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| William Godwin |
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| Mary Wollenstonecraft |
On this date in English literary history - March 29, 1797, Mary Wollstonecraft, one of the
earliest and most eloquent proponents of women's rights, married William
Godwin, the most famous radical reformer of his time. Wollstonecraft, who had
been raised by a tyrannical, abusive, and alcoholic father, was philosophically
opposed to marriage, as was Godwin. However, the two decided to marry after
Wollstonecraft became pregnant with his child. The baby girl was Mary
Wollstonecraft Shelley, author of Frankenstein and wife of poet Pierce
Bysshe Shelley. Wollstonecraft supported herself from age 19 as a companion,
governess, and teacher. When her sister fled an unhappy marriage,
Wollstonecraft took her in and hid her for months from her abusive husband, who
had the legal right to force his spouse to return to him. The two, along with
another sister, started a school. Initially a success, the school eventually
went bankrupt and left Wollstonecraft burdened with debt. At age 27,
Wollstonecraft published a semi-autobiographical novel and a children's book,
the latter of which became a smashing success. She began publishing book
reviews in a journal of political reform and writing social criticism. In 1790,
she wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Man, about the French
Revolution. Two years later, she produced A Vindication of the Rights of
Women, a coolly reasoned, well-balanced argument for women's rights,
published at a time when women had no rights or property of their own. A
supporter of the ideals behind the revolution, she moved to France in 1793,
where she fell in love with an American man. After she gave birth to his child,
he abandoned her. Depressed, she tried unsuccessfully to kill herself. She
returned to London and became part of an influential group of radical
intellectuals. In 1796, she fell in love with William Godwin, a well-known
writer who associated with the same circles. The couple married when they
discovered she was pregnant and lived happily for six months-until
Wollstonecraft died on September 10, 1797, several days after giving birth to their
daughter.
Michael Thomas Barry is the author of numerous books that
include Literary Legends of the British
Isles: The Lives & Burial Places of 50 Great Writers (2013, Schiffer).
The book can be purchased from Amazon through the following links:
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