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= The_Last_Man =
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Introduction
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'The Last Man' is an apocalyptic, dystopian science fiction novel by
Mary Shelley, first published in 1826. The narrative concerns Europe
in the late 21st century, ravaged by the rise of a bubonic plague
pandemic that rapidly sweeps across the entire globe, ultimately
resulting in the near-extinction of humanity. It also includes
discussion of the British state as a republic, for which Shelley sat
in meetings of the House of Commons to gain insight to the
governmental system of the Romantic era. The novel includes many
fictive allusions to her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, who drowned in
a shipwreck four years before the book's publication, as well as their
close friend Lord Byron, who had died two years previously.
'The Last Man' is one of the first pieces of dystopian fiction
published. It was critically savaged and remained largely obscure at
the time of its publication. It was not until the 1960s that the novel
resurfaced for the public.
Mary Shelley states that in 1818 she discovered, in a cave near
Naples, prophetic writings painted on leaves by the Cumaean Sibyl. She
says she has edited these writings into the narrative of a man living
at the end of the 21st century, commencing in 2073 and concluding in
2100.
Characters
======================================================================
Lionel Verney: The Last Man. The orphan son of an impoverished
nobleman, Lionel is originally lawless, self-willed, and resentful of
the nobility for casting aside his father. When he is befriended by
Adrian, however, he embraces civilization and particularly
scholarship. Verney is largely an autobiographical figure for Mary
Shelley.
Adrian, Earl of Windsor: Son of the last King of England, Adrian
embraces republican principles. He is motivated by philosophy and
philanthropy, rather than ambition. He is based on Percy Bysshe
Shelley.
Lord Raymond: An ambitious young nobleman, Raymond becomes famous for
his military efforts on behalf of Greece against the Turks, but
eventually chooses love over his ambition to become King of England.
He instead becomes Lord Protector of England before returning to
Greece. Raymond is motivated by passion and ambition rather than
principle. He is based on Lord Byron.
Perdita: Lionel's sister, and Raymond's wife. Growing up an orphan,
Perdita was independent, distrustful, and proud, but she is softened
by love for Raymond, to whom she is fiercely loyal.
Idris: Adrian's sister, and Lionel's wife. She is loving, maternal,
and self-sacrificing.
Countess of Windsor: Mother of Adrian and Idris, an Austrian princess
and former Queen of the United Kingdom. She is haughty and ambitious,
scheming to restore the monarchy through her children.
Evadne Zaimi: A Greek princess with whom Adrian falls in love, but who
loves Raymond. She is devoted and proud, even when she becomes
impoverished.
Clara: Daughter of Raymond and Perdita.
Alfred and Evelyn: Sons of Lionel and Idris.
Ryland: Leader of the popular democratic party, Ryland has grand plans
for the abolition of nobility before the plague, but is unwilling to
govern England during the plague.
Merrival: An astronomer who is oblivious to the plague, instead
speculating about the condition of the Earth in six thousand years,
until his family dies. Broken by his tragedy, he dies not long
afterwards.
Lucy Martin: A young woman who chose to marry a repulsive suitor
rather than wait for her true love, to provide for her ageing mother.
Her devotion to her mother almost leads to her being left behind in
England after the exile.
The Imposter: Unnamed - a false prophet (from ambition, rather than
fanaticism) who creates a radical religious sect in opposition to
Adrian while in France.
Juliet: A young noblewoman who joins the Imposter's party to support
her baby, but is later killed revealing his imposture.
Volume 1
==========
Lionel's father was a friend of the king before he was cast away
because of his gambling. Lionel's father left to take his life, but
before he did so he left a letter for the king to take care of his
family after his death. After Lionel's father died the letter was
never delivered. Lionel and his sister grow up with no parental
influence and become uncivilised. Lionel develops a hatred of the
royal family, and Perdita grows to enjoy her isolation from society.
When the king leaves the throne, the monarchy comes to an end and a
republic is created. When the king dies, the Countess attempts to
raise their son, Adrian, to reclaim the throne. However, Adrian
opposes his mother and refuses to take the throne. He moves to
Cumberland where Lionel, who bears a grudge against Adrian and his
family for the neglect of the Verney family, intends to confront
Adrian. He is mollified by Adrian's good nature and his explanation
that he only recently discovered the letter. The two become close
friends, and Lionel becomes civilised under Adrian's influence. Adrian
assists Lionel in pursuing political endeavours in Vienna which Lionel
accepts and leaves for 2 years but chooses to return to England
because he has not heard from either Adrian or his sister.
Lionel returns to England to face the personal turmoil amongst his
acquaintances. Lord Raymond, who came to be renowned for his exploits
in a war between Greece and Turkey, has returned to England searching
for a political position. Perdita and Evadne soon fall in love with
him. On discovering that his beloved, Evadne, is in love with Raymond,
Adrian goes into exile, presumably mad. Raymond intends to marry Idris
(with whom Lionel is in love) as a first step towards becoming king,
with the help of the Countess. However, he ultimately chooses his love
for Perdita over his ambition, and the two marry. Under Lionel's care,
Adrian recovers but remains physically weak. On learning of the love
between Idris and Lionel, the Countess schemes to drug Idris, bring
her to Austria, and force her to make a politically motivated
marriage. Idris discovers the plot and flees to Lionel, who marries
her soon after. The Countess leaves for Austria, resentful of her
children and of Lionel.
