Carol’s Comments August
2018
Hello Everyone! Welcome to another issue of Carol’s
Comments. While reading a thought provoking New Yorker article by Jill
Lepore centering on Mary Shelley’s and Frankenstein’s profound contribution
to English literature this February, I also learned that Shelley’s Gothic
horror masterpiece would be celebrating its 200th anniversary this
year. I knew I definitely wanted to devote a blog to this milestone. Since I already
had written a lengthy blog about the classic novel when I reviewed it in March
2014 for the St. Joseph County Public Library’s One Book, One Michiana festivities, I decided to focus on Mary Shelley’s
amazing life instead. I took this same approach when I commemorated Jane Austen’s
200th anniversary of her death last year.
I started my tribute by selecting Romantic
Outlaws: the Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Her Daughter Mary
Shelley by Charlotte Gordon. Published in 2015, Gordon’s innovative
dual biography chronicles Mary Wollstonecraft’s and her daughter Mary Godwin
Shelley’s unconventional lives through alternating chapters. Since I already
extensively described Mary Wollstonecraft’s life when I reviewed Frances
Sherwood’s well researched historical novel Vindication in September
2014, I decided to concentrate more on the biography’s chapters which discussed
Mary Shelley’s fascinating life and her mother’s tremendous influence on her
daughter’s feminist sensibilities.
Born on August 30, 1797, Mary Godwin was only 10
days old when her mother Mary Wollstonecraft tragically died of terribly
unnecessary childbirth complications on September 10, 1797.
Since childhood, Mary Godwin idolized and became
obsessed with her late mother. Her father, the radical 18th century
Enlightenment philosopher William Godwin also strongly encouraged Mary to
espouse her mother’s feminist ideals. She was especially influenced by her
mother’s signature work A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.
Unfortunately, after her father remarried, young teenage Mary began to flounder
because her father became preoccupied with his second family. Mary felt her
father had abandoned her and her mother’s memory.
However, her life took a pivotal turn when at age
14, her father sent her to Scotland in June 1812 to live with one of his
admirers, the political radical William Baxter and his family. She spent two
years there where she first met British Romantic poet/philosopher Percy Bysshe
Shelley. Shelley followed her back to England and became her father’s protégée.
However, the attraction between Mary and Shelley deepened very quickly. Then in
August 1814 when Mary was only16, she ran off to France and later other parts
of Europe with still married 22 year old Shelley and her stepsister Claire
Clairmont. During their romantic escapade, Mary soon became pregnant with the
first one of four children. Sadly, the baby girl, born prematurely, died 15
days later in April 1815.
During their scandalous adventures with Shelley,
Mary’s stepsister became Lord Byron’s lover. This liaison, along with Mary’s baby’s death
intensified the rivalry between the two women since Claire also idolized
Shelley.
Shortly after giving birth to her second child
William, Mary and Shelley, on the insistence of her stepsister Claire, traveled
to Switzerland to stay with Lord Byron at his Lake Geneva villa. June 15-16,
1816 became important dates for 18 year old Mary Godwin’s literary career.
During a very stormy night, Lord Byron urged his guests to write their own
ghost stories. When completed, he would pick the winner.
This was where Frankenstein’s plot was born – supposedly
appearing to Mary in a nightmare. Although not published until January 1, 1818,
Frankenstein,
subtitled, or, The Modern Prometheus, would become Mary Shelley’s most
famous work. Still obsessed by her mother’s death, Mary connected her own birth
with the monster’s diabolical creation. While writing Frankenstein, Gordon
believes that Mary Shelley wrote the novel as a therapeutic release.
After finally marrying Percy Shelley on December 16,
1816, Mary continued to endure much unhappiness while living in exile – now mostly
in Italy. For instance, three out of four of her children died very young. Only
her fourth child, Percy Florence Shelley, born November 9, 1819, survived into
adulthood. Unfortunately, young Percy’s birth did not help strengthen her marriage.
Shelley’s interest in his wife deteriorated both intellectually and sexually.
Then after Percy Shelley tragically perished in a
boating accident in July 1822 at age 29, Mary Shelley suffered a deep depression.
No one realized that despite all the difficulties she had experienced over
eight years, Shelley had been the center of her world.
