Mary: A Fiction, published in 1788, is a tragic story that decries marriages not based on love. It can be considered an example of feminist fiction.Mary's parents are in a loveless marriage. As the second-born, female child, she is neglected; her education is self-directed from books, nature, and her own inclinations. Her inclinations, however, are towards genius and religion. Mary becomes the heiress of her parents' fortune when her brother dies. To keep the family property together due to litigation, her parents marry her to a boy she has never met. After the ceremony, he goes to the Continent, and Mary devotes herself to her weak, sickly friend, Ann.She is disgusted with the thought of living with her husband - a weak, shallow man. Strong love for Ann, love for a "better" man, religion, and benevolence support Mary through a life on the run from conventional duty.
Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797) est une philosophe, écrivaine et féministe britannique, considérée comme l’une des pionnières du mouvement pour les droits des femmes. Issue d’un milieu modeste, elle travaille comme gouvernante, enseignante et traductrice avant de s’imposer comme une figure majeure des Lumières. Son œuvre la plus célèbre, *A Vindication of the Rights of Woman* (1792), pose les bases d’une réflexion sur l’égalité entre les sexes et l’accès des femmes à l’éducation et à la raison. Sa vie, marquée par des engagements radicaux et des choix personnels audacieux, a souvent éclipsé son héritage intellectuel, pourtant fondateur pour les féminismes ultérieurs.
