Mary Wollstonecraft: Unsung literary heroine of the 18th Century

            Mary Wollstonecraft should be hailed more often as a literary heroine. Perhaps it is because of her scandalous affairs revealed after her death or her feminist beliefs and rhetoric that prevent her works from resting next to the works of Austen and the Brontë sisters on modern young girl’s bookshelves. Her wit and hard fought intelligence shine through with such sophisticated attitude that it incites pleasure while reading her scathing remarks, flaying men and the accepted belief of the lesser status of womankind in her time. Wollstonecraft wrote with passion, fervor, and clarity that were she alive today, she would rank among the great political women.

            Wollstonecraft’s arguments in her Vindications show a vehement desire for equality that is supported by not only her passion but also by sound logic. Perhaps as a woman in the 18^th century the rational she uses was not as clear-sighted and awe inspiring as it is for a modern woman who has many of the rights Wollstonecraft advocates. As a woman in the 21^st century reading her Vindications, Wollstonecraft’s arguments could be considered “obvious”: women could easily be the equal of men if both are offered the same education, women should be educated because they are the ones that raise the children of the next generation, women can be more than air headed trophies on their husband’s arms if only given the chance. As a 21^st century woman these arguments are very well accepted and coveted, because society has discovered what Wollstonecraft argued: Women are easily the equal of men if given the opportunity of education. However in the 18^th century, after Wollstonecraft’s husband published her memoirs after her death, the scandalous nature of her personal life overshadowed her forward thinking causing her work to be put away. Unfortunately, due to the tradition that she beats her fists so passionately against, it is understandable that women of her time either chose not to care about Wollstonecraft’s work or were afraid of being labeled a social pariah had they showed interest.

            Mocking an author or insulting their arguments is usually considered a weakness in your own defense, however Wollstonecraft uses her wit to positively flay entire pieces of work such as Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution of France. In her letter she wrote, she cleverly weaves her words to not only invalidate the arguments Burke makes but also insult the intelligence of the man himself! She draws a clean line between Burke and the middle class, clearly saying that his arguments only sound reasonable to the wealthy and higher class. What she does that many 21^st century political writers often forget or choose not to do is after slicing Burke’s down with her pen she rebuttals with a better argument.

            Wollstonecraft brings up an argument that is currently in the media today in her rebuttal against Burke: That the poor have a right to a better lifestyle than what society gives them and that it would not affect the wealthy as the wealthy believe. In modern society, the poor are fortunate that there is such things as a minimum wage and laws to protect the rights people have been deemed to have. She talks about things that modern society has made such progress in, yet her argument is still a valid one as society is not yet as equal as Wollstonecraft desires. Women have the right to education, to lead, to vote, to pursue whatever lifestyle they desire; yet female representation in government is still lacking and men are still the loudest voice in dictating laws. Women in many professional fields still lack the respect and pay rate as their male counterparts. Modern women should take up Wollstonecraft’s Vindications and should finish the fight that Wollstonecraft challenged society to.

            Mary Wollstonecraft is a literary heroine; she was scathing, hilarious, intelligent and clear-sighted in her writings. She also loved passionately, which the importance is often overshadowed by the scandalous nature of her affairs. Wollstonecraft was a woman who lived: she traveled, she wrote what she was passionate about, and the men she chose to love she did so completely. She is a woman who is meant to be admired throughout the centuries for showing such early evidence that a woman can fight the chains created by society while still being a partner, wife, and mother. Mary Wollstonecraft’s works deserve to be on every young girl’s bookshelf right next to the other literary heroines.