1. Her parents were THE FOUNDER OF ANARCHISM and AN 18TH CENTURY FEMINIST PIONEER



Okay, technically William Godwin is more like the forefather of modern anarchism philosophy, but still a very important figure amongst anarchists. But her mother, Mary Wollenscraft, was one of the first pioneers of the feminist movement, at a time when it was extremely dangerous to be advocating for women’s rights.



2. She learned to read and write her name by tracing the letters ON HER MOTHER’S GRAVE



Mary disliked her father’s new wife and her stepmother, so would often take solace at the grave of her mother. As they shared the same name (Mary Wollenscraft), Mary’s father thought it would be expedient to have her simply trace the letters on the grave to help her learn to read and write.



3. Mary Shelley also lost her virginity...ON TOP OF HER MOTHER'S GRAVE.



Mary and her beau, the then-married Percy Bysshe Shelley, used Mary Wollenscraft’s grave as their secret meeting place and romantic hideaway. After declaring their love for one another, they gave in to their “ardent passion.”

4. She wrote Frankenstein ON A DARE while on VACATION at age 18 and singlehandedly INVENTED A NEW GENRE OF LITERATURE (Science Fiction)



Listen, not sure what YOU do on vacations, but I for one have never invented one of the single most important conceits in literature AT AGE 18. Then again, I don’t go on vacations with Lord Byron and John Poldiori. Who, uh, also invented the concept of literary romantic vampires at the SAME PARTY with his novella, “The Vampyre.”



5. But it wasn’t all badass writing and having sex on mom’s grave - Mary Shelley’s life was heavily influenced by tragedies great and small. She lost two of her three children at young ages, her husband drowned in a storm at age 29, and she was plagued by illness, depression, and debt her whole life. She became intensely interested and fascinated by death at a young age, due to the passing of her mother when she was only 11 days old - and death followed her throughout her life. She and her husband had an open marriage, which caused Mary no end of emotional pain and feelings of jealousy and inadequacy.



And despite all of this (or as many would suggest, BECAUSE of it), Mary Shelley continued to be one of the most brilliant and underrated thinkers and writers in history.



6. BUT YEAH SHE WAS STILL KINDA INSANELY GOTH - Mary Shelley kept her dead husband's calcified heart wrapped in his poetry in a drawer for most of her life, along with the hair of her dead children.



NO ONE HAS EVER WENT AS GOTH AS MARY SHELLEY.

Source: collegehumor

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