Category: Mary Shelley

As we begin to compare Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley, it is interesting to see the observations once made by William Godwin. As Shelley’s father and Wollstonecraft’s husband, few knew both figures as well as he did. Godwin noted that his time spent with Shelley was different as it was bright and joyful, and he would ‘never anticipate the evil day’ (Marshall 183). While Shelley’s mother passed away almost immediately after she was born, Shelley was impacted by her mother’s beliefs and influence, especially in issues involving women’s education and feminism. Multiple scholars have noticed how much influence Wollstonecraft had on Shelley, and many attribute this to Shelley’s desire to learn about the mother she never met. Many of Wollstonecraft’s literary elements were woven into Shelley’s works, reflecting some of the psychological need to know and understand who her mother was. In fact, Shelley first learned to read and write at her mother’s tombstone, revealing the kind of connection she yearned for. Looking into the works of both Wollstonecraft and Shelly, while there are definite similarities, there are also definite differences, despite how much Wollstonecraft influenced Shelley’s writing.

Wollstonecraft was well known in the literary world during her time. As the daughter of an esteemed author, there is no doubt that Shelly was born into a literary legacy. However, it is astonishing that, as much as Wollstonecraft is renowned as a feminist critic, who many regard as the original pioneer for women’s rights, Shelley wrote her first novel without considering any development concerning the female characters. At first glance, the roles of the female characters in Shelley’s Frankenstein, her first novel, went against all the advancements in society that Wollstonecraft had hoped and fought for. According to Wollstonecraft, women were supposed to intelligent, educated, and independent.

In Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women, she argues for women and provides counters regarding the stereotypes that they faced. Wollstonecraft also fought to establish the fundamental notion that both men and women were equal and thus, deserved equal rights. However, in Shelley’s literary work, Frankenstein, she portrayed women as uneducated people who were not only passive and lacked quality characteristics, but also seemingly satisfied with how the society looked at and treated them. By the time the novel came to an end, the women in Frankenstein were either driven out or killed. This kind of contradiction between the two writers has prompted a long discussion among various writers and critics.

Considering that Wollstonecraft advocated for women’s rights as well as education, her daughter’s critics and scholars often look at her works keenly and cautiously with the hope that they will find Wollstonecraft’s work in that of her daughter, Shelley. Shelley did not know her mother, but she grew up with the beliefs and voice in her writings and all the teachings that Wollstonecraft had left behind. According to Florence Marshall, Shelley had internal thoughts concerning her mother and the works that she wrote. Marshall mentioned this aspect in her analysis, The Life and Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, and she noted that Shelley was “proud of her parentage, [idolized] the memory of her mother…” (Marshall 36). Marshall depicted Shelley as someone who treasured all the information that she obtained concerning her mother. Additionally, as someone who was also in the literature field, she began to understand about the message that Wollstonecraft conveyed. As much as Wollstonecraft was never present in Shelley’s life, Shelley’s lifestyle, as well as her writings, demonstrated the impact from that of her mother.

One other argument that Wollstonecraft and Shelley are nearly identical is because Shelley supposedly treated the women characters in her literary work the same way Wollstonecraft would have treated them. As such, Shelley did not denounce feminism and undermine the teachings that her mother left concerning female characters. However, most critics are not sure whether they should consider Wollstonecraft as an imperative influence in the work of Shelley. Most of them have suggested that the works of these two women should not be associated but rather, treated as two isolated and separate writers. The arguments of these critics are that Shelley drew her inspiration from the experiences that she gained as a female writer during her time rather than directly from Wollstonecraft. According to Vanessa Dickerson, much of Shelley’s personal experiences stemmed from the fact that she grew up in the 19th century, a time when women were looked down upon by society and considered as the weaker sex. From Dickerson’s argument, the societal perception of women during that time shaped the literary skills of Shelley, as she depicts the women in the works of Shelley as ‘present but absent’ (Dickerson 80). Dickerson expresses the struggles that Shelley went through as a woman in the 19th century and maintains that these ordeals are distinct in the literary works of Shelley.

Linda Gill also upholds the argument of Dickerson. However, she differs slightly in the argument because, according to her, Shelley, through her work, shows that “women are right to be paranoid, that women are killed by patriarchs and the power structure they perpetuate” (Gill 93). Shelley uses her literary work to twist the formula of Gothic Romance and highlight the concern that women are not safe in this world because of societal perceptions on at the time. The world that Shelley portrayed on women was full of violence, both social and physical, and women died in the male-dominated surrounding that they had to navigate through (Taniyan 6). Just like Dickerson, Gill does not show any indication that Shelley was influenced by Wollstonecraft. Rather, Shelley got the influence from the kind of notion that women experienced from society during her time. Therefore, both Wollstonecraft and Shelley got similar experiences from society, which pushed them to engage in feminist writings. It is the method of portrayal in which their styles differ.

