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ornamental line

Nature--Friend or Foe?

"'But we must live, and not act our lives: pursuing the shadow,
I lost the reality--now I renounce both'" (153).
M. Shelley's The Last Man (1826)


Mary Shelley's The Last Man, chps 10-19

  1. How does Lionel's posture towards and opinion of Raymond shift around and change, and is the reader supposed to feel the same as Lionel?
  2. Is Raymond justified in his censure of Perdita’s imagination and the assumptions she has made about his infidelity?
  3. Does Adrian ever manifest any kind of faults of character flaws?
  4. Does Mary Godwin Wollstonecraft Shelley join her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, in decrying the inferior social position of women in patriarchal societies?
  5. A recurring question: does this novel contain events, ideas, and emotions that are too intense to be the mere imaginings of a creative novelist? That is, are there moments where one feels that one is reading about an emotion or incident that Mary Shelley herself had experienced—something she was so close to that she has difficulty maintaining an objective distance from her narrative?
  6. Within the confines of this novel, does the natural world prove itself an ally or antagonist to the characters? Is Nature itself friend or foe to those in need?
  7. As the reader sifts among the radically diverging opinions of the various characters, does it become clear what greater power Mary Shelley intends to hold sway in this novel? Does capricious Fate shape humanity’s destiny, or is some sort of monotheistic God in control? If the latter, is this God benevolent, capricious, or indifferent? What role does Nature play? Is Nature personified, or is it a mindless force of the universe?
  8. Distinguish among the main characters' differing attitudes towards war.
  9. Does the wartime dynamic established between the Greek and Turkish forces echo the color and shape of the conflict we have witnessed in the Middle East in our own time?
  10. Consider the benefits and liabilities of Lionel's new artistic sensibility and perspective--his new insight into the "internal principles of action" of those surrounding him (157, 174).
  11. What aspects of this tale resonate with the COVID-19 epidemic, and what elements seem dissimilar?
  12. Does Mary Shelley’s willingness to foreshadow key events intensify or diminish dramatic tension?
  13. What does the narrator, Lionel, choose not to share with the reader?
  14. Adrian pledges, as deputy to the Lord Protector, to bring patience, sympathy, “and such aid as art affords” (247).  Do the arts demonstrate a power to aid humankind amidst widespread tragedy?
  15. In its character and progress, does the plague seem like a natural or supernatural agent?
  16. Does the role played by Nature change in today’s reading? Does it aid humankind’s endeavors, or forestall them? Is it complicit in the spread of the plague?
  17. How do torrential, sustained winds and the plague’s devastation together reshape humanity’s sense of self?
  18. As humanity faces calamity after calamity, what observations does Mary Shelley make about human nature? Recall that, following his recovery from madness, Adrian called on humanity to improve itself by eliminating “death and sickness” as well as “hatred, tyranny, and fear,” asking his fellows to replace these vices with a new spirit of brotherhood (76). Does the growth of disease create the improved social dynamic Adrian longs for, or does humanity grow more selfish as death spreads rapidly?
  19. In what ways does the plague recast personal relationships?
  20. In what ways does the plague recast societal dynamics?
  21. In what ways does the plague recast global relations?
  22. Is lying a form of loving in this novel?
  23. Why are Lionel and his compatriots so optimistic, early on, about England's unique ability to stave off the plague decimating the world's population?
  24. Does the plague alter society's institutions of government, religion, and education, or do these entities bear up admirably under the strain?
  25. What does today’s reading contribute to the question of Mary Shelley’s position on gender roles? Do men appear stronger, more reliable, and more useful than women, or vice versa?
  26. What evidence does Mary Shelley provide of a powerful link beneath mind and body, as concerns health and general well-being?
  27. A repeat question: does Adrian manifest any faults or character flaws?
  28. Does the novel provide an answer as to how the plague spreads?


a painting of ancient Constantinople near the ocean
Constantinople (1873-74)
James Webb


Dr. Paul Marchbanks
pmarchba@calpoly.edu