Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797)
I. Life
Wollstonecraft grew up in London in a family with an abusive father and a submissive mother. In 1786, she published a book entitled, Thoughts on the Education of Daughters, based on her experiences teaching in a village school near London. She operated the school with two of her sisters, but the school had to close. During 1786-1787, she was a governess in Ireland, but the experience did not go well. In 1787, she moved to London with a manuscript for a novel, Maria, which was published in 1788 by Joseph Johnson, a publisher willing to publish radical views. In London, she met the writers Thomas Paine and William Godwin. A Vindication of the Rights of Women was published in 1792. Late in 1792, she went to Paris, where she met and fell in love with an American adventurer, Gilbert Imray. They had a child, but Imray eventually abandoned her, which led to a period during which she made two attempts at suicide. An Historical and Moral View of the French Revolution was published in December 1794. Back in England, she entered a relationship with and later married William Godwin. She died of an infection some 2 weeks after giving birth to their first child, Mary Godwin, later to become Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein.
II. Influence
Although most known for living a scandalous life, her contributions to feminism have attracted recognition in the latter half of the 20th century.
