Director’s Packet:
Mary Shelley by Helen Edmundson
compiled by
Trevor Newsome & Katrina Crossette
Table of Contents
Note: For the purpose of the class, the person who compiled each section is noted
Letter of Ideas/Skills (Both) 3
Why This Play Now? (Both) 4
Production History (Trevor) 6
Cast Requirements (Katrina) 7
Character Analysis/Historical Background (Katrina) 8
Plot Structure Analysis (Trevor) 12
Possible Challenges (Katrina) 13
Historical Context of Content (Trevor) 14
Personal Family Timeline (Trevor) 16
Family Tree (Trevor) 18
Scholarly Articles and Other References (Both) 19
Glossary and Allusions (Katrina)
Literature Referred to (Both)
Images can be found at the following Pinterest Board: (Both) http://www.pinterest.com/trevorwn/mary-shelley/
Letter of Ideas/Skills
As a dramaturgical team, we come to this production with different skills that can be utilized in different ways. We do not wish to be looked at as two separate dramaturgs but as a unit. We look forward to working on this project as a company of artists.
Below are different skills each of us bring to the production:
I am highly interested in accuracy. I love to do research, and I am an academic resource whenever the need arises. I find reworking the information into a form that meshes with the conceptual nature of the show to be thrilling and illuminative. Feel free to ask me to find more information on a topic that you wish to delve more into, and I will give any assessment of the view that information might need to move in to make it relevant to the production.
If you ever feel you need an honest opinion of whether or not an idea is catching, I am there to help. I am not interested in prescribing solutions to possible problem areas, as that is not my role in the production, so do not worry about that. I do, however, offer my services as insight into what an audience member may feel is missing. Once again, if you feel the need, I am there.
Katrina Crossette
I enjoy being involved in every aspect of theater. Whether my involvement takes me deep into specific philosophical and theoretical angles of a production or allows me to skim the surfaces, I will find a reason for my involvement and be ready to share whatever discoveries I encounter.
That being said, I prefer to see myself not as a leader but as a collaborator. Though I recognize great leadership qualities within myself, I prefer to utilize those qualities to discover solutions and unique perspectives about art – specifically theater. The three qualities I would consider most helpful and useful in a production would be an ability to see beyond, a strong sense of empathy, and a desire to learn what things motivate human beings.
Trevor Newsome
Why This Play Now? (WTPN)
Audience: Utah Valley
UVU Theater: “We are interwoven into the tapestry of our connecting communities to the extent we are an acknowledged ‘cultural treasure’... We stand on the shoulders of the giants of the theatre as we create the exceptional theatre of tomorrow… [We] recognize our responsibility to give a voice to the different communities we are a part of through our productions and our partnerships… seek to develop the kind of trust with [audiences] where our name is instantly synonymous with the highest quality.”
Education through the fluid language of this piece is beneficial for our actors at UVU and our audience. In our world of inequality, injustice and conformity, there is something to be learned from the life of Mary Shelley and those who surrounded her. This play depicts the dangers of maintaining old social norms as well as social change without giving proper time, or letting the world catch up, if you will. Many of the same social standards that plague the characters of this script plague us in our own community. The feeling of needing to maintain airs around our neighbors in order to remain in good favor is still prevalent, albeit not to the extent of the play. Suicide is a concern among young children and adults as they feel they do not fit in, are not good enough, and will never be accepted and appreciated for who and what they are.
