Mary Shelley

by Helen Edmundson

  FANNY. I don’t know why you think that.

  SHELLEY. I have faith in you. I always have had.

  FANNY. Why?

  MARY enters, and approaches cautiously.

  MARY. Hello, Fanny.

  FANNY looks astonished. Her face flushes.

  FANNY. Mary. Mary. I’m glad… about your baby. I have to go.

  MARY. But don’t.

  FANNY. I’m sorry. I didn’t know that you would be here. I promised him.

  She rushes away.

  MARY. Fanny!

  FANNY has gone.

  How absurd. How ridiculous.

  SHELLEY. Don’t be too hard on her. We…

  MARY. What does she think he can do to her? She’s a grown woman. How stupid…

  SHELLEY. Mary…

  MARY. How stupid.

  MARY walks off. SHELLEY goes after her.

  Scene Five

  Day. The parlour. Skinner Street. JANE is sitting with MRS GODWIN and FANNY.

  JANE. I think we must have looked rather funny – trekking through France on an ass. And it wasn’t even a very good ass. It couldn’t even carry two of us. In fact there were times when we had to carry it. But we did see some wonderful places.

  You really ought to try travelling, Fanny. I feel quite different now. Quite changed. We took a large house in a village. It was terribly dark and gloomy. Shelley and I were sure that it was haunted. And it was cold – even in August! But then the stove broke and we had to leave. I thought that was a little rash – just because the stove needed mending. Actually, I’ve started to think it might have had something to do with money. We certainly aren’t living as I supposed a baronet would live.

  MRS GODWIN. He’s not a baronet. Not yet.

  JANE. But then, he is so far above all things material.

  MRS GODWIN. And I dare say he never will be if he carries on like this.

  JANE. I must say, Fanny, France was a great deal dirtier than I’d imagined it would be.

  FANNY. Oh. I suppose it’s still recovering from the war…

  JANE. And rough does not begin to describe some of the people we were forced to mix with. Why, one night, we were going up the stairs to bed in this horrible, filthy pension, when the landlord stopped us and asked if he could join us! Can you imagine. He caught hold of my skirt. He said three wasn’t a good number, and he thought I would be left out. I assured him I wouldn’t be, but we had to bar the door for the whole night, just in case. And then on the way home, we travelled on a boat up the Rhine and the sailors – well, even Shelley found it hard to be civil.

  MRS GODWIN. You slept in the same room?

  JANE. Of course. Lots of times. Oh, don’t look like that, Mama. You really are terribly ‘worldly’. It’s hard to define the connection the three of us have. Shelley is passionate about the idea of ‘community’. He could never be happy living with just one person. That’s what we want to start – a community. He wants to bring his sisters to join us in Marylebone.

  FANNY. His sisters? Surely they wouldn’t be allowed to…

  JANE. He wants to rescue them. Like he rescued us. And he asked Harriet to come too. He wrote her such sweet letters, but she says she won’t come. You heard she had the baby? Shelley’s simply delighted about it. He’s been grinning from ear to ear. A son and heir. And now there’s Mary expecting too. He will have had two new babies in the space of six months. Think of it. Who knows how many more there will be.

  MRS GODWIN. Leave us, Fanny. Please.

  FANNY stands.

  JANE. Oh, Fanny, could you find my pink dress for me? And some clean stockings? I can’t tell you how I need them.

  FANNY. Yes. All right.

  FANNY leaves.

  JANE. I’m sorry you have been unwell, Mama. You really mustn’t fret on my account. I’m perfectly happy – as you see.

  MRS GODWIN. I will do my very best to express myself in… (Cannot finish the sentence.)

  JANE. What?

  MRS GODWIN.…in a reasonable fashion, as Mr Godwin would say.

  JANE. Really, Mama. If you’re going to tell me that I should…

  MRS GODWIN. When I was not much older than you are, I was seduced. Used. By a man who should have known better.

  JANE. Do you mean Charles’s father? My father? But he married you. You can hardly say he ‘seduced’ you when…

  MRS GODWIN. No, he did not. And he wasn’t your father. When he discovered that I was expecting your brother, he paid me to go away from him. He wanted nothing to do with me.

