Why did I not die? More miserable than man ever was before, why did I not sink into forgetfulness and rest? Death snatches away many blooming children, the only hopes of their doting parents: how many brides and youthful lovers have been one day in the bloom of health and hope, and the next a prey for worms and the decay of the tomb! Of what materials was I made, that I could thus resist so many shocks, which, like the turning of the wheel, continually renewed the torture? But I was doomed to live.
Mary Wollstonecraft ShelleyI required kindness and sympathy, but I did not believe myself utterly unworthy of it.
Mary Wollstonecraft ShelleyOf what a strange nature is knowledge! It clings to a mind when it has once seized on it like a lichen on a rock." - Frankenstein p115
Mary Wollstonecraft ShelleyLife and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world.
Mary Wollstonecraft ShelleyHeavy misfortunes have befallen us, but let us only cling closer to what remains, and transfer our love for those whom we have lost to those who yet live. Our circle will be small, but bound close by the ties of affection and mutual misfortune. And when time shall have softened your despair, new and dear objects of care will be born to replace those of whom we have been so cruelly deprived.
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley