelley was born on August 30, 1797, in London, England. She was destined to live an eccentric life. Her parents weretwo of the most noted freethinkers of the Enlightenment era. Her initiate, William Godwin, was a celebrated philosopher and historian. He was known for overeating and borrowing money who would give him a loan. He didnt have overmuch time for anything but his philosophical ideas. He met his matchin Mary Wollstonecraft, Marys mother. She was every bit as much a radicalthinker as Godwin. She declared herself independent at the age of 21. She and her sisters ran a school in France, where she had an affair with an army captain and had her prime(prenominal) child, Fanny, out of wedlock. After being abandoned, she and Fanny moved back to England and attempted suicide. She began writing. She was well-known for her revolutionary feminist writings. Wollstonecraft and Godwin met a dinner party at Godwins home and the two began an affair. Wollstone craft was five months pregnant when she married Godwin. Although Godwin and Wollstonecraft didnt agree with the whole marriage thing, they wanted Marys children to be legitimatechildren. Marys mother died of complications just ten days after Mary wasborn. Her father was a self-absorbed intellectual and was left to take care of his daughters either alone. Although he loved his daughters, the responsibility of raising them on his own was too much for him and soon began looking for a wife. Godwin married four years ulterior to Mary Jane Clairmont. She turnedout to be a mean and shallow woman who favored her own two children over Mary and Fanny. Mary was a lively child and was often treated unfairly by her stepmother. She received frequent whippings which led to her rebellionof a girls traditional role. As a result of this, Mary kept to herself and was unhappy and alone. Although she didnt have a formal education, she picked up on the intellectual environment created by her father and his visitors. Mary was quite bright and began reading the writings of her mother around the age of eight. She had memorized every word by the age of ten. Mary spent more hours at her favorite reading spot, her mothers grave. Percy Shelley, a poet, was an admirer and friend of William Godwinand spent a great deal of time at the Godwin house. Shelley alike admired the writings of Marys mother.