  JANE. So… who was my father? You always made me think that…

  MRS GODWIN. Your father was a country squire. Rotten through and through. He took advantage of my desperate situation – of my poverty. He treated me like so much dirt under his shoe. When you were born, he would not even accept that you were his. When you were three months old, we were in prison. You were too young to have remembered it, thank God.

  JANE. In prison for what?

  MRS GODWIN. Debt, of course. What else? Debt. Debt. Always debt! I did everything I could to get you out of there. Filthy, squalid place. You caught a fever and almost died. Then one of the other women was released and she took you out, and Charles, and kept you safe until I could come for you.

  JANE. I don’t believe this. You’re making this up.

  MRS GODWIN. Do you really think I would make up such a dreadful, shameful tale? I had hoped to never tell you this. It has taken me years, years to make some sort of life for myself and for you. You cannot know what I have endured. And now you are making exactly the same mistakes I made.

  JANE. No, I am not. My situation is completely different.

  MRS GODWIN. Another young girl whose life is ruined. Over.

  JANE. Oh, don’t be so ridiculous…

  MRS GODWIN. You are fallen. Tainted. The one fate I prayed you would never have to suffer.

  JANE. You have no idea of the delicacy, the beauty of the relationship I…

  MRS GODWIN. Nobody decent will ever come near you now. You have lost all chance of a normal, decent match…

  JANE. Mr Godwin married you, it seems.

  MRS GODWIN. There are not many like Mr Godwin in the world. And Shelley isn’t going to marry you, is he? Well, is he?

  I want you to come home. Immediately. If you come now, we can say that you went with Mary in order to look after her – to try to bring her home.

  JANE. Shelley said that you would do this. He said you would do anything to make me stay here.

  MRS GODWIN. Shelley? ‘Shelley said…’ Why do you listen to him and not to me?

  JANE stands.

  I’m your mother! Why would you doubt that I want what’s best for you? When have I done anything which isn’t best for you?

  JANE. I won’t be coming back, Mama.

  MRS GODWIN. Oh, you silly, foolish girl!

  JANE. I detest this place. I hadn’t realised how much I detest it until now. I shall collect my things and then I shall go.

  MRS GODWIN. Jane…

  JANE. And it’s not Jane any more. It’s Claire. Jane is such a very dull name. Claire is romantic. Shelley thinks so.

  JANE leaves.

  Scene Six

  Night. The living room. The lodgings in Marylebone. JANE is sobbing. SHELLEY is with her.

  SHELLEY. It’s all right. It’s all right, now.

  What did your mother say to you?

  JANE cannot answer.

  You seemed so cheerful when you got back – we thought it must have gone well.

  She shakes her head.

  Did Godwin come home? Did he see you?

  JANE. No.

  SHELLEY. It was brave of you to go. I can’t imagine what your mother thinks to achieve by making you wretched.

  JANE. You won’t abandon me, will you?

  SHELLEY. Abandon you? Is that what she said I would do?

  JANE. You won’t give me money to make me go away from you?

  SHELLEY. Forgive me, but your mother can be very
foolish sometimes. Jane…

  JANE. Claire.

  SHELLEY. Claire…

  JANE. I don’t want to be alone. I don’t think I’d be very good at it.

  SHELLEY. You can stay with Mary and I for as long as you like.

  JANE. Can I?

  SHELLEY. Oh, I don’t even see it like that. We’re all together because we want to be. And while we want to be, we must be together.

  JANE. Yes.

  SHELLEY. There are no rules. No demands. No promises. Only what we want. What we all want.

  Pause.

  JANE. Do I matter?

  SHELLEY. Of course you matter.

  JANE. Do I matter to you?

  SHELLEY. Yes.

  JANE. Can I touch you?

  She reaches out and touches him.

  I have always longed to touch you. Sometimes, when I’ve been lying on the end of your bed, my hand has fallen very close to you. Close to your skin. And I’ve imagined… what it would be like… to touch you. And it’s like this. Touch me. Please.

  She takes hold of his hand and puts it against her body. They kiss. They stare into each other’s eyes – a suspended moment. MARY enters from the bedroom.

  MARY. What’s going on?

  SHELLEY. I heard her crying. She’s been very upset by her visit this afternoon.

