It also tells us how she came to write it. It began as a
sort of exercise to pass some time, a challenge to write a horror story when she was
visiting with some friends in Geneva and the weather was cold and rainy. She also says
that the subject was of interest to her because she was interested in the ideas of
Darwin. She states that in presenting a scientifically impossible situation, she was
able to explore the depths of human passions in a way that she might not have been able
to under ordinary circumstances. Nevertheless, she has preserved what she believes are
the “truths” in human nature, even though dealing with the bizarre and fantastic. She
also denies that she had any purpose in espousing any doctrinal position (“nor is any
inference justly to be drawn from the following pages as prejudicing any philosophical
doctrine of whatever kind”). She also said that she was going to write other tales, but
the weather cleared up, and that was the end of it.
Do you
believe what she says? There is so much depth in this story and the themes are so
profound, it is hard to believe it is only a lark. However, that may be attributed to
the genius of Mary Shelley. She was only 19 when she wrote this.
Amazing.
No comments:
Post a Comment