Brief Biography
Mary Wollstonecraft was born in 1759 to a poor family. Her father never seemed to be able to
provide for his family. In fact, he was abusive, especially toward Mary's mother. Even at a young
age, Mary tried to protect her mother from his abuse. Mary decided that marriage was a bad
institution based on her experiences, and this idea impacted her entire life. She published A
Vindication of the Rights of Woman in 1792. This work contradicted the pervading opinions that
women were generally helpless.
After being abandoned by an American author and merchant, Captain Gilbert Imlay, with whom
she lived for a short time in Scandinavia after meeting him in France, Mary, a new mother, tried
to drown herself. Later, she lived with William Godwin, a philosopher, who also hated the
institute of marriage. However, when Mary became pregnant, she asked William to marry her.
Sadly, she died in childbirth in 1797 at the age of 38. Her daughter was the famous Mary
Shelley, wife of Percy Bysshe Shelley.
Works
It was in 1788 that Mary began working with Joseph Johnson, a leader in liberal intellectual
circles in London and a publisher. He put out a periodical, the Analytical Review, for which
Mary wrote articles. She also advised and helped Johnson. Johnson published Mary's work
Thoughts on the Education of Daughters.
Johnson would have 'Tuesday Dinners' where radical thinkers would gather, such as William
Wordsworth, William Blake, and her future husband William Godwin. Mary was both
influenced by and influenced these men. To refute Edmund Burke's Reflections on the
Revolution in France, she published A Vindication of the Rights of Man, defending the French
Revolution. Two years later, in 1792, Mary published her most famous work, A Vindication of
the Rights of Woman. Later, after viewing the French Revolution for herself, she published
Historical and Moral View of the French Revolution.
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
This book was Mary's most influential work. It was in this text that she expressed her feministic,
and decidedly modern, views on the roles of women in society. She covered such topics as
sexuality, the strength of women, how women are viewed wrongly in society, and how women
should act toward others. Some people loved her book, but to others, her ideas were scandalous.
However, her book was influential for generations and paved the way for women's rights
movements yet to come.
Her Influence
Mary Wollstonecraft deeply influenced the thoughts and ideas of both her generation and future
generations about the roles of women in society. She gave women a sense of equality and
personal dignity that was based on their intellect and abilities, not just their beauty. Because she
used her gifted writing skills to communicate these ideas, we can still read them today.
Tragically, her life ended all too soon.