- Themes
- Women's Rights (1790-1830 vs 2014)
- Cultural acceptance
- Cultural “norms” (Being “unconventional”)
- Political Justice
- Government power and processes
- Self destruction
- Death (of parents, siblings, and children)
- Coping Mechanisms for
- Death
- Financial trouble (Poverty)
- Social acceptance/rejection
- Family issues
- Moral truth
- Loyalty
- Reconciliation, Forgiveness
- Confusion, rejection, dismay
- Familial relationships
- Advancements in literature
- Idealism/Realism
- Contradiction/Paradox
- Rebellion
Production History
2012 World Premier Tour:
- House: Shared Experience, Nottingham Playhouse and West Yorkshire Playhouse, in association with Oxford Playhouse
- Director: Polly Teale
- Designer: Naomi Dawson
- Composer: Keith Clouston
- Movement: Liz Ranken
- Lighting Designer: Chris Davey
- Sound Designer: Drew Baumohl
- Assistant Director: Cecily Boys
Review Links:
2013: No found record of any productions
2014, Fall:
- House: Utah Valley University
- Director: Lisa Hall
Cast Requirements (ages are historically accurate)
Mary; aged 16-18
Mary Wollstonecraft, as imagined by Mary
Mr Godwin, Mary’s father; aged 58-60
Fanny, Mary Wollstonecraft’s daughter, Mary’s half-sister; aged 20-22
Percy Shelley; aged 22-24
Mrs. Godwin, Mary’s step-mother; aged 48-50
Jane, Mrs. Godwin’s daughter, Mary’s step-sister; aged 16-18, but has a younger disposition than Mary
Harriet, Percy’s wife
Maid
Sailor
Crowds of People
Note: As Harriet, the Maid, the Sailor and the Crowds of people are small roles, they can be filled by other cast members for a more minimalistic approach. In such productions, the actress playing Fanny played Harriet, and Jane played the Maid. Also, the crowd noises can be recorded or can be filled by stage crew.
Character Analysis with Historical Background
Mary:
A girl who is coming into her own. Mary is a clever, passionate, and eager young woman. Like most teenagers, she is certain her ideas are the right ones, and runs full force in her relationship with Percy in order to create the idyllic society both her mother and father wrote about in their works. Although her journey through the play brings much hardship, (ie. loss of a child, poverty, death of her sister) she never loses her resolve. Her optimism allows her to continue to create even in trials, and her determination for a better world allows her to maintain her eccentricities while having an air of maturity that is far beyond her years.
The Oxford Companion to British History’s excerpt on Mary:
(1797–1851) Author. Only daughter of the radical philosopher William *Godwin and early feminist Mary *Wollstonecraft, pretty, bookish Mary eloped with the young Percy Bysshe *Shelley to Europe in 1814, marrying him on his wife Harriet's suicide (1816). Her most famous novel Frankenstein (1818) arose from *Byron's ghost-story contest one ‘wet, ungenial summer’ by Lake Geneva, being overseen by her husband at every stage; this founded the genre of ‘scientific Gothick’ later exploited by horror-film makers. After the poet's death (1822), Mary returned to England and became a professional writer in order to educate her only surviving child Percy Florence Shelley. Devotion prompted editions of her husband's works to perpetuate his memory, while her letters and journal are further rich biographical sources (Hargreaves).
Mr Godwin:
William Godwin is a man trapped between his morals and the society he lives in. He wishes the world to be a utopian society that allows for his ideals, specifically those outlined in Political Justice, to prevail. His realist side wins out in the play, making him into a stifling parent who wishes his children to do what he thinks is best. He does have faith that they will make the right decisions, making him a very loving and trusting father.
The Oxford Companion to British History’s excerpt on William:
English writer and novelist. In 1793 Godwin published his anarchist masterpiece Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, which caught the public imagination and made his reputation. He argued against the use of coercion of any kind, whether political, ecclesiastical, or military, not because it violated natural rights, but because it was corrupting and counter-productive. Godwin was an extreme determinist, rejecting the idea of free will: indeed he asserted that the ‘assassin can no more help the murder he commits than the knife in his hand’. He claimed that the ills of society were due to the bad influences exerted on people, largely by governments, and that the path to improvement lay in the power of reason, not coercion. In the ideal society there would be no government and no punishment: individuals would live in harmony because of their mutual grasp of reason. In 1797 Godwin married *Mary Wollstonecraft, who died two years later giving birth to their daughter Mary, who married *Shelley (Gray).
