She instructed her daughter . . . religion
As with the condescension to Justine's Catholicism (1.5.4, 1.7.7), this ostensible religious
bias needs to be placed within the conventions of English
publishing and religious attitudes. It is unlikely that Mary
Shelley herself subscribes to them. Indeed, if in this chapter
one reads in the attitudes of Turks to women some sense of
reflection on contemporary English attitudes, then, Mary Shelley
would appear to be playing something of her
mother's game. And
the mother-daughter relationship here certainly testifies to that
which Mary Shelley derived from the frequent perusal of her
mother's writings, an inculcation of ideals of independence on
which, like, Safie she was not afraid to act.
- Characters:
- Critical Approaches:
- Themes:
