The Last Man - Week 1 (Vol I - Chapters I - V)

[Gem , Moderator]

The Last Man - Week 1 (Chapters I - V)

Welcome to our first week's discussion of The Last Man by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.

In the introduction, Shelley claims that while on vacation in Italy she found, in a cave, the prophetic writings which she edited into the book we know today. Do you believe this or does this seem contrived to you?

Based on what we've read in these first five chapters, how do you feel about each of the main characters? Do you know enough to have formed an opinion about them? What qualities can you gather from these characters given they are based on Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley, and Lord Byron?

In chapter four we see the leader of the popular party (Ryland) bring a bill before the legislature that would make "it treason to endeavor to change the present state of the English government and the standing laws of the republic." What do you think of that? Is it realistic to believe that changing the government in any way should be treason?

Some credit this novel as the first piece of dystopian fiction published. Can you identify, from what we have read so far, any elements that would classify this novel as such?

[Lori, Moderator]

Yes, I thought the cave part was just part of the book. I wasn't even sure if she, Shelley, was supposed to be the narrator at that point.

Anyone besides me distracted by the punctuation, or is it just my editor brain intruding on my pleasure reading?

If any of the characters were based on Lord Byron (or Percy Shelley, for that matter), she certainly sanitized them! To be honest, I'm not terribly interested in any of the characters so far, but I trust Rafael that the book will pick up and that these details will be important.

Well, the monarchy was abolished, which would probably signal a dystopia for the British readers of the time. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next, when the action starts!

[Gem , Moderator]

Lori wrote: "Anyone besides me distracted by the punctuation, or is it just my editor brain intruding on my pleasure reading?"
Oh my yes, not only the punctuation but the spelling as well. My husband, who teaches literature, said at that time spelling and punctuation were not standardized at that time. I hate it, I and look up words and they are not in the dictionary so I take it to him and he tells me "it's xyz, just not a standard spelling."

I trust Rafael that the book will pick up and that these details will be important.
Same here, although the last little bit of Chapter 5, where Lionel spirited Idris away from her mother caught my attention.

[Robin P, Moderator]

The first chapter reminded me of Frankenstein. The narrator is an abandoned child, left to grow up wild, and he turns bad. When he is treated with kindness, he blossoms. He says something like that is when he becomes human.

The characters all seem very exaggerated but I assumed that Adrian was the Percy figure (although Percy wasn't anywhere near that perfect) and Raymond the Byron figure, both attractive and repellant. The women are nonentities, which is disappointing in a book written by a woman.

[Rafael]

Lori wrote: "To be honest, I'm not terribly interested in any of the characters so far, but I trust Rafael that the book will pick up and that these details will be important."

I hope you agree with me. But all these details will be important. I know how you feel right now. Considering quit the book but it will improve.

I don't remember if my edition has these spelling features or if it was "fixed". But it is very hard to read.

[Robin P, Moderator]

When I was reading the flowery speeches (including some spoken at moments of crisis), I wondered, as I often do about classics, "Did people really talk like this, or did novelists feel they needed to use a high level of speech to denote that this is a literary work?" It's especially jarring that Lionel, who grew up uneducated, speaks like a philosopher/poet. When we read Evelina this year, we saw a difference in the speech of the upper class and lower class characters.

[Detlef]

So far I have not been very taken by this book. The dystopian character can only be guessed at. We get a lot flowerey language and references to the glories of the British Empire. Why set this on the late 21st Century when the structures of life are not different from the authors? I will read on and hope it gets more interesting.

[Robin P, Moderator]

It is kind of amusing that the big discussion is about monarchy vs some kind of democracy. The only futuristic thing was the balloon transportation, which wasn't all that great (48 hours in a balloon?)

[Daniela]

Robin P wrote: "It is kind of amusing that the big discussion is about monarchy vs some kind of democracy. The only futuristic thing was the balloon transportation, which wasn't all that great (48 hours in a ballo..." Yes, Robin, I thought the same. 2073 and no signs of technological progress. Perhaps it was hard to imagine it before the second industrial revolution...

[Daniela]

Guys I need your help. My Project Gutenberg Kindle copy has two chapter four.
Chapter I I am the native of a sea surrounded nook
Chapter II I lived far from the busy haunts of men
Chapter III Happy, thrice happy, were the months, and weeks
Chapter IV The next day Lord Raymond called at Perdita's cottage
Chapter IV Is there such a feeling as love at first sight?
Chapter V When we arrived at Windsor, I found That Raymond and Perdita
Can you check with your books please?

[Robin P, Moderator]

Mine is the same and I didn’t even notice but I wondered why it was taking so long to get through the section! I thought it was just the melodramatic language.

[Gem , Moderator]

Robin P wrote: "When I was reading the flowery speeches (including some spoken at moments of crisis), I wondered, as I often do about classics, "Did people really talk like this, or did novelists feel they needed ..."

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who felt this way. I'm so glad that Rafael said it would get better. Once people started doing things and we got out of Lionel's head I found it much easier to read.

[Kate]

Robin P wrote: "The women are nonentities, which is disappointing in a book written by a woman."

I also thought it was interesting that in this version of the future, women still seem to have no direct political power - otherwise, the ex-queen could have gotten into parliament herself to try to get her hands on the monarchy again. I haven't read this before (or read any spoilers) so I wonder what Shelley's intent was in setting this in the future - whether it's mainly a good setting for a disaster, or if there are other aspects of her version of the future that impact the story.

Another thing I always wonder about when reading 19th century books is, the intense character analysis based on a person's face and demeanor, such as when Lionel first meets Adrian. Are these personal characteristics written on everyone's face? Did people pay more attention back then? Or do writers pay more attention than I do? Or perhaps it's partly a matter of efficiency for the writer, packing a lot of information into that first impression.

[Robin P, Moderator]

Very good point about the face, Kate. There seemed to be a correlation between beauty and goodness or beauty and nobility. Although villains could sometimes be attractive, they would often be given away by sneering or some other behavior. It seems like a hero or heroine in this Romantic period wouldn't be ugly.

[Rafael]

Daniela wrote: "Guys I need your help. My Project Gutenberg Kindle copy has two chapter four.
Chapter I I am the native of a sea surrounded nook
Chapter II I lived far from the busy haunts of men
Chapter III Happy..."

I have a print version, there's two chapter 4, the first part and the second part, and then chapter 5.

[Daniela]

Thank you very much Rafael! So chapter 4 is in two parts :-)

[Rafael]

You're welcome! When I read it I get confused too.