Fanny:
Fanny is not the pretty one, and that is something that haunts her throughout the play. She is not the creative one, and although she is the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft just as Mary is, she is not the chosen daughter. Perhaps she is bogged by the knowledge that her parents are both dead and, feeling she cannot fully be loved by her adoptive father and stepmother, is left with a void she works to fill with education and work in the family book shop. She does not have the temperament to change society and determination to leave her mark, like her half-sister. She loves her family more than anything, and wishes for peace. Unable to do so, she loses the war battle that seems to be raging within her, and gives in to suicide as a means of escape.
Percy Shelley:
Described as unreliable, Shelley enters the play as a passionate, charismatic, and romantic figure from the start. He and Mary are drawn together like two souls who need each other to live, making their love affair tangible and electric. This relationship is the basis of his resolve to pursue what he believes to be the ideal world. Shirking responsibility and societal expectations, Shelley paints a gallant, albeit capricious, model for Mary to follow and live her dreams with.
The Oxford Companion to British History’s excerpt on Shelley:
Perhaps the least accessible of the Romantic poets, though recent attention to his radical politics has modified the Victorian picture of ‘a beautiful and ineffectual angel’. Son of a Whig landowner, a precocious and unconventional career at Eton and Oxford was followed by a precipitous first marriage and, soon after, elopement to the continent with the daughter of William *Godwin and Mary *Wollstonecraft. Already he had published Queen Mab (1813), later revered in chartist circles. ‘Ode to the West Wind’ (1819) best represents his impetuous idealism and technical accomplishment, foreshadowing Prometheus Unbound (1820), which imagines a bloodless revolution where ‘mankind had only to will that there should be no evil and there would be none’. The sad reality was recognized in The Masque of Anarchy when news of the Peterloo massacre reached him in Italy and A Philosophical View of Reform shows a more measured concern. Neither were published in his lifetime, abruptly ended by an accident at sea off the coast of Italy (Saunders).
Mrs. Godwin:
A self-professed cynic, Mrs. Godwin is all too ready to keep her family grounded in the reality of the society they live in. Little is give into the insight of her more idealist mind, but her actions of attempting to maintain societal airs speak volumes. She comes across as an evil step-mother, but really she is a woman caught in a difficult situation and must make do with what she has. She wants her family to be safe, fed, clothed, and cared for. She cares for Mary and Fanny almost as much as she does her own Jane.
An Oxford Companion to the Romantic Age’s excerpt on Mary-Jane:
(?1765–1841),author and publisher of children's literature, mother and step-mother to William *Godwin's children. An English woman who had been forced to flee wartime Europe calling herself ‘Mrs Clairmont’, Mary Jane may have met Godwin at Mary *Robinson's funeral in December 1800. Her French émigré acquaintance countenanced a certain mystery about her past, coupled with the chance to employ her skills in French language and culture. In 1801 she took lodgings next door to Godwin for herself and her son, Charles, and daughter, Mary Jane (Claire) Clairmont. Soon after, she married Godwin and bore William Godwin Jr. (1803–32).
As Godwin's second wife, she shared Godwin's plunging political fortunes after the demise of the English Jacobin movement. She was strong-willed and could be loud, but no self-assertions on her part could dint the mutual ascendancy in the family of Godwin and his daughter (later Mary *Shelley). Before her marriage, Mary Jane worked as a French translator and wrote children's books. When his ambitions as a serious dramatist failed in 1801, Godwin installed himself in Mary Jane's field of operations. In 1805 he took over the direction of a children's publishing company, the Juvenile Library of M. J. Godwin & Co. Godwin published his books for children as ‘Edward J. Baldwin’, to disguise his identity from the anti-Jacobin reviewers and Christian censors of education [17], and to maintain a dignified distance from commerce and children. Mary Jane ran the shop and dealt with the customers. Her publications appeared anonymously, including Dramas for Children, advertised as ‘by the editor of Tabart's Popular Stories’. She wrote only one book for the adult reader, a stately guidebook to Herne Bay, in 1835.
