Shelley’s Unconscious Reflection
... to deal will the grief of death, just like Shelley. In Frankenstein, one way Shelley shows this is through a dream that Victor has: “I thought I saw Elizabeth, in the bloom of health, walking in the streets of Ingolstadt. Delighted and surprised I embraced her, but as I imprinted the first kiss on her lips, they become livid with the hue of death; her features appeared to change, and I thought that I held the corpse of my dead mother in my arms; a shroud enveloped her form, and I saw grave-worms crawling in the folds of flannel” (34). This shows that since Victor had seen death so many times already with his female companions, he even subconsciously thinks about their death since it has affected his life so much. The second connection between Mary Shelley’s life and events in the novel was the Romanticism movement. In her life, Mary would on impulse go traveling with her husband when the mood struck her. One example of this is when she goes on an unplanned journey with her husband, Perry and Claire. They go through France, Germany, and Switzerland. From this journey is where she got most of the descriptive setting for her novel. Just like Mary, Victor would go off traveling when he felt he wanted or needed to or when he got permission to do so. One example of his adventures was this: “I urged my entreaty with earnestness, and my father was easily induced to comply; for a more indulgent and less dictatorial did not exist upon earth. Our plan was soon arranged. I should travel to Strasburgh, where Clerval would join me. Some short time would be spent in the towns of Holland, and our principal stay would be in England. We should return by France; it was agreed that the tour should occupy the space of two years” (105). The third connection between Mary Shelley’s life and events in the novel was the way other peoples views about the world influenced her. Since her father and husband both had liberal views, it gave her a chance to openly explore and express any of her ideas. If Shelley had a traditional husband or parents who thought in a traditional way, it would have been very hard for her to openly express her ideas without being criticized by the people she loved. She was lucky these people thought just like her. It was because of her liberal ways, that she was able to write a novel that was ethically challenging science. Also her character in the novel, Victor also seemed to have a very liberal view on many topics. Even as a child he was interested in the type of science that no one else cared for. Then as he grew up the monster he created was very liberal of him to do so. Also his ideas of dealing with the monster were quite liberal too. One other connection between Mary Shelley’s life and events in the novel was the process of birth. A lot of it was centered on what happened before birth, during birth, and after birth, especially the trauma of it all. Even though Shelley loved her children and loved having them, their death (and the death of other people she loved), must h...