In “A Mother’s Daughter: An Intersection of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” by Charles E. Robinson, each of the two writers present the same literary themes. According to Robinson, “if we look with care… we can find Mary Wollstonecraft lurking in the corners of Mary Shelley’s most famous novel” (Robinson 132). Therefore, Robinson depends on the literary works of the two writers to bring about the textual evidence that concerns them both. Primarily, the most visible connection between Wollstonecraft and Shelley is obvious in the relationship that Safie’s and her mother depict in Shelley’s Frankenstein. The same role that Wollstonecraft played in the life of Shelley is the same one portrayed in Safie’s mother, who does not appear directly in the text. In the same way, Shelley did not get to see her mother.

The theme of education is imperative in the literary works of these two writers. Shelley grew up reading the literary works of Wollstonecraft, and she ‘could not have failed to notice that her mother’s overtly didactic and argumentative Vindication… addressed the same issues that […] Shelley herself was addressing’ (Robinson 133). Shelley reflects the elements in the beliefs of Wollstonecraft concerning the education of women in her work. According to Wollstonecraft, extreme private or extreme public schooling was never a suitable education (Buss et al.). She argued that public schooling sends children away from their homes while private schooling advocated for education, which isolated children from their homes (Davis 307). Wollstonecraft argued that parents were better placed to support the education of their children in the safety and comfort of their homes. Getting an education from home was supposed to be thorough and considered to be very important. Wollstonecraft stated that a mother plays an essential role in the education of her children.

She said that for women to be great mothers, they should use their common senses and have an independent mind. This aspect was rarely attainable because women were essentially forced to depend on their husbands. Wollstonecraft insisted that people and society should seek to understand women and their characters perceived as a firm by governing their conduct on their own. Otherwise, they would never have enough command or sense to manage their children accordingly (Wollstonecraft 184). According to Wollstonecraft, mothers play a crucial role in their children’s education, and they help in the developmental process of their minds. In her work, Shelley touches on her mother’s image of a parent who doubles up as a teacher and twists this aspect to show what would happen to children if their suitable instructors failed them.

Despite the medium of literature, its representation shifts and adapts with time. Shelley wrote Frankenstein in the 1818. Wollstonecraft wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Women twenty years earlier. The argument of Wollstonecraft brought about a feminist agenda, and the reason for her work was to enlighten the society that by considering her arguments and guidelines, women will be better people (Gilbert, Sandra and Susan 221). This agenda was ideal for the society of both women during their time. As the years went by, and the world experienced technological innovations and confronted social issues through more aggressive methods. The feminist agenda, which both women pushed for fit in the atmosphere of the next centuries, 20th, and 21st.

Shelley was the daughter of Wollstonecraft and William Godwin and was born into a family that had literary fame. Moreover, Shelley also grew up into a world that desperately needed female empowerment as well as feminism. Her literary work, particularly Frankenstein, paved the path for both female novelists and horror sci-fi. The upbringing of Shelley revolved around the teachings that Wollstonecraft left behind, and her father did not follow any strict curriculum to raise her. The presentation of women in Shelley’s literary works was the embodiment of all the things that Wollstonecraft scorned, and this indicates that Shelly drew her inspiration from her mother. Moreover, she continued the conversation of Wollstonecraft and brought them indirectly, though clearly, and this shows the link between the literary works from these two people. In the recent times, the need for feminism does not relate to women being better mothers and wives, but the fact that the contemporary society should acknowledge the rights of women and advocate for the equal rights to men in both social and political capacities. Wollstonecraft and Shelley, through their literary works, portrayed female representation in a positive way during their time, and this concept has been significant with time.

Mary Shelley, a brilliant novelist, created one of the most fascinating novels of the 19th century. She has had to endure many obstacles and trials in her life leading up to the creation of Frankenstein. The events that transpired during her life have left a lasting impression that can be seen in her novel. Frankenstein was inspired by a waking dream that ended her blight of writer’s block. In her wakeful dream, she sees the vestige of a pale students that later becomes the protagonist in her surgery. Then she sees a man laid out and connected to some type of machinery with, yellow speculative eyes, that later becomes the monstrous foil to her protagonist. It is fascinating to think how the first work of science fiction came about from a ghost-writing competition. In the end, Shelley won the contest where her fellow romantics stood no chance. Before Shelley began writing Frankenstein, she gave birth to a daughter, Clara, who unfortunately died six weeks later of what is believed to be sudden infant death syndrome. Distraught, Shelley would dream about her baby coming back to life again with a little warmth. Coupled with the ever-present pain of the loss of her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, Shelley’s life is darkened by the tragedy that could have been translated into her novel, Frankenstein. During Mary Shelley’s life leading up to the creation of Frankenstein, she has gone through a series of overwhelming tribulations that would drastically alter the state of any man, but did those life-altering events have any effect on the themes such as family, alienation, and creation that are centered throughout Frankenstein?

