Beyond Frankenstein: A Psychological Analysis of the Life of Mary Shelley. Psychology Final Project. Patten University

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1 Beyond Frankenstein: A Psychological Analysis of the Life of Mary Shelley Psychology Final Project Patten University

2 2 Beyond Frankenstein: A Psychological Analysis of the Life of Mary Shelley Many people may be familiar with the Halloween-themed monster Frankenstein. Yet it might come as a surprise to find out the creator of this menacing character originated from a woman in the 18 th century. Despite social adversity, traumatic loss, and a battle with depression, Mary Shelly was an inspiration to women and writers, who rose above social challenges and left her mark in the world. What empowered an individual such as Mary and gave her the strength and determination to persevere beyond social and personal adversity? Through the biography of Mary Shelley s life Daughter of Earth and Water, by Noel Gerson (1973), a psychological analysis of her character can be found by applying the psychoanalytic, humanistic/existential, and socioemotional development theories to provide a clearer understanding of the motivating forces that attributed to her life s work. Born to Mary Wollstonecraft, a free spirited women s advocate and author, and James Godwin, an established philosopher and intellectual, Mary most likely inherited much of her creativity, strong-will, and passion for knowledge from her parents. Godwin proved to have a strong impact on Mary s life that shaped many of her core beliefs through his philosophies. According to Godwin s theories, a free spirit and intellectual mind were of higher importance than organized religion and the laws of society. These concepts played a significant role in Mary s life as well as her husband and Godwin follower, Percy Bysshe Shelley (Gerson, 1973). Barely separated from his first wife who was pregnant with their child, Shelley eloped with then 17-year old Mary and ran away with her and her stepsister Claire to Italy. Using Godwin s philosophy as their excuse not to marry, they were shunned for several years by many in society, including Godwin and their families. As they travelled throughout Italy and England, Mary and Shelley befriended many prominent authors of the time including Lord Byron. It was

3 3 he who inspired the creation of Frankenstein through a challenge to write a scary story. Mary s novel was published and she soon became widely known for her unique story telling abilities. Mary continued to write and publish more works and was a key supporter in Shelley s writings, who proved to be a renowned poet, and had many highly distributed publications as well (Gerson, 1973). In her lifetime Mary experienced the birth and death of two of her children at very young ages. Deep bouts of depression set in as a result from these events, which tested the boundaries of Mary and Shelley s love and relationship. In addition to her depression, her sister committed suicide as well as Shelley s first wife. Yet Mary was astute in recognizing her own depression and fought to recover her mental health. Additionally, Shelley developed close relationships with some of his and Mary s female friends and wrote epitaphs that attributed to their beauty. Believing in her husband s passion for the art of love and beauty, she excused what others thought of as borderline infidelity and attributed it to Shelley s poetic aspirations (Gerson, 1973). A Psychological Study of Mary Shelley As a foundation of psychological theories, the psychoanalytic theory allows for an indepth analysis of Mary s life. Originated by Sigmund Freud in the 19 th century, the psychoanalytic theory hones in on the unconscious mind exploring childhood experiences and memories and how they determine behavior and direction in life (Stangor, 2010). Although Freud s original theory was highly sex-focused, several psychologists expanded on his ideas creating the Neo-Freudian psychoanalytic theory of personality, as explained on Boundless, an innovative textbook website. The description refers to Carl Jung, who studied directly with Freud and developed his own twist on the psychoanalytic theory. One focus for Jung was dreams

4 4 what they meant and how they affected our thoughts. He believed by studying and understanding dreams we can gain valuable insight to our personality and life (2016). Shortly before Shelley s death, Mary wrote in her journal of having several dreams of disaster to come. Mary was highly worried for Shelley who cherished sailing and was soon to leave for a long sailing trip. This is a clear example of how her dreams had combined her conscious and unconscious lives. The stress of seeing her husband depart on a dangerous and long sailing trip entered into her dreams as an impending disaster and served to Mary as a warning. Despite the foreboding from Mary, Shelley continued with his plan and tragically died in a storm that crashed and sunk the boat (Gerson, 1973). Further research on the Boundless website reveals another aspect of Jung s theory, the persona that individuals display. Reflecting the expectations from society, our persona hides what we truly feel and shows what society expects from us (2016). Left as a widow at the young age of twenty-five, Mary began to experience a depression that she had struggled with in the past. Learning to cope with her depression, she used her journal as a source of relief to reveal her true suffering that her persona hid from the rest of the world. From the following passage in the biography, it is clear to see that Mary aimed to show a persona of positivity outward, yet grieved internally: She never complained about her situation, and only in her Journal, which she believed no one else would ever see, did she record her feelings of desolation (Gerson, 1973, Ch. XX, Loc. 3189). Another Neo-Freudian highlighted on the Boundless website, Alfred Adler, developed three key tasks that must be accomplished in order to have a fulfilling life: occupational, societal and love (2016). For career, Mary discovered her desire to write at a young age and persistently worked towards the goal of becoming a professional author. In society, Mary was highly social,

