Difference between revisions of "Mary Shelley, The Last Man (1826)"

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(→‎General Remarks)
(→‎Volume 1 (p.3-165))
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'''Introduction (p.3-7)'''
 
'''Introduction (p.3-7)'''
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p.3 Visit to Naples, 1818 -- crossed the Bay on Dec. 8 to visit the antiquities, on the shores of Baiae, esp. the Elysian Fields and Avernus, to visit the cavern of the Cumaean Sibyl. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumaean_Sibyl Cumaean Sibyl]
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p.5 They find Sibylline leaves, bark, and other substances in the cave that are traced with written characters, in various languages.
 +
 +
p.6 They return to the cave often to gather the leaves. Since then the narrator has been translating the remains. The narrator presents the public with the latest discoveries from the found Sibylline pages. "The main substance rests on the truths contained in these poetic rhapsodies, and the divine intuition which the Cumaean damsel obtained from heaven."
 +
 +
p.6-7 "Doubtless the leaves of the Cumaean Sibyl have suffered distortion and diminution of interst and excellence in my hands. My only excuse for thus transforming them, is that they were unintelligible in their pristine condition."
 +
"The merits of my adaptation and translation must decide how far I have well bestowed my time and imperfect powers, in giving form and substance to the frail and attenuated Leaves of the Sibyl."
  
 
'''Chapter 1 (p.9-19)'''
 
'''Chapter 1 (p.9-19)'''
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 +
p.9 England has become great and powerful.
 +
 +
p.10-11 The narrator´s father is friends with the sovereign but his father keeps getting into debt. King married to an Austrian princess. The king is of good dispositions and tries to help narrator´s father out of debt, but his father disappoints the king by losing everything by gambling and so is cast off forever, on advice from the Queen who dislikes the gambler. The father moves to Cumberland.
 +
 +
p.12 His father could not forget the loss of the "excitements of pleasure, the admiration of the noble, the luxurious and polished living of the great". He marries, has two children, then dies.
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 +
p.13 The narrator believes he is different and superior to his companions, maybe because of the stories he heard from his parents.
 +
 +
p.15-6 Description of Perdita, the narrator's younger sister.
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p.18 Narrator hates anyone who is not as wild and rude as himself. He is a shephard and steals game with his comrades and is sometimes imprisoned, which makes him hate everyone even more. "My life was like that of an animal, and my mind was in danger of degenerating into that which informs brute nature. [...] passions [...] had already taken root within me, and were about to shadow with their noxious overgrowth, my path of life."
 +
 +
p.19 Is despised by society and begins to hate himself. "I clung to my ferocious habits, yet half despised them; I continued my war against civilization, and yet entertained a wish to belong to it."
 +
The narrator is just about to turn to greater evils when he meets a "stranger influence" that prevents him from doing this.
  
 
'''Chapter 2 (p.20-35)'''
 
'''Chapter 2 (p.20-35)'''
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p.20 Narrator lives far from the "busy haunts of men". England has "momentous struggles" during his boyhood. The king, his father´s friend, abdicated the throne in 2073 and a republic was created. The king dies shortly after and the ex-queen, who is power hungry, educates her son, Adrian, with the hopes that he will reclaim the crown; however, rumors claim that he supports the republic.
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p.22 The narrator's name is Lionel.
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p.26 Lionel Verney
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p.29 Lionel´s soul is changed - becomes human.
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p.32-3 Adrian has a twelve-year-old sister. Aquaintances of the ex-queen: Prince Zaimi, embassador to England of the free States of Greece and his daughter, the young Princess Evadne, 18 years old. Evadne and Adrian are in love.
 +
 +
p.34 "What is there in our nature that is for ever urging us on towards pain and misery? We are not formed for enjoyment; and, however we may be attuned to the reception of pleasurable emotion, disappointment is the never-failing pilot of our life´s bark, and ruthlessly carries us on to the shoals." --a very pessimistic outlook on life
 +
 +
p.34-35 Adrian loves Evadne passionately, but Lionel does not perceive any love in her letters. Perhaps she is waiting for Adrian to have power? Adrian is living in exile in Cumberland; supposedly, his mother does not agree with this love. I believe it possible that she could be using it for her plan to restore her son to power.
  
