Wollstonecraft

Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797) was an English writer, philosopher, and early advocate of women’s rights. A foundational figure in modern feminism, she argued that reason and education, not innate difference, should determine a person’s opportunities, and she challenged contemporary social norms about gender and authority.

Born in London to a struggling family, Wollstonecraft educated herself and supported herself as a teacher and governess while developing her thinking about politics, morality, and education. Her literary career combined political critique with practical reform, and she produced a substantial body of work in a relatively short life.

Her major works include A Vindication of the Rights of Men (1790), a defense of republican principles against aristocratic authority, and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), in which she contends that women are not naturally inferior to men but are deprived of education and civic participation. Thoughts on the Education of Daughters (1787) advocates practical, structured schooling for girls, while An Historical and Moral View of the French Revolution (1794) offers a liberal critique of contemporary politics. Her travel letters, particularly Letters Written During a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark (1796), reflect her observations on education, governance, and gender.

Wollstonecraft’s personal life included a relationship with Gilbert Imlay, with whom she had a daughter, Fanny. She later married William Godwin in 1797 and died soon after giving birth to her second child, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, who would become the author of Frankenstein. Her writings influenced later feminist and liberal thought, contributing to ongoing debates about education, equality, and human rights.