Mary Wollstonecraft: Life and Legacy

Early Life

• Born on April 27, 1759, in London
• Parents: abusive, drunk father and submissive, cold mother
• Left home after her mother's death in 1780
  • Convinced sister Eliza to leave her abusive husband

Early Adulthood

• Lived with her best friend, Fanny Blood
• Opened a school for girls to empower women
  • School operated for five years
• Fanny Blood married, got pregnant, and died
  • The school closed due to financial issues

Career Path

• Moved to Ireland to work as a governess (disliked domestic work)
• Moved back to London in 1787 to pursue authorship
  • Worked for Joseph Johnson, radical publisher

Publications

• Thoughts on the Education of Daughters
• A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)
  • Advocated for women's rights and education
  • Critiqued the domestic roles of women
  • Advocated for women being treated as rational beings
  • Received mixed reactions: praised by Erin Burr, teased by John Adams, criticized by Horace Walpole

Personal Life

• Moved to Paris to write about the French Revolution
• Relationship with American Captain Gilbert Imlay
  • Gave birth to her first child, Fanny
  • Imlay left her; led to severe emotional distress
  • Attempted suicide twice
  • Recovered during a trip to Scandinavia

Later Years

• Relationship with William Godwin
  • Despite disliking marriage, they married when she got pregnant
  • Birth of Mary Godwin (Mary Shelley)
• Died ten days after childbirth on September 10, 1797
  • Praised Godwin as the kindest man in her last words

Legacy

• Mary Wollstonecraft's daughter, Mary Shelley, became a famous author known for "Frankenstein."

Impact

• Wollstonecraft is a pivotal figure in the fight for women's rights and education.
• Her works continue to resonate as important texts advocating for gender equality.