On August 30, 1797, an important historical figure in the literary world was born. Her mother died when she was just ten days old, leaving behind a series of letters that her parents had written each other, which were very raunchy and disturbing. Both of her parents were renowned authors during the 1700s. Her father mainly wrote short pieces, while her mother wrote a novel about how women and men deserve the same rights and practically created feminism. She mostly advocated for women receiving a quality education and introduced the idea of a public school system. After her mother's passing, her father went on to marry a terrible woman who believed that she did not deserve to be educated, therefore, she spent a great deal of her early life in her father's library teaching herself to read. She then published her first poem in 1807 through her father's company at the age of 10 years old. In 1814, she decided to run off with one of her father's students who was married and a soon to be father.
Over the course of her life, the author experienced many failed pregnancies and death practically surrounded her. Her half-sister committed suicide along with her lover's wife, in addition to the children she had already lost. After experiencing these tragic events, she wrote what became one of the most famous gothic novels of The Romantic Period in 1818. Though at first, the author did publish the book anonymously, she eventually came forward. This novel has now been made into many movies and adaptations, and one even being made in 2015. The novel is about a scientist that believed he could make a ground-breaking discovery and create a human from scratch. Though, this scientist was in over his head when he created this human because it did not function the way it was supposed to.
Along with the many film adaptations, there have been plays as well. The most recent, being written by a playwright based out of Austin, Texas. The play tells the story of how she came to write her famous novel. One night in Europe, a group of writers, plus a doctor, (the only reason the doctor was there was because back during the Romantic period, most authors were heavy opiate users, which is a drug that gives you morphine-like symptoms) were sitting around the fire and creating their own ghost stories. When it became the authors turn, one of her fellow writers dared her to tell the scariest story she could think of, so she told a story of a mad scientist creating something so inhuman and evil that it turned on him and it eventually killed him.
Who was this author? Mary Godwin Shelley. The progressive romantic era writer that influenced many movies and stories well after her time. Thanks to her, I knew that I would never regret deciding to be an English major. She was strong and wasn't afraid to admit her flaws, she was headstrong. She made mistakes and owned up to them, and she also lived a life of tragedy. Though I may never write anything nearly as amazing as she has, it will never change that I admire her and her gift.
