Mary Wollstonecraft's childhood was very influential in her writing. Her family was constantly moving and her father beat her mother. Mary depended on her learning and writing for comfort. At one place that the family settled, Yorkshire, Mary met a girl named Fanny Blood. The two became best friends and in 1782 they opened up a school together. Fanny became pregnant and Wollstonecraft went to see her; Fanny died in childbirth. Wollstonecraft returned to her school, but was in serious financial debt. In 1786 Mary closed down the school. This event inspired Wollstonecraft to begin writing.
One of the first works of Mary Wollstonecraft is Thoughts on the Education of Daughters. This compostition jumpstarted her career as a writer. She had many other works published. These include Mary: A Fiction, Original Stories from Real Life, Of the Importance of Religious Opinions, The Female Reader, Young Grandison, Elements of Morality, and A Vindication of the Rights of Men. Two of her most famous works are A Vindication of the Rights of Women and An Historical and Moral View of the Origin and Progress of the French Revolution and the Effect it Has Produced in Europe.
During the time of the French Revolution, Mary Wollstonecraft's writing was very influential. In A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, she argues that men and women are no different except for in appearance and they should be given the same chances and opportunities. She also talks about women being able to think and act for herself, becoming independent of males. She was very bold for speaking out at that time. Also she wrote An Historical and Moral View of the French Revolution. In this piece she talks about the things that went horrifically wrong in France. She criticizes the violence of the revolution as well as the motives. She specifically went to Paris to research for this book. These are her words combined with factual events in which she experienced first hand.
Mary Wollstonecraft went through many distractions throughout her career. She had an affair with Gilbert Imlay soon after they met in 1793. Although they were not married, Wollstonecraft registered as Imlay's wife at the American Embassy to protect United States citizenship. She discovered his unfaithfullness soon after she bore a child. She attempted suicide twice. This had a large impact on her emotional state. She left Imlay and soon after met William Godwin. He was also a writer and he supported her in her writing. They married and in 1797 they had a daughter. Mary Wollstonecraft died later that year frmo childbirth complications. Godwin published Wollstonecraft's Posthumous Works. This is a book of Wollstonecraft's works that in her lifetime were never published. These included The Wrongs of Women, "The Cave of Fancy", herLetters to Imlay and other pieces.
Links
Home
Timeline
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
An Historical and Moral View of the French Revolution
References
