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Mary Shelley quotes

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“Beware, for I am fearless and therefore powerful.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“A flash of lightning illuminated the object, and discovered its shape plainly to me; its gigantic stature, and the deformity of its aspect more hideous than belongs to humanity, instantly informed me that it was the wretch, the filthy dæmon, to...” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“the companions of our childhood always possess a certain power over our minds which hardly any later friend can obtain.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“The whole series of my life appeared to me as a dream; I sometimes doubted if indeed it were all true, for it never presented itself to my mind with the force of reality.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“To be friendless is indeed to be unfortunate, but the hearts of men, when unprejudiced by any obvious self-interest, are full of brotherly love and charity.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“if I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“The world was to me a secret which I desired to divine.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“Thus strangely are our souls constructed, and by such slight ligaments are we bound to prosperity or ruin.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“I am malicious because I am miserable.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“Learn from me, if not by my 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...” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“Of what a strange nature is knowledge! It clings to the mind when it has once seized on it like a lichen on the rock.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“Victor, when falsehood can look so like the truth, who can assure themselves of certain happiness?” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“There is something at work in my soul which I do not understand.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“Man . . . how ignorant art thou in thy pride of wisdom!” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“Nothing is more painful to the human mind than, after the feelings have been worked up by a quick succession of events, the dead calmness of inaction and certainty which follows and deprives the soul both of hope and fear.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“Even broken in spirit as he is, no one can feel more deeply than he does the beauties of nature. The starry sky, the sea, and every sight afforded by these wonderful regions seem still to have the power of elevating his soul from earth.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“with how many things are we upon the brink of becoming acquainted, if cowardice or carelessness did not restrain our inquiries.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“Remember that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“I imagined that they would be disgusted, until, by my gentle demeanour and conciliating words, I should first win their favour and afterwards their love.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“How mutable are our feelings, and how strange is that clinging love we have of life even in the excess of misery!” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“It is true, we shall be monsters, cut off from all the world; but on that account we shall be more attached to one another. Our lives will not be happy, but they will be harmless and free from the misery I now feel.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“A human being in perfection ought always to preserve a calm and peaceful mind and never to allow passion or a transitory desire to disturb his tranquillity.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“It is well for the unfortunate to be resigned, but for the guilty there is no peace. The agonies of remorse poison the luxury there is otherwise sometimes found in indulging the excess of grief.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“Was man, indeed, at once so powerful, so virtuous and magnificent, yet so vicious and base? He appeared at one time a mere scion of the evil principle and at another as all that can be conceived of noble and godlike.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“Be men, or be more than men. Be steady to your purposes and firm as a rock. This ice is not made of such stuff as your hearts may be; it is mutable and cannot withstand you if you say that it shall not.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“It was my temper to avoid a crowd and to attach myself fervently to a few.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“It may therefore be judged indecent in me to come forward on this occasion, but when I see a fellow creature about to perish through the cowardice of her pretended friends, I wish to be allowed to speak, that I may say what I know of her character.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“So much has been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein—more, far more, will I achieve; treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“I also became a poet and for one year lived in a paradise of my own creation; I imagined that I also might obtain a niche in the temple where the names of Homer and Shakespeare are consecrated.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“It is also a duty owed to yourself, for excessive sorrow prevents improvement or enjoyment, or even the discharge of daily usefulness, without which no man is fit for society.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“There was a considerable difference between the ages of my parents, but this circumstance seemed to unite them only closer in bonds of devoted affection.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“To examine the causes of life, we must first have recourse to death.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“After days and nights of incredible labour and fatigue, I succeeded in discovering the cause of generation and life; nay, more, I became myself capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“I felt what the duties of a creator towards his creature were, and that I ought to render him happy before I complained of his wickedness.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“A considerable period elapsed before I discovered one of the causes of the uneasiness of this amiable family: it was poverty, and they suffered that evil in a very distressing degree.” Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

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dream mystery life misery love pain happiness friendship creation fear virtue knowledge power mind nature ignorance feelings world cowardice perfection

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Frankenstein (39)