After Waterloo, when many small businesses failed, the Godwins lost their house and livelihood, and until Godwin died in 1836 they lived in a pensioner's flat granted by parliament. From 1836 until her death in 1841, the widowed Mary Jane collaborated with Mary Shelley on editing Godwin's correspondence, for a ‘Life of William Godwin’, which remained unpublished at Mary Shelley's death in 1851. Mary Jane was buried beside Godwin and Wollstonecraft in St Pancras' Churchyard, which did not reject Roman Catholic corpses, but her grave was abandoned to the railway developers by the Shelley family when they reinterred Mary Shelley's biological parents in Bournemouth (Barbour).
Jane:
More impressionable than anything else, Jane follows Mary wherever she goes, wishing to emulate her. She lives an idyllic life of a teenager, not understanding the harsh realities of her situation even when she reaches hardship. This optimistic and entitled attitude leads her to believe her (or really Mary and Shelley’s) ideas to be the hard truth, and any other thought should be rejected. It seems she is unable to see the reality of life even when it is placed right in front of her. She can be summed up as a fickle teenager who follows instead of leads.
The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature’s excerpt on Claire Clairmont:
(1798–1879), daughter of Mary Clairmont, who became William Godwin's second wife. She accompanied Mary Godwin on her elopement with Shelley, and in spite of pursuit remained with them on the Continent. She returned to London with the Shelleys in 1816, fell in love with Byron, and when he went to Switzerland induced the Shelleys to follow him with her. Byron's daughter Allegra was born to her in 1817. In 1818 Claire surrendered the child to Byron who, in 1821, placed Allegra in a convent near Ravenna, where she died of a fever in 1822 (Drabble).
Works Cited
Barbour, Judith. "Godwin, Mary Jane." An Oxford Companion to the Romantic Age. By Iain McCalman. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1999. N. pag. Oxford Reference Online. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.
Drabble, Margaret, Jenny Stringer, and Daniel Hahn. "Claire Clairmont." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2007. N. pag. Oxford Reference Online. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.
Gray, Tim S. "Godwin, William." The Oxford Companion to British History. By John Cannon. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2009. N. pag. Oxford Reference Online. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.
Hargreaves, A. S. "Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft." The Oxford Companion to British History. By John Cannon. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2009. N. pag. Oxford Reference Online. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.
Saunders, John. "Shelley, Percy Bysshe." The Oxford Companion to British History. By John Cannon. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2009. N. pag. Oxford Reference Online. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.
Mary Shelley - Plot Structure Analysis
One sentence storyline: The incredible story of Mary Shelley and how she came to create one of the greatest stories ever told, aged just 19.
Protagonist: Mary Shelley
Antagonist:
Freytag Breakdown:
- Exposition
- Mary has been out of town for some time and is returning home for a visit.
- Inciting Incident
- Mary meets Mr. Shelley
- Turning Point
- Mary and Mr. Shelley decide to run away
- Rising Action
- Claire chooses to accompany Mary and Shelley
- Godwin disapproves of Mary and Shelley’s relationship
- Shelley’s wife also rejects Shelley’s lifestyle
- Mary experiences miscarriages and infant deaths
- Shelley’s wife Harriet dies
- Climax
- Mary’s sister Fanny commits suicide
- Falling Action
- Visits between Shelley, Godwin, and Mrs Godwin
- Denouement
- Preparations for Mary and Shelley’s wedding
- Reconciliation between Mary and her father Godwin
Possible Challenges
Much of the following requires a decision between minimalistic and more extravagant staging. There is a place for both in this play, but a more conceptual approach may help the play clip along more, as it is a fast moving plot. Just a thought.
Scenes that depict drowning will need special attention in design aspects. These scenes could be done with pantomime, with fabric representing water, and with multimedia. These are just a few suggestions I thought of while reading, but is a question that should be addressed.