Although she wrote five novels, two travel books and
edited a four volume set of her husband’s complete works which helped Percy
Shelley become one of England’s most beloved Romantic poets, Mary Shelley is
only really remembered for creating Frankenstein, her most stellar book.
On February 1, 1851, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley died at 53 of brain cancer.
Gordon’s very engaging scholarly biography mentions
in the last chapter that Muriel Spark’s groundbreaking 1951 biography helped to
significantly restore Mary Shelley’s status as an influential 19th
century author after almost 100 years. She was much more than just the wife of
Romantic poet Percy Shelley. Furthermore, Gordon insists that both Mary
Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley overcame many obstacles to promote and practice
their feminist philosophy. They were truly trailblazing outlaws.
Next I wanted to see a film about Mary Shelley’s
life. After reading a positive review in the New York Times about the
newly released movie Mary Shelley starring Elle Fanning,
I found the perfect choice. Luckily, since the film was produced by IFC Films,
it was released simultaneously in theaters as well as Comcast on Demand on May
25. So instead of rushing to a local movie theater to review it, I watched it
on as a two day rental at home.
Directed by Haifaa Mansour, the film begins in 1812
just before Mary’s father William Godwin played by Stephen Dillane sends his
daughter to Scotland to stay with William Baxter and his family. At 14, rebellious
Mary Godwin, hauntingly portrayed by Elle Fanning is already telling ghost
stories to her stepsister Claire Clairmont and half -brother William and
completely obsessed with the mother she never knew.
Then the movie quickly fast forwards to 1814 when 16
year old Mary Godwin meets, falls in love and runs off through Europe with
Romantic poet/philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley passionately performed by
Douglas Booth.
Although Emma Jensen’s rather straightforward biopic
screenplay only covers about five years of Mary Shelley’s life, the plot seemed
a bit rushed at times. The most dramatic part of the movie happens when Percy,
Mary and her stepsister Claire meet Lord Byron lasciviously portrayed by Tom Sturridge
and journey to his Lake Geneva estate in June 1816. That’s where the viewer
witnesses the creation of Frankenstein, Mary Godwin Shelley’s
Gothic horror classic.
Unfortunately, Mary Shelley concludes after the
novel is published anonymously in 1818. Then the film recounts the rest of her
life in a brief written summary before the credits roll. What a disappointment!
However, the film does include a special treat for Downton
Abbey fans. Joanne Froggatt (Anna Bates) has a small role as Mary
Shelley’s stepmother Mary Jane Clairmont. Despite its continuity flaws, I would
still recommend Mary Shelley to anyone who enjoys literary film adaptations.
After finishing my tribute to Mary Shelley, I still
wanted to find an amusing way to continue commemorating Frankenstein’s 200th
anniversary while also celebrating its author’s upcoming 221st birthday
on August 30th.
While browsing through the April 2018 issue of Martha
Stewart Living, I spotted a profile of the new cookbook Cake featuring
drawings by Maira Kalman, my favorite New Yorker and children’s book
illustrator. I knew I wanted to include this quirky gem in my blog and also add
it to my personal cookbook collection.
Part fanciful memoir, part delightfully eclectic
cookbook, Cake first features whimsical illustrations by Maira Kalman
that depict special moments in her life where food (especially cake) captured a
special memory. For instance, the first cake Kalman remembered was a chocolate
cake served on her Aunt Shoshana’s terrace in Tel Aviv one summer. Kalman’s
other charming reminiscences include her parents eating a lemon pound cake
every Sunday and the Tale of the Broken Heart Cake.
In addition to Kalman’s comically poignant vignettes
and adorable color drawings interspersed throughout the book, the cookbook also
includes 17 delectable, easy to follow recipes developed by food editor Barbara
Scott-Goodman ranging from Lemon Pound Cake with Lemon Glaze to White Cake with
Butter Cream Frosting. My favorites are: Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese
Frosting, Flourless Chocolate Cake, Coconut Layer Cake and Pavlova with Fresh
Berries. They all sound so irresistible and yummy! I highly recommend this cute
little cookbook to both food enthusiasts and serious bakers alike. To quote
Julia Child: “Bon Appetit!”
The books reviewed in this blog can be found at most
local public libraries. My readers in St. Joseph County, Indiana can visit the
St, Joseph County Public Library’s web site at sjcpl.lib.in.us for additional
information, Thanks for reading! See you all next time.