Family is one of the most important thematic ideas found in Frankenstein. Family is scattered throughout the novel from the relationship between Robert Walton and his sister Margaret Saville, to Victor’s family, and even the Creature’s desire for a female companion. There is not a moment where the family does not play a pivotal role in the action of the novel.

The same can be said for the author herself, family has played a pivotal role in the upbringing of her life. Mary Shelley was the daughter of two well renowned romantic authors, the philosopher William Godwin and prominent feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. However, Jane Clairmont was the only mother that Mary ever knew. Jane Clairmont married Godwin after the death of Mary Wollstonecraft, Shelley never got along with her mother. As a young child, she only craved the love of her mother but was denied that love by Ms. Clairmont who only cared for the welfare of her own children. Eventually, Shelley leaves her family to travel around Europe with Percy Shelley and her stepsister, Claire Clairmont. Even though her relationship with her stepmother is estranged it is interesting how Claire and Mary could still be companionable. Sibling comradery is seen throughout Frankenstein.

An example of this is the commitment that Walton has for his sister who he tells about all his adventures. However, familial strain is also seen when Victor abandons his family for his desire for knowledge of creation. The motherly love that was withheld from Shelley grew to manifest into one of Victor’s many flaws, abandonment. Or could the effects were seen in her novel be the complicated feelings of motherhood, as she just recently lost a child. An interesting point is presented by Barbara D’Amato in her research on Mary Shelley, “…Mary may have believed any child she produced would inherit the repressed, hated, and destructive parts of herself”. These maternal thoughts could have been what lead Shelley to write the Creature as an unlovable child that could only be abandoned by Victor. Likewise, to the way that Claire abandoned Shelly when she needed her maternal ministrations the most.

There are multiple orphans present in the novel, both the Frankenstein family and the De Lacey family take in outsiders like Elizabeth and Safie. However, these characters come into stark contrast with the Creature. Elizabeth and Safie take on matriarchal roles that fill the void of an absent mother figure. Throughout the novel, a family full of potential for loss, suffering, and hostility is portrayed in both novels and in real life. The Frankenstein family is desecrated by revenge and ambition, while the De Lacey family is marred by poverty, the absence of a mother, and their merciless treatment of the creature as they turn it away. Shelley has experienced most of these feelings of woe, the absence of a mother, loss, suffering, and hostility in pertinence to her family.

Examining the relationship between Victor and the creature another pair appears from their shadows, Shelley and Ms. Clairmont. Victor resembles the stepmother while Shelley the Creature. All the Creature desires are paternal love from Victor but are denied for its hideous looks. Shelley only craves love and acceptance from her stepmother as any child would but is denied it, because of Clairmont’s jealousy. Can the creature really be seen as the monster of this novel, especially when his only fault was wanting to be loved by his creator? The true monsters in this tale or both Victor and Ms. Clairmont deny love to a poor vulnerable child who only craved consolation and love.

Alienation, a theme that interlaces itself with the familial theme of the novel. Alienation is mostly seen through the protagonist, Victor. Victor begins the novel with the abandonment of his family for his pursuit of knowledge. Then he abandons his creation because of its hideous nature, even though Victor was there for every step of its creation. Alienation has caused a multitude of grief for both the characters in Frankenstein and Mary Shelley. For Mary Shelley, alienation came early in her life with issues stemming from the relationship with her stepmother. This alienation contributed to some of the thematical issues present in the family, but it goes beyond that. Shelley was also socially alienated by the time, being the daughter of Godwin who didn’t abide by what was politically correct at the time.

