A Vindication of the Rights of Woman & The Wrongs of Woman, or Maria

by Mary Wollstonecraft, Anne K. Mellor, Noelle Chao

From Longman's Cultural Editions series, Wollstonecraft, edited by Anne K. Mellor and Noelle Chao, for the first time pairs Wollstonecraft's feminist tract, the first in English letters, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, with her unfinished novel, The Wrongs of Woman, or Maria. By putting tract and novel together, this text presents a far richer and more complex discussion of Wollstonecraft's political and literary opinions. A wealth of cultural contexts bearing on the “wrongs” of woman (their social and political oppression) in the 18th century and on the development of the Gothic and realist novel further clarify these two texts.

Genres: Nonfiction, Classics, Philosophy, Feminism, Politics, School, Academic

496 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1792

About the author

Mary Wollstonecraft was an eighteenth century British writer, philosopher, and feminist. Among the general public and specifically among feminists, Wollstonecraft's life has received much more attention than her writing because of her unconventional, and often tumultuous, personal relationships. After two ill-fated affairs, with Henry Fuseli and Gilbert Imlay, Wollstonecraft married the philosopher William Godwin, one of the forefathers of the anarchist movement; they had one daughter, Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein. Wollstonecraft died at the age of thirty-eight due to complications from childbirth, leaving behind several unfinished manuscripts.

During her brief career, she wrote novels, treatises, a travel narrative, a history of the French Revolution, a conduct book, and a children's book. Wollstonecraft is best known for A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), in which she argues that women are not naturally inferior to men, but appear to be only because they lack education. She suggests that both men and women should be treated as rational beings and imagines a social order founded on reason.


After Wollstonecraft's death, Godwin published a Memoir (1798) of her life, revealing her unorthodox lifestyle, which inadvertently destroyed her reputation for a century. However, with the emergence of the feminist movement at the turn of the twentieth century, Wollstonecraft's advocacy of women's equality and critiques of conventional femininity became increasingly important. Today Wollstonecraft is regarded as one of the founding feminist philosophers, and feminists often cite both her life and work as important influences.

Information courtesy of Wikipedia.org

Reviews

[Judith Wijnants · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wollstonecraft’s feminism had some questionable takes that we definitely wouldn’t agree with in this day and age, but she had a progressive view for her time. Overall it was very interesting to read, so I’d give the contents a 3,5/5

However, the writing wasn’t that great and I had a hard time getting into it because of that: 2/5

I really did love the J.J. Rousseau slander though!

[Milda Jensen]

I am very sorry, dear Mary. You were not a good writer. Exceptional thinker, yes, and you have laid the grounds to the modern feminist movement, and for this you will be always remembered. Thank you and please forgive me that I am not in awe of the creative side of yours.

I hope you get that better monument of yourself soon. The current one is a disgrace. I can imagine you tutting and shaking your head at everyone involved: the artist, the jury, and also the editor of this book who doesn't see a problem in depicting you, such an exceptional historic figure, as a naked "every-woman". Tsk!

I must apologise again. This time, for not reading your memoirs. I found them very interesting and relatable - really, hasn't life changed at all during the past 300 years or so? - but the epub is broken and resets to the first chapter when I open it. A small annoyance but for my lazy butt it's enough to drop the book. Please don't tut at me from the heavens. I downloaded your memoir and other works from Project Guttenberg and hope to get to reading them soonest, my lazy butt be damned.

Sincerely,
Your avid follower,
Milda.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazingly fresh--18th century language and references notwithstanding--and stunningly salient.

[Laura]

"The rights and duties of man thus simplified, it seems almost impertinent to attempt to illustrate truths that appear so incontrovertible; yet such deeply rooted prejudices have clouded reason, and such spurious qualities have assumed the name of virtues, that it is necessary to pursue the course of reason as it has been perplexed and involved in error, by various adventitious circumstances, comparing the simple axiom with casual deviations." (From Chapter 1)


It is a mission getting through this essay. It's lengthy, and seems repetitive at some points, but you have to understand where she's coming from. Most of the male population probably needed these points to be repeated over and over and over again before understanding and believing them (hell, some of the male population after 200 years or so STILL doesn't get it).

Nevertheless, it makes many important points that probably helped shaped feminism; about how women who are uneducated are actually a burden on society, the contradiction that women are treated both as (sexual) objects and as children, how women are made fun of for being fragile and ignorant when they aren't allowed to move out of that state -

This work I think is hugely important in understanding the Jane Austen novels. There is no doubt that Austen actually paraphrases Wollstonecraft's arguments at many points throughout her body of work. Not to mention that it actually gives some sort of background to how women were treated a generation before Austen, and it is obvious that some of the problems Wollstonecraft addresses still persist in Austen's novels.


(P.S: I'm not gonna lie, I didn't read the novel.)

[Jaykumar B · Rating 4 out of 5]

first of all, it was a Herculean task to read this text...
probably it was the language or the manner in which the discourse was written..
although the text is completely honest, the reader felt a little brevity would have done wonders!!

[Christa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for CORE I and can't remember much except that it was short and that it was kind of crazy that it existed.

[BeeQuiet · Rating 3 out of 5]

She had something to say, and this is an important book in its own right, but by goodness was she a bad writer of fiction.

[Rosa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wtf Maria

[Paladí del temps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crec sincerament que Stuart Mill ha sigut la ment més brillant del segle XIX. Els seus pensaments son massa actuals. En ell veiem la máxima de la humilitat. És l'autor més clar que mai he llegit a l'hora d'escriure i de desenvolupar els seus arguments. En aquest llibre, desmonta el patriarcat, naturalment des d'una perspectiva del segle XIX, mitjançant arguments basats principalment en l'utilitarisme i continua amb la seva teoria de la necessitat de progrés social continuu i d'acabar amb el conservadorisme que és la l'anquilosament de la societat.
Realment veure que hi ha gent com Mill enmig de tan fanatisme i tanta falta de bondat. A més la bondat de Mill és incondicionada, és bo perquè vol ser-ho no per la existència d'un Déu que li faci xantatge.

[lily!! · Rating 5 out of 5]

i only read maria/the wrongs of women v much enjoyed themes of female solidarity vs critique of marriage as a vessel of patriarchy so excited to write essay on this !!

[Kylee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good depressing reality of what life was like for women during this time period.

[Shanik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compré este libro por accidente y fue de los mejores accidentes de mi vida. No sabía de la historia de Mary Wollstonecraft y estoy fascinada con su vida y si narrativa.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had previously read A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, so I read Maria for the first time. The feminist fervor of Wollstonecraft is palpable.

My only issue with the text is the fact that Darnford really isn't a believable love interest. Sure, he's better than Mr. Venables, but he still doesn't seem genuinely kind or interested in Maria. his story was selfish and showed no character development that Jemima's and Maria's stories did.

I hadn't realized the fragmentary nature of this text, and it was interesting to read Godwin's editorial choices. Super depressing read considering Wollstonecraft dies shortly after giving birth to Mary and the strained relationship between her and her father (see her dedication to Godwin in Frankenstein).