“William is dead!” (64)

Mary Shelley had a son named William who was born in 1816 – before she began writing the novel. After its publication, her son died of malaria at the age of 3. In a bizarre case of real-life foreshadowing, she had killed her son’s namesake at the hands of the monster within the story. To the people of the early 19th century, malaria was a scourge very much like Frankenstein’s monster: its source was unknown and it killed almost all those with whom it came in contact. While tragic, it seems that Shelley’s Frankenstein, however unwillingly and unknowingly, predicts her infant son’s fate.

Source:

Mary Shelley Biography." UNet Users' Home Pages. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. http://people.brandeis.edu/~teuber/shelleybio.html.

Picture Credits:

William Shelley. Digital image. A Cultural History of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein - Friends & Family. Mt. Holyoke. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist257s02/students/Lindsay/images/WIlliam%20Shelley.jpg.