Mary Wollstonecraft Criticism
Mary Wollstonecraft, a pioneering English essayist, novelist, and advocate of women's rights, is celebrated for her influential contributions to political and feminist thought. Born in 1759, Wollstonecraft's tumultuous early life, marked by her father's failures and abuse, fueled her resolve for independence. Her career as a writer began with her first essay, Thoughts on the Education of Daughters, and developed further through her engagements with radical circles in London, including her connection with publisher Joseph Johnson. Her groundbreaking work, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), is often hailed as the first modern feminist text, arguing for the intellectual and ethical equality of women and advocating for their education and rights, drawing from Enlightenment principles of reason and individualism.
Wollstonecraft's writings, characterized by a bold intertwining of logic and emotion, often extend beyond feminism to critique societal norms, as seen in her earlier work, A Vindication of the Rights of Men (1790). Her life, punctuated by personal struggles and controversial relationships, also informed her literary output, with her novels Mary and The Wrongs of Woman; or, Maria reflecting autobiographical elements and feminist concerns. As noted by S.D. Harasym, these novels complicate her portrayal of utopian feminist ideals through her protagonist's experiences.
While early responses to Wollstonecraft's work were polarized, often overshadowed by critiques of her personal life, her legacy has been reevaluated in light of modern feminist scholarship. Critic Wendy Gunther-Canada highlights her challenge to gender distinctions in political rights discourse, and Mitzi Myers underscores her development of a unique voice combining sensibility with reason. Although her fiction has received mixed reviews, often critiqued for its melodrama and didacticism, her essays remain pivotal, with A Vindication of the Rights of Woman being a cornerstone of feminist literature. Her work continues to inspire, as noted by Himani Bannerji, offering valuable insights for contemporary feminist discourse.
Contents
- Principal Works
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Essays
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Ideology and Self: A Theoretical Discussion of the 'Self' in Mary Wollestonecraft's Fiction
(summary)
In the following essay, Harasym examines the autobiographical novel The Wrongs of Woman; or, Maria, contending that Wollstonecraft's identification of herself with her protagonist complicated her portrayal of a utopian feminist ideology.
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Sensibility and the 'Walk of Reason': Mary Wollstonecraft's Literary Reviews as Cultural Critique
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In the essay that follows, Myers examines Wollstonecraft's writings for the Analytical Review as attempts by Wollstonecraft to develop her unique voice as a 'theorist of gender,' particularly as she attempts to combine sensibility and reason into a broader humanism.
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The Female (As) Reader: Sex, Sensibility, and the Maternal in Wollstonecraft's Fictions
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In the following essay, Maurer contends that, in her fiction, Wollstonecraft attempts to develop an active subjectivity for women "that is constituted in direct relation to a woman's role as mother."
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Nasty Tricks and Tropes: Sexuality and Language in Mary Wollstonecraft's Rights of Woman
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In this essay, Furniss examines Wollstonecraft's Vindication of the Rights of Woman in an attempt to understand her feminism, at least in part, as an extension of the middle-class struggle for the 'rights of man' and the establishment of a bourgeois society—both of which, Furniss claims, problematize Wollstonecraft's relevance to contemporary social issues.
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Daring to Dialogue: Mary Wollstonecraft's Rhetoric of Feminist Dialogics
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In the essay that follows, Barlowe examines Wollstonecraft's use of different genres as an effort to engage in dialogue with the male-dominated intellectual tradition, in the larger service of achieving the practical social ends of feminism.
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Mary Wollstonecraft's 'Wild Wish': Confounding Sex in the Discourse on Political Rights
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In the following essay, Gunther-Canada examines the two Vindications in order to show how Wollstonecraft disputed the gender distinctions that excluded women from the discourse of political rights.
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The Vindication of the Writes of Women: Mary Wollstonecraft and Enlightenment Rhetoric
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In this essay, Brody analyzes Wollstonecraft's rhetoric as an inversion of the bodily imagery that had been used during the Enlightenment to describe sound writing; through this rhetorical transformation, Brody contends, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman "dramatically vindicates that a woman may write polemically."
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Mary Wollstonecraft, Feminism, and Humanism: A Spectrum of Reading
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In the essay that follows, Bannerji notes the ambivalence of contemporary feminist theorists toward Wollstonecraft and attempts, nonetheless, to claim that A Vindication of the Rights of Woman provides a promising philosophical resource for current feminist discourse.
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Mary Wollstonecraft on Sensibility, Women's Rights, and Patriarchal Power
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In the following essay, Shanley explores Wollstonecraft's discussion of the relationship between domestic and political patriarchy.
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Ideology and Self: A Theoretical Discussion of the 'Self' in Mary Wollestonecraft's Fiction
(summary)
- Further Reading