About Mary Wollstonecraft

Mary Wollstonecraft was born in 1759. Her father was abusive and misused her they had. She had no formal education, but she read the Bible and other early works of literature by William Shakespeare and early philosophy. On her visit to France, she met Imlay, and they got married. She gave birth to a girl who they named after her friend, Fanny. Things did not work out, and while traveling with him, they separated. She was later engaged to Edward, with who she also gave birth to a daughter, and they called her Mary. Wollstonecraft died ten days after birth.

Wollstonecraft worked as a translator for Joseph Johnson. She published her first work through an establishment Joseph had launched called Analytical Review. From that point, her writing journey started, and after publishing the vindication of the rights of men, she became widely popular as a writer. Through her travels, she authored books like the letters written in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. Wollstonecraft advocated for the rights of women. She believed that women needed the same educational opportunities as men. She was also an intellectual who urged teachers to train children how to reason. It is unfortunate that she died without getting an award for all her contributions.

Introduction

Mary Wollstonecraft was a feminist writer who doubled up as an intellectual. She was born in the year 1759 in London, Spitalfields. She was the second born of seven siblings. Her mother was Elizabeth Dixon and her father, Edward John Wollstonecraft. The inspiration for her feminism radicalization started with the observation of her father. Edward was the abusive head of the family. Her education was unmethodical, but in every piece of her writing, there is a clear knowledge of Bible content. There were many more narratives of early philosophy and publications of early writers like William Shakespeare.

While growing up, the family had a good income for sustainability, with time Edward; her father squelched every single dime on farming projects which did not take off. Unfortunately, Elizabeth Dixon died in 1780, and because Mary could not withstand the ill actions of her father, she took a different direction to earn her livelihood all by herself (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy 2016). Only four years later, her sister Eliza established a school and with the experience she had earned in teaching, she wrote the first piece of art that she titled ‘Thoughts on the Education of Daughters’.

Early Occupation

Marry became a translator for Joseph Johnson, a renowned publisher at the time. She also became his adviser in most of the projects he carried out. In the year 1788, Joseph established ‘Analytical Review’. Marry was without a doubt the most participant in the review. A few years later, she was able to publish the most famous piece of art called ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Woman’. Unlike most of the feminists who go a notch higher to lay the whole burden of women helplessness to men’s shoulders, Marry paints a picture of how the society gave rise to soft and gentle domestic tyrants. She suggests that women did not have a way of expressing their problems and concerns, and the only way possible was to channel them to the children and servants. On unraveling this situation, Mary suggested the provision of education to women the same as men were getting (A&E Television networks).

Wollstonecraft Marriage and Travel Experiences

In 1792, Mary went to visit a friend in France. On her visit, she met Gilbert Imlay, an American Timber businessman. He was also an adventurer and loved traveling (Debbie 2019). She was attracted to him, and within a short time, they started courting and entered into an intimate relationship. She got pregnant and gave birth to a beautiful daughter. Mary named her Fanny after her friend, who had died not long before.

Wollstonecraft did not take a break while nursing her daughter. She continued authoring, and after a short time, she finished a very conventional critique of the French Revolution. Because her husband was an adventurer, they traveled across Europe, and she composed a book of all her travel visits. The book was called ‘Letters written during a short residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark’ (Debbie 2019). The book became the most-read and popular publication in the year 1790. They later traveled to Scandinavia, and Imlay divorced her.

Wollstonecraft Second Marriage

It did not take Mary a long time to recover from losing her husband, Imlay, whom she loved and gave birth to a beautiful daughter together. She met William Godwin, and she became pregnant with him. William was the founder of the renowned establishment called ‘philosophical anarchism’. There were many problems with this relationship because there was a matrimonial tyranny force that dictated much about the dual rather than love and care for each other. They, however, were wedded because Mary was already pregnant (Debbie 2019). She gave birth to a daughter who grew to write the infamous piece of art called ‘Frankenstein’. They named her Mary. Mary’s life on earth was approaching to end fast as she suffered from complications after giving birth, and in only ten days, she kicked the bucket.