If the desire is to keep it minimalistic, there could be a standard set that doesn’t change. Every scene that is in a different place is referenced in the text as a different place. There would only need to be prop changes if this aesthetic is desired. My only concern with this approach would be that of Mary Wollstonecraft’s tomb, which is said to “dominate the space.” Full set changes are also completely possible.
Differentiating between the dream sequences and the rest of the play can be done with lighting and music, although a more conceptual approach would be appropriate for the piece.
The hanging of the man during Act One, Scene Three and Act Three, Scene Four require background noise. This can be achieved through canned music or through a utilization of stage crew to keep from needing to cast ensemble, as they do not really fit into anywhere else in the play.
Historical Context of Content – Mary Shelley, Helen Edmundson
General Timeline:
1788 – Abolitionists
· Thomas Clarkson and William Wilberforce lead case against the slave trade
1789 – French Revolution (One of many)
· British terrified that the idea of insurrection could spread to England
· Social pressures of conformity
· Hostility toward ideas disturbing “status quo”
· Imprisonment for bankruptcy
1790’s – Parents, Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin were leading intellectuals
· Utilitarianism
· Anarchism
o Political Justice (1793)
· Feminism
o Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1797)
1797 – Mary Wollstonecraft dies of septicemia after giving birth to daughter Mary (Shelley)
· William Godwin publishes Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, a biography of Mary W., which tarnishes his reputation.
1804 – Napoleon crowns himself emperor of France
1807 – Slave trade abolished aboard British ships
1815 – Napoleon defeated at Waterloo
1819 – Peterloo Massacre
1820 – George III dies
Population of England and Wales:
1791 – 8.3 Million
1801 – 9 Million
1811 – 10.3 Million
1821 – 12.1 Million
1831 – 14 Million
Life Expectancy:
1801 – 37 years
1831 – 39 years
Average Annual Income:
£ 4,000 – Wealthy gentry (House in London and one in the country)
£ 700-1000 – Upper professional (Horse and carriage)
£ 200 – Lower gentry (Lives without manual labor maintaining only one servant)
£ 120-150 – Clergy, Shapkeepers
£ 40-55 – Miners, Skilled laborers
£ 12-20 – Governess, Seamstress
Currency:
4 farthings
|
1 d. (1 penny)
|
One penny in 1800 = ¢.20 in 2010
|
12 d.
|
1 s. (1 shilling)
|
One shilling in 1800 = $2.44 in 2010
|
5 s.
|
1 crown
|
One crown in 1800 = $12.20 in 2010
|
20 s.
|
1 £ (1 pound)
|
One pound in 1800 = $48.80 in 2010
|
21 s.
|
1 guinea
|
One guinea in 1800 = $51.24 in 2010
|
Food/Drink:
· Working class Britons survived on a diet of bread, oysters, potatoes, bacon, cheese, puddings, and hot meal (usually cooked at a local bake shop since most households did not have ovens).
· Middle class were enhanced with mutton and root vegetables.
· Upper class meals were prepared by cooks, were very ornate, and consisted of multiple courses and avoided items associated with lower classes.
Citation for Historical Context:
Wolfson, Susan J., Peter J. Manning, David Damrosch, and Kevin J. H. Dettmar. The Romantics and Their Contemporaries. Boston: Longman, 2010. Print.
Personal Family Timeline
Family Timeline and Family Tree Citation:
Kate, Saxon. Mary Shelley Education Packet. Oxford: Shared Experience, 2012. PDF.
Scholarly Articles and Other References
Access to the Abinger Collection. This includes many different documents of Wollstonecraft, Godwin, and Mary Shelley - transcribed as well as digital images of the originals - such as letters, diaries, literary papers, critiques, notes, legal and financial papers, etc.
Also…
Shelley’s Ghost,: The Afterlife of a Poet was an exhibition presented at the Bodleian in New York. An online exploration of the exhibit consists of digital images of the original pieces.
