12 Mary Shelley Quotes for Writers and About Writing
Here are 12 Mary Shelley quotes for writers and about writing from the author of Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus, Valperga, and The Last Man. In these quotes, Shelley covers power, invention, evil, and more.
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was the daughter of two philosophers (William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft) who married a poet and philosopher (Percy Byssche Shelley). As such, it should come as no surprise that her writing dealt with big ideas and ideals, as it does in her classic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus.
Mary Shelley famously started developing the Frankenstein story while spending a summer with Percy Byssche Shelley, Lord Byron, John William Polidori, and Claire Clairmont near Geneva, Switzerland. Her love of writing started in childhood and was fostered by her father.
Here are 12 Mary Shelley quotes for writers and about writing.
12 Mary Shelley quotes for writers and about writing
"The beginning is always today."
"Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful."
"If I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear!"
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"Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of the void but out of chaos."
"The name of Italy has magic in its very syllables."
"I am not a person of opinions because I feel the counter arguments too strongly."
"My education was neglected, yet I was passionately fond of reading."
"No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks."
"All men hate the wretched."
"Live, and be happy, and make others so."
"I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves."
"I think that I can maintain myself, and there is something inspiriting in the idea.'"
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
