Wollstonecraft, Mary (1759-1797)

The forward-thinking, progressive, and talented Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of feminist thought. During her career as a writer and philosopher, Wollstonecraft consistently challenged and interrogated accepted theories of education, gender, and social institutions, and offered new insight into the condition of women in 18th-century society. Her unconventional personal life frequently overshadowed her contemporary reputation, but today she is acknowledged as a major influence on the development of feminist philosophy, and an early advocate of equality between the genders.

Wollstonecraft was born April 27, 1759, in London, and suffered a difficult childhood because of her father's financial recklessness and violent temper. She spent a brief time employed as a governess in Ireland, before moving independently back to London to embark on a career as a writer. Her early commissions included translations from French and German, and articles for the Analytical Review. She moved to Paris in 1792, at the height of the French Revolution, where she began a relationship with the American businessman Gilbert Imlay. The couple had a daughter, Fanny, in 1794, but they never married, placing Wollstonecraft under an immense social stigma. By 1795, the relationship had disintegrated, leaving Wollstonecraft depressed to the point of making two attempts at suicide. After a period of travel in Scandinavia, she returned to England, and persisted in her writing career. She renewed an old acquaintance with the radical philosopher William Godwin, which slowly developed into a romantic affair. They married in March 1797, and their daughter Mary—the future author of Frankenstein—was born on August 30th. Tragically, Wollstonecraft contracted septicemia during the labor, and she died September 10, 1797. She was just 38 years old.

Mary Wollstonecraft's short career was remarkably prolific, and she left behind her novels, translations, volumes of letters, political, social and educational treatises, short stories, and literary criticisms. Thoughts on the Education of Daughters (1787) and Original Stories (1788) promote the importance of rational thought in the early education of women. Vindication of the Rights of Men (1790) is an eloquent retort to the antirevolutionary Edmund Burke. Her novels Mary (1788) and the unfinished Maria (1798) both offer searing critiques of marriage as an institution. However, Wollstonecraft is rightfully best known for A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792). This fusion of educational curriculum and political manifesto is driven by the succinct argument that if women have duties [Page 885]to society, they must then be entitled to rights. She challenged the sentimentalized popular perception of women, and argued that wives should not be decorative playthings, but intellectual companions. There are undoubtedly limits to Wollstonecraft's conception of equality; she does not, for example, advocate women's suffrage. Nevertheless, it is a seminal treatise that helped to define the developmental stages of feminist thinking, as well as providing a worthy monument to Wollstonecraft's determination and social vision.