 
'''Chapter 3 (p.36-47)'''
 
'''Chapter 3 (p.36-47)'''
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p.39 first mention of Lord Raymond
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p.41 Reference to changes in Windsor Forest since the beginning of the 19th century.
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p.46 Adrian´s letter -- his thoughts on life.
  
 
'''Chapter 4 (p.48-61)'''
 
'''Chapter 4 (p.48-61)'''
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p.49-50 On the political situation between the Royalists and Republicans.
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p.51 The name of Adrian´s sister is Idris.
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p.57 Raymond hints that he has more plans than just becoming king.
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p.58 Ryland, Raymond´s opposition, introduced.
  
 
'''Chapter 5 (p.62-76)'''
 
'''Chapter 5 (p.62-76)'''
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p.62 Lionel has fallen in love with Idris. Idris, however, is supposed to marry Raymond, even though they don´t love each other. Raymond wants to use her position to become king.
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p.65-66 On philosophy, nature, and passions.
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p.70-1 Lionel takes a "sailing balloon" with feathers to visit Adrian in Scotland. --technological advance? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_air_balloon invention of the hot air balloon in 1783, France]
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p.72 Adrian´s fever goes away. Description of the ex-queen, or Countess of Windsor.
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p.73 Lionel, the narrator, describes the Countess´s body as a machine that is useful to reach goals, "but whose senses formed no part of her enjoyment. There is something fearful in one who can thus conquer the animal part of our nature, if the victory be not the effect of consummate virtue..."
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p.76 Adrian´s hope for mankind.
  
 
'''Chapter 6 (p.77-89)'''
 
'''Chapter 6 (p.77-89)'''
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'''Chapter 11 (p.155-165)'''
 
'''Chapter 11 (p.155-165)'''
−
 
  
 
== Volume 2 (p.167-314) ==
 
== Volume 2 (p.167-314) ==

Revision as of 15:34, 8 December 2007

Shelley, Mary. The Last Man [1826]. Ed. Morton D. Paley. Oxford: Oxford World Classics, 1998.


General Remarks

Physical description:

  • p.[vi] Acknowledgements
  • p.[vii] Introduction
  • p.[xxiv] Note on the Text
  • p.[xxv] Select Bibliography
  • p.[xxvii] A Chronology of Mary Shelley
  • p.1 THE LAST MAN
  • p.3-165 Volume 1
  • p.167-314 Volume 2
  • p.315-470 Volume 3
  • p.471-479 Explanitory Notes

Introduction (p.vii-xxiii)

Volume 1 (p.3-165)

Introduction (p.3-7)

p.3 Visit to Naples, 1818 -- crossed the Bay on Dec. 8 to visit the antiquities, on the shores of Baiae, esp. the Elysian Fields and Avernus, to visit the cavern of the Cumaean Sibyl. Cumaean Sibyl

p.5 They find Sibylline leaves, bark, and other substances in the cave that are traced with written characters, in various languages.

p.6 They return to the cave often to gather the leaves. Since then the narrator has been translating the remains. The narrator presents the public with the latest discoveries from the found Sibylline pages. "The main substance rests on the truths contained in these poetic rhapsodies, and the divine intuition which the Cumaean damsel obtained from heaven."

p.6-7 "Doubtless the leaves of the Cumaean Sibyl have suffered distortion and diminution of interst and excellence in my hands. My only excuse for thus transforming them, is that they were unintelligible in their pristine condition." "The merits of my adaptation and translation must decide how far I have well bestowed my time and imperfect powers, in giving form and substance to the frail and attenuated Leaves of the Sibyl."

Chapter 1 (p.9-19)

p.9 England has become great and powerful.

p.10-11 The narrator´s father is friends with the sovereign but his father keeps getting into debt. King married to an Austrian princess. The king is of good dispositions and tries to help narrator´s father out of debt, but his father disappoints the king by losing everything by gambling and so is cast off forever, on advice from the Queen who dislikes the gambler. The father moves to Cumberland.

p.12 His father could not forget the loss of the "excitements of pleasure, the admiration of the noble, the luxurious and polished living of the great". He marries, has two children, then dies.

p.13 The narrator believes he is different and superior to his companions, maybe because of the stories he heard from his parents.

p.15-6 Description of Perdita, the narrator's younger sister.