Wollstonecraft’s influential figures

Besides being given an opportunity by Joseph Johnson to publish her fast book, Wollstonecraft’s first husband, Imlay, played a crucial part in her life. It is through their travel through Europe that she wrote a few of her best books. It is through him that she encounters the experience of love and relationship. Apart from suffering violence through her father, Mr. Edward, it is also through Imlay that Mary experiences heartbreak. The two men in her life had much to influence the feminine nature she possessed. The second husband, Mr. William, could not mend the pain of losing Imlay. She married him anyway for the sake of her daughter. Wollstonecraft gave birth to her two daughters out of wedlock.

Major works done by Mary Wollstonecraft

It is without a doubt that Mary’s writings were about education and the rights of women. Among her articles, two of them feature the most: Thoughts of Education of Daughters and Original Stories from Real Life. Mary was determined to change the narrative and the plight of women by advocating for their education. (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2018). She thought if women could be given the same educational opportunities as men then society would stop perceiving them as underdeveloped men but as different and diverse entities that could work together through duty specialization within the society. In almost every piece she wrote, Mary emphasized the need to teach children how to reason. This is how we know the intellectual Mary had as a debt that she would have liked to see other young women and generally children possess.

Wollstonecraft’s course for advocating for the rights of women was, however, very distinct from the values and beliefs she had from a Christian foundation. Mary was actually aware of her duties as a wife, a mother, and more so as a woman. Despite her feminist pursuit, she acknowledged that a good and quality education for women would make them better wives and mothers. A Vindication of the Rights of Women clearly portrays her mind on the topic. She argued that educating women will be an engine for national development.

Vindication of the Rights of Me was an article Wollstonecraft wrote in the year 1790. (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2018). The article was a direct response to a publication that had been made by Edmund Burk. ‘Reflections on the Revolution of France’ was the title of the article. Edmund’s piece had much to do with the defense of the Church of England. The piece had attacked Wollstonecraft’s friend, Reverend Richard Price. The Vindication of the rights of men attacked the nobility people embedded themselves in and advocated for the need to establish republicanism instead. Not only did Wollstonecraft attack the ideas of Edmund’s article, but also the language he used, which had insults and was impulsive. Wollstonecraft was progressive in nature and did not want to look at things and judge them by the traditional measures that had been used in the past. This was contrary to

competitor and critique, Mr. Edmund. Rationality was her major point of concern, and she believed that Mr. Edmund’s way of thinking would be nothing new other than allowing the continuation of slavery to be in existence on the basis that the slave trade had been a tradition at the time. It is clear Wollstonecraft needed the best of her society and for everyone else. Vindication of the Rights of Men was the first piece of art Wollstonecraft did with both political and feminist themes. It is through this article that she gained popularity and became a widely-known writer of that time.

Wollstonecraft authored a novel in the same string of thoughts as her articles. ‘Mary, the Fiction’ talks about a character who fulfilled her duties in the marriage but had her affection outside the marriage. (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2018). The system of marriage is the effect of putting a woman in a corner where her affection, besides love, is not thought of. In the ‘Wrongs of Woman’, the same theme transverses. This novel is considered the most feminist work Wollstonecraft ever wrote.

There is no single occasion in Wollstonecraft’s novel that a successful marriage is seen. ‘Letters are written in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark’ have many topics in discussion (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2018). These topics reflect the relationship between people and society. The book was more personal, with many experiences from her traveling with her husband, Imlay. There is more of self-reflection in this book and an attempt to converge the natural happiness with oneself. Wollstonecraft let imagination transverse in this book more than any other that she had written. It is unfortunate that Mary Wollstonecraft did not get an award for her work. There were no established awards for women at the time and her work, ‘Vindication of rights of Women’ was the first work to be done by a woman.

References

A&E Television Networks. (2018, February 27). Mary Wollstonecraft. Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/scholar/mary-wollstonecraft

Debbie, N. (2019). Mary Wollstonecraft: Works, Achievements & Influence. Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/mary-wollstonecraft-works-achievements-influence.html

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2016). Mary Wollstonecraft. Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/wollstonecraft/#Bio

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. (2018). Godwin, Mrs. Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797). doi:10.1093/odnb/9780192683120.013.10893