Her place in society never settled, especially with her affair with, married at the time, Percy Shelley. Shelley was alienated from everything but her studies and writing and her isolating life can be compared to the Creature. The creature like Shelley losses their parent and is cast aside to their own devices. The only option left for the Creature and Shelley is learning, which is what they both do when raising themselves. Yet, you can also visualize Shelley in Victor and how they both lost their mothers, the memory of their mothers cast a shadow on their lives with their legacies hanging in the balance. Victor’s mother’s last wish, “On her deathbed…She joined the hands of Elizabeth and myself: ‘My children,’ she said, ‘my firmest hopes of future happiness were placed on the prospect of your union” (Shelley). Victor’s mother leaves him with the desire for him to marry his cousin Elizabeth, to keep the family together. Shelley’s mother who was named after her left her the insecurity to live up to everything that her mother accomplished in her life. A statement brought up by Anthony F. Badalamenti brings a different perspective on the alienation felt by Mary Shelley, Mary saw her stepmother as distancing her father from her and as coming between them, adding to the hurt Mary already felt by her father favoring her half-sister Fanny, born of Mary’s natural mother”. Again, the source of alienations is sourced back to the family, specifically her stepmother who seems to be the cause of a lot of Shelley’s strife.

Creation, a central theme, is present inside and outside Frankenstein. Creation is the job of the all-powerful, God, not mere mortals like Victor Frankenstein. Victor plays at being a god as did the titan Prometheus. Prometheus stole fire from the gods to give to the mortals and because of that was punished by Zeus to have his entrails picked at by an eagle for all eternity. Fire is what sparked the evolution of mankind into the intelligent species we are today, but why did Shelley name Frankenstein after Prometheus? The answers might lie in Victor’s endeavors to create, to give life to the lifeless, to animate the inanimate- maybe it was not an attempt at mocking the gods but from a desire to seek and acquire knowledge. This desire is shared with Victor’s creator Mary Shelley, who sought to write just as well as her parents. Was Victor’s desire for knowledge over creation pushed along by something or is it the author’s own desire manifesting through Victor?

After the death of Victor’s mother, he escapes to university where he spends two years in his quest to make life. Coincidentally, it took two years for Shelley to complete her writings of and birth, Frankenstein, through publication. An article by Rose Lucas brings up a new observation of the birth of the creature, “This creature, formed, a little like the goddess Athene, out of Victor’s conscious will and scientific intellect…”. The Creature’s creation is being compared to the birth of the goddess of wisdom and war, who was birth from the head of her father, Zeus. The creature is born asexually just like Athena and Shelley’s Frankenstein. Maybe the asexual birth present in the novel where a result of Shelley’s feelings toward birth and creation. As she is writing Frankenstein, Shelley deals with the loss of her two-moth-year-old baby who died in its sleep. Shelley could feel inadequate in her powers of creation like a mother, unable to revive the child she still weeps milk for.

A theme as dangerous as any hero’s hubris, ambition has great potential to sour and become evil. Victor’s ambition is what drives him to create the Creature. In his ambition, he gives no pause to the consequences his actions might incur. Ambition is Victor’s fatal flaw and leads to the downfall of everyone around him, but how does ambition tie in with Shelley? Shelley isn’t viewed as someone greatly ambitious such as Victor. However, Shelley has had moments of ambition that have altered the course of her life for the better or worse. An example of this ambition is her pursuit of the married Percy Shelley. Shelley perused her love for Percy even though she knew he was married and even went against the wishes of her father who forbade her from seeing him. Yet, nothing could stop the ambitious love that overwhelmed Shelley. Similarly, nothing could stop Victor’s ambitions from creating life. Although Victor and Shelley’s ambitions bore fruit it was not in the way they would have expected.

Victor’s ambitions lead him to his monstrous creation and the downfall of her family. Shelley’s ambitions lead her to pregnancy and eventual marriage to the love of her life Percy, all for the price of poor Harriet, Percy’s first wife. Ambition is a double edge sword that cuts from both ends. Shelley’s ambitious pursuit of her lover Shelley leaves only fates retribution, “Poor Harriet, to whose sad fate I attribute so many of my heavy sorrows, as the atonement claimed by fate for her death”. This quote was written twenty years after the death of Harriett with Shelley’s sorrowful life in reflection. One can only ascertain that Shelley blames the harsh events on her life on herself, because of Harriet’s suicide. When Harriett committed suicide, she was pregnant along with Shelley. Could the horror of her husband’s ambitious mistress being pregnant at the same time as she, been the catalyst that lead to her demise. Still, all forms of ambition cannot be considered evil. Walton is just as ambitious as Victor, but Walton chooses to abandon his ambitions for the safety of his crew. Unlike, Victor who threw caution in the wind and got crushed under the consequences. Just as Shelley’s ambition to complete her novel bore no bad intent.

Introduction

In this essay, I am going to discuss how two true pioneering women managed to stand out in a men’s world. Despite the situation at their time, they were able to be key figures in Music and Literature.