The Godwins’ Juvenile Library:
After marrying Mary-Jane Clairmont, Godwin began to write children’s stories under a pseudonym as to keep his radical reputation from tainting the publications. They opened The Juvenile Library under Mary Jane’s Name, borrowing money to start it up.
Status of Women:
Little better than slaves, women of the 18th century had few choices we now enjoy. Girls received less education than boys, could only possess low paying jobs, and their main purpose was to marry and reproduce. A woman could not obtain a divorce, it would have to be instigated by a man. Early to mid 19th century ushered in a new philosophy towards women. Ideals of liberty, personal freedom and legal reform began.
Wojtczak, Helena. "WOMEN'S STATUS IN MID 19TH-CENTURY ENGLAND: A BRIEF OVERVIEW." English Women's History. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2014.<http://www.hastingspress.co.uk/history/19/overview.htm>.
Glossary of Unfamiliar Terms and Allusions
wharf- A substantial structure of timber, stone, etc., built along the water's edge, so that ships may lie alongside for loading and unloading.
quayA man-made bank or landing stage, typically built of stone, lying alongside or projecting into water for loading and unloading ships.
Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman- biography of Mary Wollstonecraft, written by William Godwin. Published 1798.
chaise-A light open carriage for one or two persons, often having a top or calash; those with four wheels resembling the phaeton, those with two the curricle; also loosely used for pleasure carts and light carriages generally.
Enquiry Concerning Political Justice- A philosophical treatise by William Godwin, published February 1793, which established him as the chief proponent of British radicalism. Godwin attacks the ‘brute engine’ of government for systematically oppressing individuals.
baronet- a titled order, the lowest that is hereditary, ranking next below a baron, having precedence of all orders of knighthood, except that of the Garter. A baronet is a commoner, the principle of the order being ‘to give rank, precedence, and title without privilege.’
prise- action of taking
Mr. Johnson’s Dictionary- Dictionary compiled and published by Samuel Johnson in 1755. Began the prescriptivist movement (which means having set rules that should not change) of spelling pronunciation, etc. His dictionary was the beginning of the solidification of what we know English to be today.
louts- An awkward ill-mannered fellow; a bumpkin, clown.
Walter Scott- (1771–1832) Scottish poet and novelist
tartan- A kind of woollen cloth woven in stripes of various colours crossing at right angles so as to form a regular pattern; worn chiefly by the Scottish Highlanders, each clan having generally its distinctive pattern; often preceded by a clan-name, etc. denoting a particular traditional or authorized design. Also, the pattern or design of such cloth, and applied to silk and other fabrics having a similar pattern.
compulsory- Depending on or produced by compulsion; compelled, forced, enforced, obligatory.
flounce-A quick movement of the body, expressing impatience or disdain.
stridency-Making a harsh, grating or creaking noise; loud and harsh, shrill
in this context, he is referring to her harshness of expression, not necessarily the quality of her voice
A Vindication of the Rights of Women- By M. Wollstonecraft, published 1792.
In this work the author attacks the educational restrictions and ‘mistaken notions of female excellence’ that keep women in a state of ‘ignorance and slavish dependence’. The work was much acclaimed, but also inevitably attracted hostility; Horace Walpole referred to its author as ‘a hyena in petticoats’.
An Historical and Moral View of the French Revolution- Written by Mary Wollstonecraft, published 1794. A history of the early revolution.
Godwin and Mary: Letters of William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft- Compiled and published by Ralph R. Wardle in 1966. The play is referencing the actual letters, not this book.
vilified- To lower or lessen in worth or value; to reduce to a lower standing or level; to make of little (or less) account or estimation.
reactionary press- right-wing, conservative, rightist, traditionalist, conventional, unprogressive
bond-A mortgage.
inquisitiveness-The quality or character of being inquisitive; disposition to inquire; curiosity to obtain information. Now mostly in unfavourable sense: Excessive, impertinent, or prying curiosity.
piss-pot- A chamber pot or other pot for holding urine.
proprieties- A quality or attribute, esp. an essential or distinctive one; a peculiarity, a characteristic
prose- Language in the form in which it is typically written (or spoken), usually characterized as having no deliberate metrical structure (in contrast with verse or poetry).
