By: Gigi, Trinity, Stevan, and Alex Mary Wollstonecraft By: Gigi, Trinity, Stevan, and Alex

Early Life She was born on April 27, 1759 in Spitalfields, London. Her father abused her mother. Mary slept in front of her mother’s bedroom door to prevent her father from beating her. She did not have a formal education, but learned by reading books in her neighbor’s library.

Main Beliefs Her main beliefs were: Women’s education was just as important as men’s education Women should be free to enter business, pursue professional careers, and vote if they wished. Women should join the male-dominated fields of medicine and politics. If women were educated they would be just as successful as men working outside of home. Men and women were equal and deserved the same rights.

Published Works In 1792 she published her most famous book, A Vindication of the Rights of Women. She expresses disgust at the notion that women are helpless and should stay at home She wrote a personal travel narrative, Letters Written During a Short residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. She also wrote An Historical and Moral View of the Origin and Progress of the French Revolution, which critiqued the French Revolution She wrote Thoughts on the Education of Daughters after she opened a school in Newington Green.

Influences/Legacies She started the first wave of feminism Played an intricate role in both the intellectual and political developments of her day. Her views on education, class, and race helped set the standards in the future for human rights Explored and integrated sense and reason into everyday life Her views on public versus private life, politics and domestic spheres, and men and women, were the main parts of her legacy.

Fun Facts/Famous Quotes At the age of 15, she announced that she would never marry, however she ended up marrying William Godwin. She died at age 38 after giving birth to daughter. Her daughter was Mary Shelley, who wrote the famous book Frankenstein. Famous Quotes: “No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks.” “The divine right of husbands, like the divine right of kings, may, it is hoped, in this enlightened age, be contested without danger.” “If women be educated for dependence; that is, to act according to the will of another fallible being, and submit, right or wrong, to power, where are we to stop?”

Works Cited