she was induced to give her an education
In a novel so concerned with education this emphasis on Justine's
advancement testifies to Mary Shelley's belief in its universal value.
This is of a piece with the arguments of her father William Godwin in Political
Justice (1793) and
reflects as well the strong democratic sentiments that Mary Shelley shared
with her husband. It is important to remember that, under her father's
tutelege, Mary Godwin enjoyed an education that in her day was equalled by
only a handful of young women in England.