Lord Byron- (1788–1824) poet
ascertained- Discovered by investigation, known
insipid- Devoid of taste, intelligence, or judgement; stupid, foolish, dull.
disquiet- Absence of bodily or mental quietness; disturbance; uneasiness, anxiety, worry; restlessness, unrest.
black-brow’d night
pervade- To spread, extend, diffuse; to be present and apparent throughout.
tollgate- a gate across a road at which toll was payable, a turnpike-gate.
tyranny- Absolute sovereignty
vicar- a person acting as priest in a parish in place of the real parson or rector, or as the representative of a religious community to which the tithes had been appropriated; hence, in later use in the Church of England, the incumbent of a parish of which the tithes were impropriated or appropriated, in contrast to a rector
mausoleum- A stately or imposing edifice erected as a commemorative burial place for or by a person of distinction.
Queen Mab- published in 1813, “The poem is in nine cantos, using ‘didactic and descriptive’ blank verse. Despite its lyrical opening, invoking ‘Death and his brother Sleep’ and Mab the Fairy Queen in her time‐chariot (Cantos I and II), the poem largely consists of attacks on Monarchy (III), War (IV), Commerce (V), and Religion (VI and VII). In place of these Shelley celebrates a future of Republicanism, Free Love, Atheism, and Vegetarianism. The verse is furious and polemical in style, with occasional passages of grandiloquent beauty. Seventeen remarkable prose Notes are attached as Appendices, many of them substantial essays, ‘against Jesus Christ, & God the Father, & the King, & the Bishops, & Marriage, & the Devil knows what’: they are often better than the poetry. The work was extremely popular among working‐class radicals.”
bacchanalian flavour- Characterized by, connected with, or given to drunken revelry; riotously drunken, roystering.
revelries- The action or an act of revelling; boisterous mirth or merrymaking; (also in pl.) lively entertainments; wild or noisy festivities, esp. those involving drinking.
pecuniary- Of or relating to money; monetary; financial.
balmy- Deliciously mild, fragrant, and soothing
the Continent
flay- To strip or pull off the skin or hide of; to skin:
autocrat- a person who has controlling authority or influence; an imperious or domineering person.
erratic- Wandering from place to place; vagrant; nomadic
Laudanum- a name for various preparations in which opium was the main ingredient.
Cossacks- Name of a warlike Turkish people, which formed an important element of the Russian army
headland- A steep point of land projecting from a coastline into the sea or other expanse of water; a cape or promontory.
Mary and Percy’s journal- Edited entries were published as History of a Six Weeks' Tour through a part of France, Switzerland, Germany, and Holland; with Letters Descriptive of a Sail Round the Lake of Geneva and of the Glaciers of Chamouni.
Lessons for Children- a series of four age-adapted reading primers written by the prominent 18th-century British poet and essayist Anna Laetitia Barbauld. Published in 1778 and 1779, the books initiated a revolution in children's literature in the Anglo-American world. For the first time, the needs of the child reader were seriously considered: the typographically simple texts progress in difficulty as the child learns. In perhaps the first demonstration of experiential pedagogy in Anglo-American children's literature, Barbauld's books use a conversational style, which depicts a mother and her son discussing the natural world. Based on the educational theories of John Locke, Barbauld's books emphasize learning through the senses.
bailiffs- In England, formerly applied to the king's officers generally, including sheriffs, mayors, etc. nominated by him, but especially to the chief officer of a hundred
wastrels- A good-for-nothing, idle, worthless, disreputable person.
salubrious- pleasant, attractive, comfortable; well-maintained, prosperous.