5 5 and even though they moved frequently during her relationship to Shelley, she always formed new friendships whose bond lasted throughout the years. Lastly, Mary s love for Shelley was a true love of mutual respect based off of their values and intellect. After Shelley s death, Mary worked tirelessly to ensure publication of his last work as well as a full collection of his writing, and ensured he was memorialized as one of the great poets of the century (Gerson, 1973). From a different perspective, yet equally valid, the humanistic/existential theory allows us to analyze another important aspect of Mary s life that of her free spirit. The National Center for Biotechnology Information explains that the humanistic/existential theory focuses on the individual and their experiences. They go on to explain that understanding one s self and becoming self-aware of the full potential that can be reached are key elements of the theory. Instead of looking at the past and the unconscious mind, the humanistic theory focuses on the present and building a stronger sense of awareness of one s self. Similarly, the existential theory also focuses on the now with aims to grasp philosophical meaning and hold the individual responsible for their choices and judgements through embracing free will (1999). A clear demonstration of the humanistic/existential theme of free will and accountability was when Mary and Shelley chose to run away and live together, without marriage, in accordance to their ideals. They grasped firmly to their beliefs and rejected society s expectations regarding what they should do, thereby following the path they believed was philosophically correct. They also were willing to take responsibility for the outcomes of their actions rejection from society (Gerson, 1973). In Stangor s Introduction to Psychology, he addressed a popular theory that stemmed from the humanistic approach Maslow s Hierarchy of Needs. Stangor described a pyramid hierarchy that Maslow defined with layers (from bottom to top) of physiological, safety,

6 6 love/belonging, esteem and self-actualization. Once one level s needs are met, a person can then focus on the next higher level s needs to lead towards self-actualization (2010). A clear example of the second level goals, which are safety needs of employment, family, and property, is shown in Mary s life. Although she established her family, throughout Mary s life there were financial struggles and they moved often, which forced her to put aside her aspirations to focus on meeting this need first. Taking the reins on the finances, she understood the importance of meeting fiscal debts and goals. She also valued her children s health and safety and made major life changes to try and protect them (Gerson, 1973). Additionally from Maslow s hierarchy, Stangor s text elaborates on esteem, the fourth level in the hierarchy, which includes needs such as confidence, achievement and respect from others and yourself (2010). With the help of Godwin, Mary had a high level of confidence and self-esteem in her childhood and reached achievements of great worth for women at that time. At one point in her life she was shunned from society due to her elopement with Shelley, a married man. She worked hard to maintain her beliefs and morals. Through her writing she became wellknown and respected in the literary field once again in society (Gerson, 1973). Taking a closer look at a third theory, which stems from the psychodynamic field, Stangor explains that the socio/emotional development theory breaks a person s life into stages that depend on each other and assist in building healthy relationships and a well-adjusted life. In childhood the ability to regulate and express emotions in a healthy way can impact the way careers and relationships are formed as adults (2010). Erikson s psychosocial stages of development, a prime example of socio/emotional development in the Introduction to Psychology, discusses how events in childhood can lead to the person you become as an adult. Erikson s theory includes eight stages, each having a positive

7 7 and negative perspective and if positively fulfilled then lead on towards a well-adjusted life (2010). One key stage for Mary was industry vs. inferiority, stage four (age 6-12), where she developed a sense of pride through the reassurance of family and friends, versus feelings of inferiority and not meeting the standard. As young as age six, she conversed with many of her father s literary friends and philosophical followers. This exposure to social events and encouragement from her father enabled stage four to reach fulfillment (Gerson, 1973). Struggling in her teenage years when signs of depression appeared, Erikson s stage five, identity versus role confusion (age 12-18), proved to be challenging for Mary. As explained by Stangor, in Erikson s fifth stage it is important to develop a sense of identity that defines who you are. Those who fail in this stage struggle to define themselves in their older years (2010). Had it not been for Godwin sending Mary to stay with his friend and family in Scotland at age 14, Mary may not have developed into the strong-willed woman she became. Mary s stay there improved her health, confidence and outlook on life as well as allowed her to ascertain her passion for creating stories and writing. She stated as much in her journal during that time: It is not singular that, as the daughter of two persons of distinguished literary celebrity, I should very early in life have thought of writing. As a child I scribbled; and my favorite pastime, during the hours given me for recreation, was to write stories. (Gerson, 1973, Ch. II, Loc. 380) Meeting the previous stages allowed Mary to be ready for the last stages in her life, generativity versus stagnation (age 20-40) and integrity vs. despair (age 60-death). As Stangor clarifies, Erikson s last stages speak to finding your life s work, improving yourself and in the end reflecting with a satisfied heart on a life well-lived. On the other hand, those who struggle in these stages fail to connect in a career or purpose, lack productivity, and feel a sense of failure