Firstly, I will cover how Daphne Oram, with her Oramics Machine, was the first full-time Electronic Music composer in Britain, despite not having the support she needed from BBC and being a woman in the 50s and 60’s of the 20th century.

Secondly, I am going to talk about Mary Shelley and how she went through a lot of adversities, turning that anger and sadness into writing and creating the most well-known terror character of all times, Frankenstein.

And finally, I will explain how the social and political factors at their times potentially influenced their life.

Psychological Resilience

We can say that resilience is fully related to Psychology. For a long time, the psychologists’ view on this matter was not very positive. Not long after World War II the main institutions of psychology began to receive funding to research on this field. (Patterson, J. and Kelleher, P., 2005)

Resilience has been described by experts as the copying agents required to subsist a variety of risk factors. They used a deficits model, observing how people reduced the distance between their shortfalls due to adversity and what they require to work in survival mode. (ibid.)

Nowadays we know resilience as the act of bouncing back or resisting cracking under pressure. According to the American Psychological Association, is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or even significant sources of risk. (American Psychological Association, 2019)

The death of a loved one, losing a job, serious illness or other traumatic events are examples of challenging life experiences. Many people react to this circumstance with a sense of uncertainty, confusion and strong emotions. (ibid)

However, people generally adapt well over time to life-changing situations and stressful conditions. Resilience is the process that enables them to do so, although it requires time and effort. Everybody has resilience. It’s just a matter of how much and how well you put it to good use in your life. (ibid)

Three dimensions form this comprehensive resilience framework: Interpretation of Adversity, Resilience capacity, and Actions to Achieve Resilience. (Patterson, J. and Kelleher, P., 2005)

Success despite difficulties

Life is not easy, as everyone affronts difficulties and obstacles every day, we would all agree that, apart from being beautiful, life is a tough path where the strongest are, most times, the most successful.

If you think about very successful people nowadays, there is always a huge story behind them. Normally a story full of failures and mistakes. The way we learn is through errors, and that is how we become strong. Imagine being underrated by your own company just for being a woman, or losing three of your children and husband before your 30s. That is a massive wall for anyone, but these two women jumped wall after wall, till they reached the goal.

Daphne Oram: Music visionary

When she was eighteen, she rejected a place at the Royal College of Music (London) because she chose to work as a music engineer at the BBC. In just a little time, she became a studio manager and began the struggle to set up a place (freelance studio) located in Kent where she would be able to produce electronic sound effects and music. (Williams, H., 2017)

Daphne early realized the capability of tape handling as soon as the necessary tools to do so came up in the early fifties. Many possibilities like speed up, slow down, splice, chop or layering different sounds could be distorted to make new compositions. (ibid.)

“Just as the camera and cinema film has exploded ideas of time and space in telling stories, surely the microphone and tape could do the same for music,” (Oram D., 1952. As found in Williams, H., 2017)

The main point of joining the BBC back in the forties was the quality and the strength of the courses made for the new workers. Oram did a formation training focused on broadcast engineering. While running this course a special machine aroused interest to Oram, the Cathode Ray Oscilloscope. This device basically is used to show the features of waveforms graphically and therefore helps to understand how the sound works as a physical phenomenon. She wanted to go ahead and research deeply on this machine for her own creative purposes so she did a specific question to the tutor at the course. Would it be possible to reverse the process of the oscilloscope, drawing the waveform in and thereby controlling the harmonic content of the soundwave? (Lehmann, B., 2011)

He said a simple “no,” a word that Daphne interpreted as completely new defiance. It was not very long after this meeting when she started to speak about a “graphical music” system, the beginning of an idea that would change the way of understanding music for the years to come. (ibid.)

BBC didn’t believe in her work; the company was reluctant to invest. Oram had to work on her own using her free time, often staying at the studios till late at night to develop her experimental vision of music, purely electronic music. (ibid.)

“The BBC was an institution run by men, in a world that was more sexist.” (McArthur I., 2017. As found in Williams, H., 2017)

She continued operating in this clandestine manner and composing music for TV. This led to a series of requests within the BBC for electronic music soundtracks and incidental music. What made BBC start to take notice of developments in electronic music on the European continent as well? (Lehmann, B., 2011)

All this hard work ended up with the establishment of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, where she was designated its first Studio Manager. Yet Oram didn’t have that much time at the Workshop. The accentuation on making music for TV projects or advertising didn’t satisfy her wish to make music for its own cause. In this way one year after the Workshop started, she quit to set up her own studios, the Oramics Studios for Electronic Composition and started to develop the Oramics Machine. (British Music Collection., 2018)

Mary Shelley: The woman behind Frankenstein

Mary Shelley was most renowned for her anecdotal composition and the frightful topics she utilized in her pieces. She was conceived in 1797 to guardians who were literary as well as politically active. Her mother was a celebrated women’s activist and author. However, Mary was not fortunate enough to learn from her mother’s knowledge as she passed out not long after Mary was conceived. (Thefamouspeople.com., 2017)

She had to go through a big confusion ever since her childhood when her father got into another marriage and she faced a stepmother who was not fair to her. Notwithstanding, she figured out how to manage and deal with all these situations through her writing and usually spend her time imagining. (ibid.)

