The Fascinating Life Of Mary Wollstonecraft

  Mary Wollstonecraft was born on April 27th, 1759. Her father was a violent man and squandered the family wealth, including what the young Mary stood to inherit. She often found herself playing the role of protector for her mother and her sisters throughout the course of their lives. She soon developed friendships with intellectuals Jane Arden and Frances Blood, and she came to enjoy the debates and lectures that often took place among her friends as she continued to read independently.

After working as an employee of a widow in Bath and providing hospice to her dying mother, she became what was called a governess in Ireland, serving essentially as a private tutor. Frustrated by the lack of career options, she soon began her career as an author, and with the help of a liberal publisher, set about translating books. She used the lack of female employment opportunities as the subject of her work Thoughts on the Education of Daughters in 1787. The following year, she published a novel called Mary: A Fiction, in which she details the tragedy of her romantic friendship with the Bloods, as a tribute after the loss of Frances Blood. That same year, she also wrote Original Stories From Real Life, a children's book that promoted education for girls.

In 1790, she became involved in the French Revolution when she wrote Vindication of the Rights of Men as a defense of republicanism and individual rights, a direct reply to Edmund Burke's defense of the monarchy. Her most influential work, the female counterpart of that title, came out in 1792, and advocated for education and equality. Later that year, she moved to Paris.

Despite supporting the rights of the citizens, the brutality of the French Revolution bothered her, especially the disdain with which Marie Antoinette was treated. Foreigners were banned from leaving and subjected to police surveillance. During this time, however, she fell in love with the American adventurer Gilbert Imlay and had a daughter, Fanny, in 1794. That year, she wrote An Historical and Moral View of the French Revolution.

In 1795, she found that Imlay had abandoned her, and she tried to recoup his business losses to win him back, a journey that took her to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden and that was detailed in a book published the following year. She tried to commit suicide twice, but she later returned to London, married William Godwin, and returned to the publishing circle of London.

On August 30th, 1797, she gave birth to her daughter Mary, but she developed septicemia and died 10 days later. William Godwin later published an account of their life together, including her suicide attempts, that was controversial for its portrayal of women as human beings. Mary later married and took the name Mary Shelley, launching an even more successful writing career as the author of Frankenstein.

     Mary Wollstonecraft struggled through life, fought for what was right, and challenged the traditional way of thinking. The world owes a lot to her, for her empowerment of women helped forge a world in which many other talented women have been able to contribute their visions.