  JANE. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up. I know you need your sleep, Mary.

  Pause.

  SHELLEY. I think we all need some sleep.

  JANE. Can I come in your room?

  MARY. No. I think you should stay in here. It’s hard enough for me to get comfortable as it is.

  SHELLEY. We could probably manage, couldn’t we? I could always sleep on the floor…

  MARY. No. (Suddenly gasping with pain.) Ah!

  SHELLEY. Mary?

  MARY. Ah! Oh! That’s… Ah!

  SHELLEY. Mary, what it is it?

  MARY. Something’s… Oh!

  JANE. Is it the baby?

  SHELLEY. Do you need to sit…?

  MARY. No. No. No. Oh, my Lord…

  JANE. Is it the baby? It can’t be the baby, can it? It’s too soon.

  MARY takes deep breaths.

  SHELLEY. Is it easing? Mary?

  JANE. Perhaps you should go for the doctor?

  MARY. I’ve never felt anything quite so… Do you think it’s the baby? Could it be?

  SHELLEY. I don’t know. Do you think it is?

  MARY. I think it might be.

  JANE. Shall I do something?

  MARY. Go away.

  JANE. My goodness. You’re very stern this evening…

  MARY. Just go away! Ah! It’s coming again. Shelley!

  SHELLEY. That’s it. I’ll hold you, shall I?

  JANE. Shall I go for the landlady? She might know a midwife.

  MARY. It’s too soon. I’m frightened.

  SHELLEY. Try to keep calm. It might not come.

  MARY. Shelley…

  SHELLEY. Oh, my poor darling…

  MARY. If I die…

  SHELLEY. You won’t. You won’t die.

  MARY. But I might. I might.

  Scene Seven

  Day. The lodgings. MARY is lying on the daybed, sleeping. FANNY is sitting close to her, with a baby in her arms. MARY opens her eyes.

  FANNY. Hello, clever little sister.

  MARY. How long have you been here?

  FANNY. Not long.

  MARY. I wanted you to come. I kept asking for you.

  FANNY. I know. I came as soon as we got the news.

  MARY. Is Father going to come?

  FANNY. No. No. But he allowed me to, and that’s something, isn’t it?

  She’s beautiful.

  MARY. She’s very small.

  FANNY. But she’s perfect.

  MARY. Shelley says she’s alert. It’s so hard – I don’t have anything to compare her with.

  FANNY. She’s certainly looking about. (To baby.) Aren’t you, little one?

  (To MARY.) How are you feeling?

  MARY. I’m fine. Truly. I’m certainly not going to spend another day lying down. Tomorrow we shall both be up and dressed and taking our first walk.

  FANNY. Are you sure you ought to?

  MARY. I don’t hold with all this lying-in. Neither does Shelley. Mother didn’t.

  FANNY. No.

  MARY. And we need some fresh air. It’s damp in this place.

  FANNY passes MARY a small bundle of baby clothes.

  FANNY. Here. They’re from Mama – Mrs Godwin. I think they must have been Jane’s.

  MARY looks at the clothes.

  It’s kind of her, isn’t it? She cares more than you think she does.

  MARY. More than he does, apparently.

  FANNY. Mary…

  MARY. What did he say – when he heard she’d been born? He didn’t say anything, did he?

  FANNY. He said you’d had a girl. And then he said that I could come and see you if I wished.

  That was his present, in a way.

  Things are very hard for him at the moment…

  MARY. You know, I really think he doesn’t care. Not in a real way. All those times when he was cold and distant from us, and I used to think it didn’t matter, because deep down, there was this… bedrock of love. But now I don’t think there is. If I can do one thing, one thing he doesn’t approve of and yet he can’t forgive me.

  FANNY. Perhaps we shouldn’t talk about this now.

  MARY. I know what he thinks: that I’ve betrayed my gifts – my promise – but he’s so wrong. Because this is it – I’m living out my promise. I’m living the life with Shelley that he and my mother dreamt of living. Does he think I’ve just thrown everything up to swoon about like some lovesick girl? I’m reading and learning and thinking and writing more than I’ve ever done. (Pointing to the books beside her.) Look. Look at all these. I’ve read them all. And Shelley and I talk about them. Talk and talk like I used to do with him. I want you to tell him that. Make him see that.