8 8 when they look back on their life (2010). As can be evidenced from Mary s literary fame, her focus as a mother, and her last tranquil years of life, stages seven and eight were also successfully met (Gerson, 2010). Outcomes Related to Theories It is important to understand how each theory applied to Mary and produced a relevant outcome in her life. Looking at the psychoanalytic theory, specifically Freud s psychosexual theory of development, the first stage is oral fixation, which is where babies focus on the sucking reflex and breastfeeding is highly important to develop a secure bond with the mother (Stangor, 2010). Since Mary s mother died giving birth to her and she was never breastfed, the lack of that relationship and bond may have resulted in her struggle during her teenage years, where she suffered from depression and not having a maternal figure she could confide in. She immersed herself in her mother s writings and took to sitting by her graveside for long periods of time, even sometimes sleeping there and talking to her dead mother (Gerson, 2010). Additionally, the latency period of Freud s theory states that the superego and conscience will being to develop and children will start to adopt their parent s values (Stangor, 2010). Although Mary held her father s philosophy and morals at high regard, she began to study the occult at this time, which her father did not agree with. Her and her sisters would hold séances in their bedrooms. These two items and a lack of Mary s health alerted her father. He sent her off to his friend in Scotland, whom with a healthy family, including a teenage daughter to befriend Mary, soon brought about her health, and halted her macabre habits. However, later in her life, Mary and her sister continued séances as young adults. It is this interest that brought about Mary s first published work, Frankenstein, and established her as an author (Gerson, 2010). In essence, what appeared to be an unhealthy practice as a child resulted in a successful practice of writing as an adult. It is

9 9 possible to summarize that maturing to an adult, the stages had met fulfillment and enabled her to see her interest in the occult for what it was a hobby she dabbled in and not a core belief. In order to reach her goal of becoming an established author and attain the level of selfactualization, the humanistic approach of Maslow s Hierarchy of Needs had to be fulfilled in the right order (Stangor, 2010). Mary needed stability in her finances, living situation, intimate relationship, and family in order to provide her full attention to writing and her inner goals. Her son Percy was a priority beyond her own goals: there was only one way she could afford to send her son to Harrow, and in April she acted accordingly, moving to Harrow herself and enrolling Percy Florence as a day student. The move forced her to give up the life in London she enjoyed, and also entailed a financial sacrifice, as she could no longer write regularly for the magazines (Gerson, 1973, Ch. XXIII, Loc. 3680) Additionally, her father played a major role in her life. He discussed his philosophical ideals with Mary and included her in the many numerous literary gatherings and intellectual discussions held at their house (Gerson, 1973). Through this encouragement and belief in Mary s skillset, Godwin helped to increase her self-esteem and confidence, which was critical for her to meet before going on to self-actualization. Beyond her own published works, Mary ensured Shelley s work was published after his death and considered it an important part of her life s work, as evidenced in the following line: The publication of the poetic works of Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1839 was undoubtedly the crowning achievement of his widow s life (Gerson, 1973, Ch. XXIII, Loc. 3779). This act led to self-actualization for Mary and enabled her to live peaceful years in her older age.

10 10 Similarly, the socio/emotional stages played a large part in Mary s fulfillment in life. Had she not had the trusting environment her father provided, the ability to act and think independently, and the social interaction as a child, Mary may have developed mistrust, low selfesteem, and doubt in her own abilities, which would have impacted her career and possibly left the world without Frankenstein. Instead, Mary was able to trust others, become self-sufficient as an author, and set appropriate goals to meet her life s work. This shows how closely each of Erikson s stages of psychosocial development are connected and depend upon each other. The Author s Intentions In all cases of a biography, it is important to take the content source and author into consideration for accuracy and biases. Throughout the biography, the author referred to Mary s journal, journals of others in her life, and various correspondence between Mary and key individuals in her life. However, it was also stated that opinions differed in these writings, which held Mary and Shelley at a lower regard and attributed to rumors the author claimed to be false. Gerson, author of the biography, aligned his story with Mary s denial of Shelley s rumored affairs in her personal writings. Gerson sided with Mary s opinions in her journal regarding one of Shelley s female acquaintances that was the focus of several of Shelley s published love poems. Mary stated this was his expression and tribute to the concept of love (1973). Yet, Gerson even mentioned that previous biographers of Shelley s found it to be quite the opposite and questioned Shelley s honesty to Mary. This is clear when he stated: The beauty of his [Shelley s] lines caused a number of his early biographers to question his fidelity to Mary... (Gerson, 1973, Ch. XIII, Loc. 2068). Yet he continued to support Mary s trust in Shelley. Gerson also overcompensated for Mary, and made assumptions from her writings that were not explicitly stated. As Mary was born in 1797 and lived in the early 18 th century, records

