Description

""The Defense of Harriet Shelley"" is a satirical essay written by Mark Twain in defense of Percy Bysshe Shelley's wife, Harriet Shelley. The essay is a response to a biography of Shelley that portrayed Harriet as a frivolous and unfaithful woman who drove her husband to seek solace in the arms of Mary Shelley, his future wife. Twain refutes these claims and argues that Harriet was a victim of her circumstances, including her youth, lack of education, and societal expectations of women at the time. He also criticizes the biography's author for perpetuating harmful stereotypes about women and for failing to acknowledge the contributions of Harriet and other women to the literary and cultural movements of the time. Overall, ""The Defense of Harriet Shelley"" is a witty and insightful critique of the biases and prejudices that often shape our understanding of history and literature.I have committed sins, of course; but I have not committed enough of them to entitle me to the punishment of reduction to the bread and water of ordinary literature during six years when I might have been living on the fat diet spread for the righteous in Professor Dowden's Life of Shelley, if I had been justly dealt with.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.