Mary Shelley is most known for her magnum opus, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, considered to be the world’s first science fiction novel.
She was born to two philosophers and was married to a poet. With those kinds of influences, it’s no surprise that her writings are filled with grand thoughts and deep beliefs.
Aside from Frankenstein, perhaps her greatest achievement is being recognized as one of the greatest women writers of all time. It’s especially impressive when you consider that her era was dominated by male writers.
Best Mary Shelley Quotes
Mary Shelley’s works often deal with radical ideas and grand themes that often dealt with life and death and how our actions are influenced by our perspectives of both. Here are some of her best quotes, lifted from her finest works.
What is there in our nature that is forever urging us on towards pain and misery?
The Last Man
It is odd how we sometimes take the darker paths in life despite our logical ability to pick better choices. Shelley laments on this as she explores the concept of isolation and how it affects us physically and mentally.
Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.
Frankenstein
We can cope with incremental changes because they rarely impact our lives in such a big way. This gives us time to seek a state of mental and physical equilibrium. However, large and sudden developments rarely give us time to adjust and may make us feel as if we’re lost and not in control.
Nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose — a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye.
Frankenstein
The doubts and fears we frequently feel become less daunting since we know everything we do serves a purpose in achieving our goals.
Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.
Frankenstein
Like all emotions, fear is not necessarily a bad thing, but a natural emotion that we need to process. When left alone and uncontrolled, it prevents our progress, but when channeled into positive actions, it can be the breakthrough we need to move forward.
Men become cannibals of their own hearts; remorse, regret, and restless impatience usurp the place of more wholesome feeling: everything seems better than that which is.”
Lodore
Science says our minds are easily fixated on negative things. When we fail to process our negative thoughts, it becomes harder for us to maintain a positive outlook on life. We can avoid this by reframing our thought processes and establishing new patterns.
What is the world, except that which we feel? Love, and hope, and delight, or sorrow and tears; these are our lives, our realities, to which we give the names of power, possession, misfortune, and death.
Valperga
Our actions and thoughts are often governed by our emotions. We pursue happiness by doing something we like and we exercise our anger through excessive actions and so on. How powerful that emotion is can set our perception of how valuable something is.
How mutable are our feelings, and how strange is that clinging love we have of life even in the excess of misery!
Frankenstein
There is always space for hope in our minds and it’s what pushes us to take another step forward, in the belief that something good is just ahead.
Do you mark my words; I have learned the language of despair: I have it all by heart, for I am Despair; and a strange being am I, joyous, triumphant Despair…. We lie down, and close our eyes with a gentle good night, and when we wake, we are free.
Mathilda
Shelley’s book about a maiden in love with death is a great reminder for us to cherish the time we have and make the most of it. Dwelling on despair can only breed more despair and it is what leads the titular Mathilda to her death.
I must love and be loved. I must feel that my dear and chosen friends are happier through me. When I have wandered out of myself in my endeavor to shed pleasure around, I must again return laden with the gathered sweets on which I feed and live. Permit this to be, unblamed—permit a heart whose sufferings have been, and are, so many and so bitter, to reap what joy it can from the necessity it feels to be sympathized with—to love.
The Fortunes Of Perkin Warbeck
The need to be loved is considered one of our fundamental needs. This is satisfied when we feel that we’re part of a community or a cause larger than ourselves. We do this by cultivating relationships of many levels, from the family to the workplace.
I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous.
Frankenstein
Our experiences shape our perspectives in life. When we experience negativity, it’s easier to be pessimistic in attitude and action. This is also true in reverse. When we’re happy, it’s easier to be kind and optimistic.
Mary Shelley’s Writing
Mary Shelley’s life was filled with triumphs and tragedies that led to an interesting life. These experiences bled into her writings, where she often explored the boundaries of what it means to be human.
Take Frankenstein as an example. It tells of a short-sighted scientist who attempts to create life, only to reject his creation. His creation and subsequent abandonment of the Creature invites a question: How valuable is life?
It certainly makes you wonder who the real monster is in the novel— the Creature, a being made out of dead body parts, or Victor, a selfish man who cares not for the consequences of his scientific pursuits? And in the end, who acted more human between the two?
Have you read any of Mary Shelley’s works? Share your experience in the comments below!
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Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
