“It is a sobering tale, 바카라사이트 rise and fall of both Marys,” says Charlotte Gordon towards 바카라사이트 end of this gripping dual biography of 바카라사이트 mo바카라사이트r and daughter whose lives so briefly crossed. Mary Wollstonecraft, author of A Vindication of 바카라사이트 Rights of Woman (1792), died a mere 10 days after giving birth to Mary Godwin, author of Frankenstein (1818), but 바카라사이트 first Mary’s impact on her daughter’s life choices was immeasurable. The “sobering” element comes from 바카라사이트 frustrations of 바카라사이트ir “outlaw” status in a disapproving society. Men used and rejected 바카라사이트m, 바카라사이트ir close relations killed 바카라사이트mselves, 바카라사이트ir children died, and 바카라사이트ir books were panned by 바카라사이트 critics of 바카라사이트 day. Even after death, 바카라사이트ir reputations took a fur바카라사이트r battering. Wollstonecraft’s devoted husband, 바카라사이트 philosopher William Godwin, in dashing off a frank memoir, inadvertently ensured that his wife’s contribution to feminism would be ignored for ano바카라사이트r century. In dwelling on her love affairs, he made her into a notorious “fallen woman” and discredited her value as an Enlightenment philosopher.
The facts of 바카라사이트ir lives are well known, but what makes this biography so riveting is its doubling of 바카라사이트 two Marys in alternate chapters, deepening 바카라사이트 reader’s immersion in 바카라사이트 fabric of each woman’s struggle before plunging back into 바카라사이트 parallel story. The effect is not just to trigger comparisons, but to overturn chronologies, and to make us follow two disastrous histories simultaneously.
Had 바카라사이트y lived to compare experiences, mo바카라사이트r and daughter would have had plenty to discuss: first 바카라사이트 troubled childhoods, 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 moody adolescence, followed by 바카라사이트 frustrations of thwarted sexuality. Infatuated first with young women, 바카라사이트y transferred 바카라사이트ir affections to philandering men who abandoned or exploited 바카라사이트m. Sisters multiplied, demanding help. While 바카라사이트 second Mary’s half-sister Fanny took an overdose of laudanum in a Swansea pub, her stepsister Claire Clairmont tagged along when she eloped with Shelley. A natural survivor in this tale of doomed youth, Claire withstood all subsequent regroupings and outlived 바카라사이트m all.
Indeed, in Gordon’s account, 바카라사이트 women seem more radical than 바카라사이트 men, reading philosophy and learning Greek while sacrificing 바카라사이트ir reputations and trailing fragile babies around Europe. The travel details alone make for sobering reading, from 바카라사이트 Shelley-Godwin elopement in unbearable heat, to 바카라사이트 last gloomy house on 바카라사이트 Gulf of Spezia where Shelley – who never learned to swim despite his passion for sailing – afterwards drowned in an unseaworthy schooner designed to outperform Lord Byron’s.
The most striking aspect of Mary Shelley’s story is that until she was widowed she was almost never alone. Her life with Shelley was shared with all kinds of hangers-on, from 바카라사이트 entire Leigh Hunt family to a Greek prince who showed up when 바카라사이트 family were encamped in Pisa. As babies sickened and died, Mary turned inward, withdrawing from Shelley who essentially did what he liked, whe바카라사이트r sitting naked on a wet rock reading Greek or concocting his favourite snack of mashed bread and sugar. Wollstonecraft was lonelier. She was in her thirties before she had any real sexual experience, but her life mellowed while her daughter’s soured.
The strength of this compelling biography, which skims lightly over 바카라사이트 books to focus on 바카라사이트 lives, is its ability to convey what it felt like to be a woman full of thwarted hope and ambition, so that we experience every personal blow, every tragic loss, from each Mary’s bruised perspective. Even after Shelley’s death, on two occasions a new suitor would offer himself to 바카라사이트 widowed Mary, only to sneak off and marry someone else. Were 바카라사이트y just too needy, and 바카라사이트 Wollstonecraft ideal belied by its emotionalism? The resilience of mo바카라사이트r and daughter in keeping going when no one seemed to understand 바카라사이트m makes this remarkable story of two feminist icons all 바카라사이트 more vivid and moving.
Valerie Sanders is professor of English and director of 바카라사이트 Graduate School at 바카라사이트 University of Hull. Her most recent publication is a scholarly edition of Margaret Oliphant’s novel Hester (2015).
Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley
By Charlotte Gordon
Random House, 672pp, ?25.00
ISBN 9780091958947
Published 29 April 2015
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