Freedom through Hard Times
The Industrial Revolution was not a great period for women. With an increasing amount of dangerous factory jobs introduced to the market, women were considered "too fragile" to work in these male-dominated fields. Along with the Industrial Revolution, the early 1800s were known for the Romantic era in literature, where themes of innovation, ingenuity, creativity, and awareness were cherished by many readers. Of the new writers who represented Romanticism, Mary Shelley stood out from the group. Mary Shelley was the wife of Percy Shelley, a major English Romantic poet, described as “a superb craftsman, a lyric poet without rival, and surely one of the most advanced skeptical intellects ever to write a poem.” Mary Shelley, in order to make a name for herself, began to write as well, a real talent among the writers of the Romantic era. Mary Shelley aimed to make a name for herself and not simply be known as Percy Shelley’s wife, and through her quest for female independence in an...