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Carolina Toledo
Ms. Jasmine
AP English IV P.7
6 March 2017
Mary Shelley, Feminism and the Advancement of Society
Women during the 19th century were often oppressed by society and had little say in
anything other than their home life. Mary Shelley and her works as a writer enlightened the
public and eventually British society with new standards to be set for women and provided them
with new heights that could be achieved. Mary Shelley was born to Mary Wollstonecraft, a
famous romantic writer who left a lasting impression on British society and her young daughter.
Because of this influence, Mary was able to develop and opinion about politics, as well as the
feminist movement, the latter translated into Frankenstein, one of the greatest novels about
feminism, the relationship between science and women’s rights and the harm that is posed to
women if paternity overshadows maternal qualities.
Mary Wollstonecraft immensely enlightened her daughter by providing her with a
foundation in the importance of romantic qualities such as individualism, and the freedom to
think for herself, as well as, the concept of using an enlightened mind to progress the average
women’s role in society. Mary Wollstonecraft from a young age appeared “different and unusual”
focusing her works on politics and political theories of the time rather than novels and other
topics that would have appealed to women of the 19th century. Mary Wollstonecraft argues that
“women and men should be educated as equals”, stating this as the only way to save society and
find a harmonious balance. These ideas are seen heavily in her daughter’s novel, Frankenstein, as
a topic frequently discussed is the threat society faces if they ignore the role of the mother or the
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maternal figure in the development and growth of an individual. In the novel, Dr. Frankenstein
creates a creature who when failed to be nurtured threatens and causes harm to society. Amongst
the chaos caused in the novel by this unloved creature, the audience is faced with the question,
what would have happened if the creature had been loved by a maternal figure instead of forced
to cope alone with his “father”. With these new ideas, Mary Shelley also delved into the topic of
technology and how women needed to assume a prolific role in these fields to keep technology
and science honest and used for good rather than the advancement of one individuals corrupt or
selfish ideas. Without Mary Wollstonecraft’s input into Mary’s life, her works would never have
had the depth and the deep questions that truly revolutionized thinking of both the women and
the man during the romantic time period.
Due to Mary Wollstonecraft’s absence in Mary Shelley’s life, her daughter looked to her