p.18 Narrator hates anyone who is not as wild and rude as himself. He is a shephard and steals game with his comrades and is sometimes imprisoned, which makes him hate everyone even more. "My life was like that of an animal, and my mind was in danger of degenerating into that which informs brute nature. [...] passions [...] had already taken root within me, and were about to shadow with their noxious overgrowth, my path of life."

p.19 Is despised by society and begins to hate himself. "I clung to my ferocious habits, yet half despised them; I continued my war against civilization, and yet entertained a wish to belong to it." The narrator is just about to turn to greater evils when he meets a "stranger influence" that prevents him from doing this.

Chapter 2 (p.20-35)

p.20 Narrator lives far from the "busy haunts of men". England has "momentous struggles" during his boyhood. The king, his father´s friend, abdicated the throne in 2073 and a republic was created. The king dies shortly after and the ex-queen, who is power hungry, educates her son, Adrian, with the hopes that he will reclaim the crown; however, rumors claim that he supports the republic.

p.22 The narrator's name is Lionel.

p.26 Lionel Verney

p.29 Lionel´s soul is changed - becomes human.

p.32-3 Adrian has a twelve-year-old sister. Aquaintances of the ex-queen: Prince Zaimi, embassador to England of the free States of Greece and his daughter, the young Princess Evadne, 18 years old. Evadne and Adrian are in love.

p.34 "What is there in our nature that is for ever urging us on towards pain and misery? We are not formed for enjoyment; and, however we may be attuned to the reception of pleasurable emotion, disappointment is the never-failing pilot of our life´s bark, and ruthlessly carries us on to the shoals." --a very pessimistic outlook on life

p.34-35 Adrian loves Evadne passionately, but Lionel does not perceive any love in her letters. Perhaps she is waiting for Adrian to have power? Adrian is living in exile in Cumberland; supposedly, his mother does not agree with this love. I believe it possible that she could be using it for her plan to restore her son to power.

Chapter 3 (p.36-47)

p.39 first mention of Lord Raymond

p.41 Reference to changes in Windsor Forest since the beginning of the 19th century.

p.46 Adrian´s letter -- his thoughts on life.

Chapter 4 (p.48-61)

p.49-50 On the political situation between the Royalists and Republicans.

p.51 The name of Adrian´s sister is Idris.

p.57 Raymond hints that he has more plans than just becoming king.

p.58 Ryland, Raymond´s opposition, introduced.

Chapter 5 (p.62-76)

p.62 Lionel has fallen in love with Idris. Idris, however, is supposed to marry Raymond, even though they don´t love each other. Raymond wants to use her position to become king.

p.65-66 On philosophy, nature, and passions.

p.70-1 Lionel takes a "sailing balloon" with feathers to visit Adrian in Scotland. --technological advance? invention of the hot air balloon in 1783, France

p.72 Adrian´s fever goes away. Description of the ex-queen, or Countess of Windsor.

p.73 Lionel, the narrator, describes the Countess´s body as a machine that is useful to reach goals, "but whose senses formed no part of her enjoyment. There is something fearful in one who can thus conquer the animal part of our nature, if the victory be not the effect of consummate virtue..."

p.76 Adrian´s hope for mankind.

Chapter 6 (p.77-89)

Chapter 7 (p.90-104)

Chapter 8 (p.105-117)

Chapter 9 (p.118-136)

Chapter 10 (p.137-154)

Chapter 11 (p.155-165)

Volume 2 (p.167-314)

Chapter 12 (p.167-182)

Chapter 13 (p.183-201)

Chapter 14 (p.202-217)

Chapter 15 (p.218-228)

Chapter 16 (p.229-238)

Chapter 17 (p.239-256)

Chapter 18 (p.257-266)

Chapter 19 (p.267-294)

Chapter 20 (p.295-314)


Volume 3 (p.315-470)

Chapter 21 (p.315-324)

Chapter 22 (p.325-341)

Chapter 23 (p.342-361)

Chapter 24 (p.362-382)

Chapter 25 (p.383-393)

Chapter 26 (p.394-407)

Chapter 27 (p.408-422)

Chapter 28 (p.423-436)

Chapter 29 (p.437-450)

Chapter 30 (p.451-470)

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