Mary Wollstonecraft: Hero Or Hoax

Mary Wollstonecraft: Hero or Hoax Mary Shelley states, “My dreams were all my own; I accounted for them to nobody; they were my refuge when annoyed - my dearest pleasure when free” (Shelley). This statement is certainly true and is reflected in the originality and creativity of her writing. Labeled as a dreamer during her time period, she certainly lives up to her own words. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797-1851) is a well known and accomplished author. Rising in popularity her works are revered as classics of the Romanticism literary movement and as respected early writings of women authors. This era of writing specifically expresses a shadowy approach to the fantastical, and includes such elements as being punished for sins, horrific themes,

Mary wasn’t revered by all. In his critique, “Did Mary Shelley Write Frankenstein?”, Alex Boese has gathered together the words of past critics that are both for and against whether Mary actually wrote her famous novel. If she hadn’t in fact wrote it all by herself, then the former statement that my “dreams were all my own; I accounted for them to nobody”, would prove very hypocritical. The author argues Mary didn’t actually write the story of Frankenstein. She was far too uneducated and had no professional background. The phrasing, tone of voice, and point of view all point towards her husband as the actual author. Percy Shelley was a well known author and when he released this book anonymously, it got bad reviews from the critics. Not wanting the public to know it was his he didn 't want it to appear under his name. Boese concludes that this must be the reason why he passed it onto his wife and didn 't accept it as his own black mark. I see the substance to this critic 's argument, but I truly believe that Mary did in fact write this classic novel. I think with her living in these areas where the story takes place and the amount of education she received she could have written this. “I will glut the maw of death” is an excerpt taken from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Literary professors agree that this was a Percy Shelley style of writing which appears many times throughout the story. After being married to Percy I’m sure she may have picked up writing styles and asked him for opinions in writing. This novel has numerous choppy writng places with terrible prose and phrasing such as, “When I reflect, my dear cousin,’ said she, ‘on the miserable death of Justine Moritz, I no longer see the world and its works as they before appeared to me” (Shelley). This unexperienced writing shows that a 19 year-old did in fact write this story. The story Frankenstein received the following critique that it was a, “tissue of horrible and disgusting absurdity.” This black mark on