Mary Wollstonecraft: A chapter in the history of radicalism in English literature
Date
8/30/1936
Authors
Boswell, Cara L.
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Abstract
Description
One of the martyrs to the cause of liberal thought
in the last part of the eighteenth century was a woman
whom the literary world seems to have neglected in its
appraisal of the value of those whose thinking in the
eighteenth century paved the way for the rapid progress
of the nineteenth century. Mary Wollstonecraft lived
far in advance of her time and advocated theories which
today we simply accept as a part of our civilization.
Because of her liberal and advanced theories she was
looked upon by most of the people of her day with scorn
and spoken of with obloquy; consequently, she paid the
penalty which all pioneers must pay.
In this study I have endeavored to show through
a study of Miss Wollstonecraft 's own works the extent of
her liberalism as brought out in her ideas of education,
politics, and other aspects of t he social problem, including
the position of women. Furthermore, I have endeavored
to show that her liberalism was not the result
of her association with the Radical Group, but rather
that she found her place in this group because of her revolutionary thought . Miss Wollstonecraft did not live
to complete her works; therefore, we do not have the
fruits of a mind which had just reached the maturity of
development .
Keywords
Mary Wollstonecraft, English literature, Radicalism in literature