This position helped her to conquer the psychological pressure that she was exposed to and also boosted her imagination, which is a key factor to be a good fictional author. Mary didn’t have a normal education but was lucky to be surrounded of many literary prodigies like Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron and P. B. Shelley. (ibid)

She wrote her first novel ‘Frankenstein’, which is considered as one of the best-known horror stories to date, and the very first Sci-Fi piece. Her eloquent narration and detailed description catch the reader’s attention and absorb them into the novel. (ibid)

A life splashed with tragedy, Shelley has seen her first two children die at a very early age and suffered the suicide of her half-sister. It is the wish to get back her family that inspired many features in Frankenstein. (Hall, H., 2018)

After her husband -Percy Shelley- death in 1822, she went back to London to pursue a very successful author career as a novelist, biographer and travel writer. She additionally edited and promoted her husband’s poems and other different pieces. (The British Library., 2019)

Social influence

Social influence alludes to the manner by which people change their thoughts and behavior to satisfy the needs of a social group, perceived authority, social role or a minority within a group wielding influence over the majority. (Psychologist World., 2019)

When we want to be accepted by a group we usually behave according to their thoughts, we conform to the norms of that group. For example, when we are supporting a football team, we voluntarily wear their shirts to be part of the group. (ibid.)

Solomon Asch is viewed as a pioneer of social psychology. His accordance experiments and tests showed the intensity of social influence and its power over persons. Understanding why individuals adapt and under what conditions they would conflict with their feelings to fit in with the group enables therapists to comprehend when conformity is probably going to happen and what it can be done to forestall it. (Cherry, K., 2019)

However, not everyone follows this rule, and that can be crucial in order to develop your career. Daphne and Mary were, obviously, women at a not especially feminist time and that didn’t stop them. They were an example of how to stand out by being yourself and following your own convictions.

Daphne Oram: XX Century

The life of the normal wedded lady in the 1950s and 1960s was way different from that of the present lady. This age was mainly about conformity and respectability. Only some ladies worked once they were married; they remained at home raising the kids and keeping the house. (Castelow, E., 2013)

The man was viewed as the leader of the family and the house in every aspect; mortgages, bureaucracy, economy. Just the family benefits were paid straight to the mom. If a woman wound up in violent or loveless matrimony, she was trapped; she had no cash of her own, nowhere to go and no opportunities to be employed. (ibid.)

It was unordinary for ladies to go to college, particularly working-class women. The majority of them left school and began to work till they find a man and marry him. Schools arranged young ladies for this kind of life: cooking lessons, household management or how to iron a shirt. Young ladies were prepared to care for their families and the house. (ibid.)

This was not Daphne’s case, as she was a fully independent person. Focused on her career, she never married or had children. (Fused., 2016). Besides that, she started a “male-kind” career as a sound engineer at BBC, becoming manager and ended up opening the doors for a new music genre.

Mary Shelley: XIX Century

During the Victorian time frame, men and women’s roles turned out more deeply defined than ever in history. On prior occasions, it was common for ladies to work with partners, brothers and children (all male members) in the family business. (Hughes, K., 2014)

As the nineteenth-century advanced men progressively drove to their place of work. Spouses, daughters and sisters were left at home to deal with the residential obligations that were mainly done by the attendants. (ibid.)

Back then, the two genres possessed what Victorians thought of as ‘separate spheres’, just meeting up at breakfast and dinner. This belief system was based on a meaning of the ‘natural’ attributes of ladies and men. Men were considered physically stronger yet morally inferior to women, which implied that they were most appropriate for household obligations. (ibid.)Shelley’s life was not conventional, as his mum died right after her birth (Lovejoy, B., 2018) and she didn’t have a ‘classic family’, she had to carry her life on her own and that made her really strong. She was married but didn’t adopt the wife model, instead, Mary dedicated a lifetime to her passion, Literature.

Contrast

In terms of context, we can say that both Mary and Daphne, had to deal with a similar situation. Anyway, there are a few factors in which they differ regarding their epoch. In Daphne’s time, women started to have more rights than a time ago as the right to vote (Adu, A., 2018), while Mary was dealing with a less feminist society.