  FANNY. I’ll try. He’s… He has a lot of worries at the moment.

  MARY. I don’t care. She’s his first grandchild.

  FANNY. We have to sell the business. He’s desperately trying to find a buyer. One of his creditors has taken him to court. If we can’t find the money, we’ll be made bankrupt. I’m sorry. I wasn’t going to tell you today.

  JANE and SHELLEY enter. JANE is carrying a cake. SHELLEY imitates a trumpet fanfare.

  JANE. We present… the cake!

  MARY and FANNY laugh.

  MARY. How did you manage that?

  SHELLEY. The mother of a friend. She never could resist me.

  JANE. We’re going to go down and make some tea, and find some plates, and...

  SHELLEY. And have a party.

  JANE. Shelley has written a song for Clara. It’s so funny. I’m going to sing it.

  SHELLEY. We won’t be long. Don’t even think about leaving, Fanny.

  JANE and SHELLEY leave. MARY and FANNY smile at each other.

  MARY (of the baby). She’s called Clara.

  FANNY. Shelley told me.

  MARY. Jane has started saying that she wants to be called Claire.

  FANNY. Yes.

  MARY. I didn’t let that put me off. She knows it’s always been my favourite name. She copies everything I do. It’s insufferable.

  FANNY. I remember when we used to sit in the graveyard and talk about what our daughters would be called. Yours was always Clara.

  MARY. And yours was Mary.

  FANNY. And now look...

  She smiles down at the baby.

  MARY. I’ll try to do something to help Papa.

  FANNY. Don’t think about that now.

  MARY. I’ll talk to Shelley. I’ll try.

  Scene Eight

  The parlour. Skinner Street. GODWIN and MRS GODWIN are with FANNY.

  MRS GODWIN. But I don’t understand. How can Shelley pay our debts when he hasn’t got any money himself?

&
nbsp; FANNY. He has looked into the possibility of selling another bond – a post-obit bond. But the sums he was offered were derisory.

  GODWIN. I told him we were fortunate the first time.

  FANNY. So, what he is proposing is that he goes to our more serious creditors and offers to... to take on our debts. He will promise to pay them what we owe, as soon as he inherits some money. And he’ll offer them a considerable sum of interest besides.

  MRS GODWIN. Well... will they accept that?

  GODWIN. Yes. Most likely. It would be a far better bet than a claim against a failing business.

  MRS GODWIN. Then we must accept his offer.

  FANNY. You would not have to do anything, Papa. You would not have to be present at any of the meetings. I can liaise with Shelley.

  MRS GODWIN. Well, I think it is a very fair offer. And certainly no more than he owes us.

  GODWIN. If I accept this offer, Mrs Godwin, it will not be because of anything we are ‘owed’. It will be on exactly the same basis as our last arrangement. A philosophical basis. Political Justice.

  MRS GODWIN. Oh, no one really believed that in the first place. It’s all over the city that you sold your daughters – one for eight hundred and the other for seven.

  GODWIN. How dare you repeat that in this house?

  MRS GODWIN. You must face facts, Mr Godwin. And the fact is that we have no earthly option but to accept.

  Pause.

  FANNY. I’ll leave you to think about it.

  MRS GODWIN. There’s nothing to think about. If you don’t accept this offer, Mr Godwin, I shall...

  GODWIN. You shall die. Yes, yes, Mrs Godwin. You have been tantalising us with the promise of your demise for several months now and yet here you are, as large as life.

  MRS GODWIN. How cruel. You are a very cruel man.

  She begins to cry, and leaves. FANNY and GODWIN are silent for a few moments.

  FANNY. They really want to help.

  GODWIN. You may tell Mr Shelley that I accept his offer.

  FANNY. Right. Good.

  GODWIN. You may also tell him that there will be no word of thanks from me. Nor will this form the basis of a reconciliation.

  FANNY. As you wish.

  The baby is adorable. And Mary’s writing and reading a great deal. She wanted you to know...

  GODWIN walks out.

  Scene Nine

  Night. The lodgings. SHELLEY and JANE enter. SHELLEY is holding a candlestick. They do not notice, at first, that MARY is kneeling in the middle of the floor.