11 11 were limited to only writings. Although there were numerous records due to Mary and Shelley s acquired literary fame, without explicit documentation it can be easy to make assumptions that are either a stretch of the truth or completely false. For example, in the following passage, Gerson explained that Mary s journal stated she hadn t been reading much during a period of time. This is quickly followed up with his own opinion: there was less time for reading, which Mary s journal reflects. It is possible, of course, that both [Mary and Shelley] were still reading more than she was recording, as she had other matters on her mind (Gerson, 1973, Ch. XVIII, Loc. 2939). In fairness, Gerson was an established writer with 325 books published in his lifetime, according to an article from the Chicago Tribune that recapped highlights of his life soon after his passing in With a history focus at the University of Chicago, he went on to become a reporter, which gave him the experience to write about people and daily life events. He also wrote several other biographies of such famed characters as Cleopatra, Harriet Beecher Stowe, President Theodore Roosevelt and many others (Heise, 1988). Through this experience and research knowledge, his skillset played into a thought-provoking novel on Mary s life that included many veritable sources. Gerson followed the style of a qualitative research for this biography and provided his understanding of Mary s motivations with gently peppered opinions in summation of the sources gathered. Conclusion Throughout her life, in moments of grief, social struggle, and mental depression, Mary remained strong and true to her ideals and core beliefs, which enabled her to overcome her troubles and rise above to find her life s work. The ability to review the events in her life from

12 12 birth to death in the form of a biography is very similar to longitudinal research, allowing the application of psychological theories in the analysis of the person s life. Reviewing concepts from Freud, Jung and Adler, the psychoanalytic theory revealed where some of Mary s motivations and successes may have originated. Rooted in her childhood, Mary was provided with the parental guidance from her father and the social support to appropriately build the self-esteem and confidence needed to overcome challenges and embrace ambition. Additionally, looking at Mary s dreams and persona, a deeper impression of her personality can be formed as one who attributed much to the unconscious, yet was also very aware of the stigma burdened on those with mental health issues. Looking at Mary s plights and achievements, many areas of her life can be understood by applying Maslow s Hierarchy of Needs from the humanistic theory. From needs of safety, to confidence growth and developed respect, Mary had to go up and down the hierarchy several times in her life as her situation changed. The humanistic theory focuses on the present versus the past (Stangor, 2010). Mary evaluated the present events in her life and appropriately prioritized them in order to meet the base needs first before focusing on higher aspirations. The socio/emotional development theory, specifically Erikson s eight stages, allowed for an evaluation of the events of Mary s life from birth to death. Erikson believed each stage must be met with success and if not, the individual would struggle in the upcoming stages. The socio/emotional development theory also states emotional health in childhood can lead to strong emotional health as an adult (Stangor, 2010). Mary successfully met most of Erikson s stages, with the exception of identity versus role confusion, which was a challenging stage for her yet one she overcame and that allowed her to mature into a successful woman.

13 13 Gerson provided an insightful look into the life of Mary Shelley and pulled from her own personal writings as well as those in her close circle of family and friends. Although, some assumptions were made and the author sided with Mary in most conflicting points, Gerson s education, experience, and research showed the due diligence applied to this biographical novel. Psychological theories help us comprehend each other our life events that play into our motives, choices and direction in life. Although Mary Shelley is most widely known as the author of Frankenstein, analyzing her life reveals so much more to us than a short novel she wrote in response to a challenge from Lord Byron. So the next time you see an image of the big green guy with screws coming out of his head and stitches all over his body, perhaps you ll think of more than just the Halloween-themed Frankenstein, and instead remember the Daughter of Earth and Water, a woman of free will, strong spirit, and high ambition who, overcoming conflict and strife in her life, transcended to meet her life s calling.

14 14 References Boundless (2016). Boundless Psychology. Retrieved from Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. (1999). Brief Interventions and Brief Therapies for Substance Abuse. Rockville (MD): Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US). (Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series, No. 34.) Chapter 6 --Brief Humanistic and Existential Therapies. Retrieved from: Gerson, N. B. (1973). Daughter of earth and water; a biography of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. New York: Morrow. Heise, K. (1988, November 24). Prolific Writer Noel Gerson, 75. Retrieved May 13, 2016, from Stangor, C. (2010) Introduction to Psychology. Stangorton, NY: Flatworld Knowledge.