Although Shelley found the inspiration on her traumatic events, whilst for Daphne was more a challenge to demonstrate that there is another way to create music apart from the conventional.

Conclusion

The problems, experiences, and life changes that Shelley and Oram had to confront at their times never made them give up. Quite the opposite, they became great in the face of adversity, and thanks to that resilience, these geniuses were completely pioneers in their fields.

Daphne Oram did not have the support and funding she needed for her project from the BBC, instead, they lost the chance to develop a new music genre. However, she managed to open her own studios, develop the revolutionary Oramics Machine and open a door for a new generation of musicians.

Mary Shelley suffered the loss of her mother just one month after her birth, and throughout her life –before turning 30- she lost 3 children, her husband and her half-sister, who committed suicide. Despite these tragic events, and probably because of them and the desire to bring them back to life, she created the best-known horror character of all time, Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus. This masterpiece is considered the very first Science-Fiction piece (Wolfe G.K., 2017). and, therefore, Shelley was a literature pioneer.

Resilience is, definitely, the best way to confront every barrier or traumatic situation. It depends on the person or the severity of the event, it would not take the same time for everyone. But one thing is sure, Mary and Daphne have shown how powerful resilience is and how that can potentially affect your success or breakdown.

References

Resilience

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Daphne Oram

1. Castelow, E. (2013). The 1950s Housewife. [online] Available at: https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/The-1950s-Housewife/ [Accessed 20 Nov. 2019].
2. Lehmann, B. (2011). The story of the Oramics Machine. [online] Available at: https://www.residentadvisor.net/features/1305 [Accessed 20 Nov. 2019].
3. Gardiner, J. (2015). The Story of Women in the 1950s. [online] Available at: https://www.historytoday.com/reviews/story-women-1950s [Accessed 20 Nov. 2019].
4. Williams, H. (2017). The woman who could ‘draw’ music. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170522-daphne-oram-pioneered-electronic-music [Accessed 20 Nov. 2019].
5. British Music Collection. (2018). Daphne Oram. [online] Available at: https://britishmusiccollection.org.uk/composer/daphne-oram [Accessed 5 Dic. 2019].
6. Fused. (2016). Daphne Oram. An Individual note. [online] Available at: https://www.fusedmagazine.co.uk/daphne-oram-individual-note/ [Accessed 5 Dic. 2019]
7. Adu, A. (2018) Votes for women. [online] Available at: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5253239/womens-vote-uk-suffragette-movement-representation-people-act/ [Accessed 5 Dic. 2019]

Mary Shelley

1. Hall, H. (2018). Who was Mary Shelley and what inspired Frankenstein? [online] Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/women/mary-shelley-movie-frankenstein-books-husband-trailer-biography-quotes-a8433531.html [Accessed 20 Nov. 2019].
2. Hughes, K. (2014). Gender roles in the 19th century. [online] Available at: https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/gender-roles-in-the-19th-century [Accessed 20 Nov. 2019].
3. The British Library. (2019). Mary Shelley – author of Frankenstein. [online] Available at: https://www.bl.uk/people/mary-shelley [Accessed 20 Nov. 2019].
4. Thefamouspeople.com. (2017). Who was Mary Shelley? Everything You Need to Know. [online] Available at: https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/mary-shelley-2302.php [Accessed 20 Nov. 2019].
5. Lovejoy, B. (2018). Mary Shelley’s Obsession with the Cemetery. [online] Available at: https://daily.jstor.org/mary-shelleys-obsession-with-the-cemetery/ [Accessed 5 Dic. 2019]
6. Wolfe G.K. (2017). Mary Shelley and the Birth of Science Fiction. [online] Available at: https://www.thegreatcoursesdaily.com/mary-shelley-science-fiction/ [Accessed 5 Dic. 2019]

Social Influence

1. Psychologist World. (2019). Social Influence: Why We Conform in Groups. [online] Available at: https://www.psychologistworld.com/influence/social-influence [Accessed 20 Nov. 2019].
2. Cherry, K. (2019). Biography of Psychologist Solomon Asch. [online] Available at: https://www.verywellmind.com/solomon-asch-biography-2795519 [Accessed 5 Dic. 2019].

