"Thus I have lived on for many a year--alone, and weary of myself-- desirous of death, yet never dying--a mortal immortal...."See in text(The Mortal Immortal)
Some scholars believe that Shelley took the title of this story from John Keats’s poem “Endymion,” which referenced mortal beings’ relationships with immortals. One line reads:
Now, if this earthly love has power to make / Men's being mortal, immortal
"Yes, the fear of age and death often creeps coldly into my heart; and the more I live, the more I dread death, even while I abhor life. Such an enigma is man--born to perish--when he wars, as I do, against the established laws of his nature...."See in text(The Mortal Immortal)
Here, Shelley is able to comment on the human condition through Winzy’s words. His life is a paradox with no easy solution: while he does continue to somewhat fear death, he finds no enjoyment in continued life. Since goes against the established laws of nature—all men must die at one time or another—he is accordingly miserable.