belligerent- A nation, party, or person waging regular war
pension- A boarding house; a small hotel.
delicacy- Gratification, pleasure, delectation.
midwife- A woman (or, rarely, a man) who assists women in childbirth; (spec. in recent times) a nurse trained and qualified to do this and to give antenatal and post-natal care.
daybed- A bed to rest on in the daytime; a sofa, couch, lounge
insufferable- that cannot be borne or endured; insupportable, intolerable, unbearable.
post-obit bond- Taking effect after someone's death
derisory- Characterized by derision; mocking, derisive
bludgeon- To strike or fell with a bludgeon or similar weapon.
bereft- Forcibly deprived, robbed, having lost the possession or use of; void of.
carafe- A glass water-bottle for the table, bedroom, etc. Also, one used at table, etc., for wine; attrib., designating an ordinary wine served in a carafe.
scurrilous- characterized by coarseness or indecency of language, esp. in jesting and invective; coarsely opprobrious or jocular.
liaison- Close connection and co-operation between two units, branches, allies
reactionaries- one who is against radical political or social reform, and in favour of a reversion to a former state of affairs.
diabolical- Of or pertaining to the devil; actuated by or proceeding from the devil; of the nature of the devil.
unfathomed- Of unascertained depth; unsounded.
complacency- The fact or state of being pleased with a thing or person; tranquil pleasure or satisfaction in something or some one
indolence- Insensibility or indifference to pain; want of feeling
stupification- numbness, torpor, or insensibility, of body or mind
Literature Referred to in Mary Shelley
Mary Wollstonecraft:
- A Vindication of the Rights of Woman -
This “vindication” was to continue the argument she began in her A Vindication of the Rights of Man where she called out the tyrannical oppression of men’s relationship toward women. With this second vindication Mary discussed what she believed to be the root cause of this oppression: the view that women’s “lowly” position was a fact of nature put in place by God. Following are some excerpts.
- “...chastity will never be respected in the male world till the person of a woman is not, as it were, idolized, when little virtue or sense embellish it with grand traces of mental beauty, or the interesting simplicity of affection.”
- “...men endeavor to sink us still lower, merely to render us alluring objects for a moment; and women, intoxicated by the adoration which men...pay them, do not seek to obtain a durable interest in their hearts…”
- “...meanwhile strength of body and mind are sacrificed to libertine notions of beauty, to the desire of establishing themselves, - the only way woman can rise in the world, - by marriage.”
- “Society, therefore, as it becomes more enlightened, should be very careful not to establish bodies of men who must necessarily be made foolish or vicious by the very constitution of their profession.”
- “The mind will ever be unstable that has only prejudices to rest on…”
- “Soldiers, as well as women, practice the minor virtues with punctilious politeness. Where is then the sexual difference, when the education has been the same? All the difference that I can discern, arises from the superior advantage of liberty, which enables the former to see more life.”
William Godwin:
- Political Justice -
Written during the beginning of the French Revolution, the piece ushers in a new era of world peace, prosperity, and progress. Championing the sanctity of private judgement and that each individual can act wholly motivated by reason to create the maximum benefit for others, epitomizes a millennial optimism shown by Richard Price and Joseph Priestley.
It consists of a moral theory which mixes utilitarianism with constraint of right (each individual is to be sole judge, through the rigorous exercise of private judgement and via candid public discussion, of how he or she should act). Later editions present changes to the radical nature of the original text, but the commitment to the value of a life of benevolent action remains.
The following are notable passages:
- “If there be such a thing as truth, it must infallibly be struck out by the collision of mind with mind.”
- “The proper method for hastening the decay of error is not by brute force, or by regulation which is one of the classes of force, to endeavour to reduce men to intellectual uniformity; but on the contrary by teaching every man to think for himself.”
- “Whenever government assumes to deliver us from the trouble of thinking for ourselves, the only consequences it produces are those of torpor and imbecility.”
