Do you read Mathilda as an Intertextual Dialogue? While you're reading Mathilda do you see head nodding to other great authors or works of art?
This page will give you a brief idea of what Mary Shelley was reading while she wrote Mathilda.
Let me first wet your appetite with a tidbit of information. In the novella Mathilda tells her father that Alfieri's play Myrrha is her favorite. As Charles E. Robinson points out "Those who do not recall the specifics of the story of Myrrah in Ovid's Metamorphoses may be surprised to learn that the daughter is the one who desires and confesses her love for her father, the father being outraged by the sexual impropriety"(84). Through my research I have come to believe Robinson's opinion that Mathilda is quite the actress, living in a world of her own making. If you take the time to click on the link entitled, So, How Do You Read Shelley, you will learn more about my research and how my path ended up with Charles E. Robinson's article Mathilda As Dramatic Actress.
To read this inspiring article just simply click on Mathilda As Dramatic Actress and enjoy!
Perhaps after consulting a few of these works you can decide- Did she or didn't she?
According to Shelley's journal entries from August 4, 1819 through September 12, 1819 she was reading the following:
Lucan's Pharasalia Dante's Pugatorio
Plutarch's Lives Paradise Lost
Coleridge's tragedy Remorse The Alchemist
Revolt of Islam The Cenci