Adrian and the others live happily together until Raymond runs for
Lord Protector and wins. Perdita adjusts to her newfound social
position, while Raymond becomes well-beloved as an administrator. He
discovers, however, that Evadne, after the political and financial
ruin of her husband (on account of her own political schemes) lives in
poverty in London, unwilling to plead for assistance. Raymond attempts
to support Evadne by employing her artistic skills in secrecy, and
later nursing her in illness, but Perdita learns of the relationship
and suspects infidelity. Her suspicions arouse Raymond's proud nature,
and the two separate. Raymond resigns his position and leaves to
rejoin the war in Greece, accompanied by Adrian. Shortly after a
wounded Adrian returns to England, rumours arise that Raymond has been
killed. Perdita, loyal nonetheless, convinces Lionel to bring her and
Clara to Greece to find him.
Volume 2
==========
Arriving in Athens, Lionel learns that Raymond had been captured by
the Ottomans, and negotiates his return to Greece. Shortly after this,
Lionel and Raymond return to the Greek army and fight their way to
Constantinople. After a decisive battle near Constantinople's gates,
Lionel discovers Evadne, who was wounded while fighting in the war.
Before dying, Evadne prophesies Raymond's death, a prophecy which
confirms his own suspicions. Raymond's intention to enter
Constantinople causes dissension and desertion amongst the army
because of reports of the plague. Raymond goes alone to find that
Constantinople has been seemingly deserted and soon dies in an
explosion, the result of a trap laid by the Turks. He is taken to a
site near Athens for burial. Perdita refuses to leave Greece, but
Lionel drugs her and brings her aboard a steamship, believing it to be
in the best interests of Clara. Perdita awakens and, distraught at
Raymond's death, throws herself overboard and drowns.
In 2092, while Lionel and Adrian attempt to return their lives to
normality, the plague continues to spread across Europe and the
Americas. The appearance of a black sun causes panic throughout the
world, and storm surges flood coastal towns across Europe. At first,
England is thought to be safe, but soon the plague reaches it. Ryland,
recently elected Lord Protector, is unprepared for the plague, and
flees northward, later dying alone amidst a stockpile of provisions.
Adrian takes command and is largely effective at maintaining order,
although the plague rages on summer after summer. Ships arrive in
Ireland carrying survivors from America, who lawlessly plunder Ireland
and Scotland before invading England. Adrian raises a military force
against them and ultimately manages to resolve the situation
peacefully.
Volume 3
==========
The few remaining survivors decide to abandon England, looking for an
easier climate. On the eve of their departure to Dover, Lionel
receives a letter from Lucy Martin, who could not join the exiles
because of her mother's illness. Lionel and Idris travel through a
snowstorm to assist Lucy. Idris, weak from years of stress and
maternal fears, dies along the way during the fierce weather. Lionel
brings her body to Windsor Castle, interring her in St George's
Chapel, and is met by the Countess, who reconciles with Lionel at
Idris' tomb. Lionel recovers Lucy (whose mother has died), and the
party reaches Dover en route to France.
In France, Adrian learns the earlier emigrants have divided into
factions, amongst them a fanatical religious sect led by a false
messiah who claims his followers will be saved from disease. Adrian
unites most of the factions, but the fanatics declare their opposition
to Adrian. Lionel sneaks into Paris, where the cult has settled, to
try to rescue Juliet. She refuses to leave because the impostor has
her baby but helps Lionel escape after the impostor's followers
imprison him. Later, when her baby sickens, Juliet discovers the
impostor has been hiding the effects of the plague from his followers.
She is killed warning the other followers. The impostor commits
suicide, and his followers return to the main body of exiles at
Versailles.
The exiles travel towards Switzerland, hoping to spend the summer in a
colder climate less favourable to the plague. By the time they reach
Switzerland, however, all but four (Lionel, Adrian, Clara, and Evelyn)
have died. They spend a few relatively happy seasons at Switzerland,
Milan, and Como before Evelyn dies of typhus. The survivors attempt to
sail across the Adriatic Sea from Venice to Greece, but a storm
destroys the boat and drowns Clara and Adrian. Lionel swims to shore
at Ravenna. Fearing to be the last human left on Earth, Lionel follows
the Apennine Mountains to Rome, befriending a sheepdog along the way.
A year passes without anyone else entering Rome, and Lionel resolves
to leave with his dog and live the rest of his life as a wanderer of
the depopulated continents of Africa and Asia looking for other
survivors. The story ends in the year 2100.
Biographical elements
=======================
Many of the central characters are wholly or partially based upon
Shelley's acquaintances. Shelley had been forbidden by her
father-in-law, Sir Timothy Shelley, from publishing a biography of her
husband, so she memorialised him, amongst others, in 'The Last Man'.