Figures

1. Figure 1 – ASCD Framework. (2005). [image] Available at: http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/images/publications/books/patterson2005_fig1.1.gif [Accessed 20 Nov. 2019].
2. Figure 2 – Daphne Oram at BBC Studios picture. (n.d.). [image] Available at: http://s3.amazonaws.com/quietus_production/images/articles/24984/daphne_oram_1531747309_crop_550x275.jpg [Accessed 20 Nov. 2019].
3. Figure 3 – Mary Shelley portrait by Richard Rothwell. (n.d.). [image] Available at: https://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/~/media/bl/global/dl%20romantics%20and%20victorians/portraits/dl-portrait-npg-mary-wollstonecraft-shelley.jpg?crop=1&cropX=10&cropY=89&cropW=1627&cropH=915&w=608&h=342&dispW=608&dispH=342 [Accessed 20 Nov. 2019].

Mary Shelley uses Victor Frankenstein’s creation as a warning towards classicism and rational thinking; something past the boundaries of societal and cultural norm. Firstly, Shelley shows this through each victim, namely Elizabeth Lavenza and Henry Clerval who both appreciate nature and its sublimity when Victor fails to do so as the novel progresses. Victor narrates this thought, as he states, “The delight of Clerval was proportionally greater than mine….,” and Clerval exclaims, “I could pass my life here…and among these mountains I should scarcely regret Switzerland and the Rhine.” (Shelley 117). Elizabeth, a romantic figure who appreciates nature and consists of feminine energy (damsel in distress category), seems to be the only one who can sooth Victor, as he states in chapter 22 on their “honeymoon” that “those were the last moments of my life during which I enjoyed the feeling of happiness (Shelley 142). He says previously, “Elizabeth alone had the power to draw me from these fits; her gentle voice would soothe me when transported by passion, and inspire me with human feelings when sunk poor.” She yields the only one who can heave Victor out of suffering the consequences of creating a new human species which clearly consists of pure rational thinking and scientific methods to execute. Secondly, not only does Victor become numb to nature – but the Creature as well. On the last page (166), the Creature describes his distant romantic feelings. “Some years ago, when the images which this world affords first opened upon me, when I felt the cheering warmth of summer, and heard the rustling of the leaves and the warbling of the birds, and these were all to me, I should have wept to die; now it is my only consolation.” Lastly, Shelley warns of this directly to the reader, when she states,

“Learn from me, if not by precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow” (Shelly 31).

She calls for the reader to learn, if ethical law or a rule of action, then by the examples and tragedies that occurred. She continues to say that someone who stays in their place – and doesn’t seek to play god, is one who lives the most satisfying life, rather than someone like Victor, who goes against the forces of nature and suffers the consequences.

To highlight the impact of architectural difference and innovation in general, Maya Lin rather embraces what Shelley warns of; encouraging future thinkers to travel past the boundaries of societal and cultural norm. Even though creating a human species in the 1800s and creating a Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in the 21st century, differ, both think uniquely outside of the box. Ever since, a kid, Lin thought differently. In “Maya Lin and The Great Call Of China” she explains growing up. “I used to birdwatch when I was young. There’s not much else to do in Athens, Ohio. It’s a perfect place to grow up…totally safe. You can leave your keys in your car, leave your door unlocked. There’s plenty of room.” But she never fit in.

“Everyone was worried about getting As and Bs and Cs. I really thought it was silly, kind of stupid . . .All the boys and girls were interested in one another, all taking themselves so seriously.

The girls were very into makeup . . . It was just not at all my idea of life, of anything interesting.” Author Phil Mccombs says her individualism expressed itself in her clothes, and it still does, as she went around Washington in “a pink-and-white dress, purple bush jacket and gray felt porkpie hat with a black band.” He continues: Athens never felt like home. ‘My parents don’t consider Athens [and] I grew up with their feelings. I don’t feel like I have a home . . . As a result, I drift . . . Yale was the first place I felt comfortable.” Due to Lin’s success, she can be viewed as a role model, and with this image, she chooses to promote individuality, expression, and passion for her path, even if the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial may have been deemed “disruptive innovation” initially, as it proves of something much more.

In conclusion, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial redefine standards for travelling past societal and cultural norms as well as the impact level of divergent innovation with positive intent on negative outcome, and vice versa. To stress rightful means, both in the professional and ethical sense of intent versus outcome, Shelley employs use of narrative remorse and responsibility which makes incapable to assign blame on one particular side. Lin uses the element of continuity through her piece to suggest that positive intent does eventually outweigh a negative outcome, but also, that there may never be a fixed outcome as it shifts with social standards rather than the piece itself. While evaluating the impact of architectural difference and innovation in general, Shelley warns future designers of travelling past boundaries such as rational and classical thinking, and Lin encourages future thinkers to rather embrace difference and travelling past those boundaries of societal and cultural norm.