This thesis examines Mary Shelley’s classical inheritance as a woman writing within a deeply masculine literary tradition. Using Elaine Showalter’s gynocriticism as the primary methodology within this study, I pair Shelley’s unpublished play Proserpine with her novella Mathilda to create a comparative study of classical influence upon Shelley’s writings. Though Shelley was not classically educated, her interest in feminist mythmaking reimagines the masculine classical tradition for a feminine literary audience. Shelley’s classically inspired writings demonstrate the relationship between English Romanticism and Classicism and emphasize the dichotomy between male and female engagement with the classical tradition. The inclusion of these works into the literary canon allows for new pathways toward the study of women’s engagement with Classicism and their written influence upon English Romanticism.