Born: 1759 (Spitalfields, London)
Died: 1797
Biography:
Mary Wollstonecraft, born on 27 April 1759 in Spitalfields, London, was a British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women’s rights. She is regarded as one of the founding feminist philosophers and has had a significant impact on women’s history.
Wollstonecraft grew up in a financially unstable family. Despite having a comfortable income in her early years, her father, Edward John Wollstonecraft, gradually squandered the family’s wealth on speculative projects, forcing them to frequently move. Her father was also known to be a violent man, subjecting her mother, Elizabeth Dixon, to drunken rages. As a teenager, Wollstonecraft took on a maternal role, protecting her mother and younger sisters, Everina and Eliza, from their father’s abuse.
In 1784, Wollstonecraft had a defining moment when she convinced her sister Eliza, who was likely suffering from postpartum depression, to leave her husband and infant. Wollstonecraft made all the arrangements for Eliza to escape, highlighting her fierce determination and protective nature throughout her life.
Wollstonecraft’s writing career was diverse and impactful. She wrote novels, treatises, a travel narrative, a history of the French Revolution, a conduct book, and even a children’s book. However, her most famous work is A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, published in 1792. In this influential work, Wollstonecraft argues that women are not naturally inferior to men but appear so due to their lack of education. She proposes that both men and women should be treated as rational beings and presents a vision of a society based on reason.
Despite her accomplishments as a writer, Wollstonecraft’s personal life often overshadowed her work until the late 20th century. She had two ill-fated affairs, one with artist Henry Fuseli and another with Gilbert Imlay, with whom she had a daughter named Fanny Imlay. Wollstonecraft’s unorthodox lifestyle and relationships were revealed in a memoir published by her widower after her death. This memoir unintentionally tarnished her reputation for almost a century.
Tragically, Wollstonecraft’s life was cut short at the age of 38. She passed away 11 days after giving birth to her second daughter, Mary Shelley, who would go on to become a renowned writer and author of the iconic novel Frankenstein. Wollstonecraft left behind several unfinished manuscripts, representing her unfulfilled potential and the loss to the literary world.
Today, Wollstonecraft’s contributions to women’s rights and her critiques of conventional femininity are highly regarded. With the emergence of the feminist movement in the twentieth century, her advocacy for women’s equality gained renewed importance. Mary Wollstonecraft’s life and works continue to inspire feminists around the world, making her an influential figure in women’s history.