The utopian Adrian, Earl of Windsor, who leads his followers in search
of a natural paradise and dies when his boat sinks in a storm, is a
fictional portrait of Percy Bysshe Shelley, although other minor
characters such as Merrival bear traces of Percy as well.
Lord Raymond, who leaves England to fight for the Greeks and dies in
Constantinople, is based on Lord Byron. The novel expresses Mary
Shelley's pain at the loss of her community of the "Elect", as she
called them, and Lionel Verney has been seen as an outlet for her
feelings of loss and boredom following their deaths and the deaths of
her children.
It appears that Shelley found inspiration for the title of her novel
in Jean-Baptiste Cousin de Grainville's 'Le Dernier Homme' (1805),
translated into English in 1806 as 'Omegarus and Syderia'.
Failure of romantic political ideals
======================================
'The Last Man' not only laments the loss of Shelley's friends, but
also questions the Romantic political ideals for which they stood. In
a sense, the plague is metaphorical, since the revolutionary idyll of
the élite group is corroded from within by flaws of human nature. As
literary scholar Kari Lokke writes, "in its refusal to place humanity
at the center of the universe, its questioning of our privileged
position in relation to nature, then, 'The Last Man' constitutes a
profound and prophetic challenge to Western humanism." Specifically,
Mary Shelley, in making references to the failure of the French
Revolution and the Godwinian, Wollstonecraftian, and Burkean responses
to it, "attacks Enlightenment faith in the inevitability of progress
through collective efforts".
Isolation
===========
Hugh Luke argues, "By ending her story with the picture of the Earth's
solitary inhabitant, she has brought nearly the whole weight of the
novel to bear upon the idea that the condition of the individual being
is essentially isolated and therefore ultimately tragic" (xvii).
Shelley shares this theme of tragic isolation with the poetry of Lord
Byron and William Wordsworth.
Science and medicine
======================
Just as her earlier and better-known novel 'Frankenstein' (1818)
engaged with scientific questions of electromagnetism, chemistry, and
materialism, 'The Last Man' finds Shelley again attempting to
understand the scope of scientific inquiry. Unlike the earlier novel's
warnings about Faustian over-reaching, this novel's devastating
apocalypse strongly suggests that medicine had become too timid and
ultimately come too late. The ineffectual astronomer Merrival, for
example, stands in stark contrast to the frighteningly productive
Victor Frankenstein. Shelley's construction of Lionel Verney's
immunity remains a subject of significant critical debate, but the
novel certainly demonstrates a deep understanding of the history of
medicine, specifically the development of the smallpox vaccine and the
various nineteenth-century theories about the nature of contagion.
Politics
==========
Eileen Hunt Botting of the University of Notre Dame has stated that
the novel "saw that the disaster of a pandemic would be driven by
politics," and that the "spiraling health crisis would be caused by
what people and their leaders had done and failed to do on the
international stage--in trade, war and the interpersonal bargains,
pacts and conflicts that precede them." Botting has further described
the novel as identifying "three patterns of modern democratic
corruption, which would be exposed and exacerbated by a pandemic:
1. slow yet steady institutional erosion of norms and practices of
trust and equality;
2. authoritarian forms of populism that betray the people who bring an
executive leader to power; and
3. patriarchal and religious forms of populism that manipulate the
people's beliefs through fear and disinformation.
The novel also comments on the racism expressed by imperial European
nations towards the rest of the world. According to Olivia Murphy of
the University of Sydney, the novel shows that "this sense of racial
superiority and immunity is unfounded: all people are united in their
susceptibility to the fatal disease."
Publication history
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'The Last Man' followed several other last-man themed works including
a French narrative () (1805), Byron's poem "Darkness" (1816), and
Thomas Campbell's poem "The Last Man" (1824). (Campbell claimed Byron
had taken his own poem from Campbell's idea.)
Two editions of 'The Last Man' were published by Henry Colburn in
London on 23 January 1826, and one edition in Paris in 1826 by
Galignani. A pirated edition was printed in the United States of
America in 1833.
The novel was not reprinted until 1965.
Contemporary reception
========================
'The Last Man' received the worst reviews of all of Mary Shelley's
novels: most reviewers derided the very theme of lastness, which had
become a common one in the previous two decades. Individual reviewers
labelled the book "sickening", criticised its "stupid cruelties", and
called the author's imagination "diseased". The reaction startled Mary
Shelley, who promised her publisher a more popular book next time.
Nonetheless, she later spoke of 'The Last Man' as one of her favourite
works.
Later reception
=================
In the 20th century it received new critical attention, perhaps
because the notion of lastness had become more relevant.
The novel received a further surge in attention in the 2020s. Rebecca
Barr of the University of Cambridge wrote that the novel was "an
astonishing work" that "resonates with contemporary feelings of
climate grief as well as the sense of helplessness as we confront
COVID-19." Eileen Hunt Botting of the University of Notre Dame
described the book as Shelley's "second great work of science
fiction," saying that it provided "an existential mind-set for
collectively dealing with the threat of a global man-made disaster."
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==============
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