A N D T H E N E W I N G TO N G R E E N D I S S E N T E R S , 1 7 8 1

Hidden by Red Saunders: An Impressions Gallery touring exhibition, 9 March – 29 September 2013

Mary Wollstonecraft and the Newington Green Dissenters, 1781

Introduction

Mary Wollstonecraft was a British writer, philosopher and advocate of women’s rights. She is now seen as one of the founding feminist philosophers, her life and work often cited by feminists.

Where did her inspiration come from?

#1 •From an early age she attempted to protect her mother from her father’s violent outbursts.

•She encouraged her sister to leave her husband and child.

•This encouraged her to stand up for what is right.

Where did her inspiration come from?

#2 It was her friendship with Jane Arden and Fanny Blood that sparked her interest in the educational side of the women’s movement. Spending time with their families encouraged her to take her school work seriously and be strong.

Where did her inspiration come from?

#3 Attending lectures, reading books and opening her mind to alternatives were the key factors in the growth of her rebellious nature. Women were only expected to take a minimal amount of education.

Failure of the Wollstonecraft-Blood School

Wollstonecraft opened a school with Blood in Newington Green creating the dissenters.

soon Blood left to Europe for health reasons. As her health deteriorated, Wollstonecraft followed her friend, abandoning the school which consequently led to its failure.

Wollstonecraft became a governess to an Anglo-Irish family. An event which encouraged her to complete another book named Thoughts on the Education of Daughters.

Leap in to literacy

Due to the dislike of her employer, Wollstonecraft left her position as Governess...

And headed for the dizzying lights of London to become a writer..

Where she became an attendee of Joseph Johnson’s famous dinners and met other literary fanatics...

The Vindication of Rights

Wollstonecraft travelled to France and experienced the French Revolution prompting her to compose A Vindication of the Rights of Men (1790).

A Vindication of the Rights of Women was a book describing her ideas that women are not naturally inferior to men but appear so due to lack of education. She also argued that both men and women should be treated as rational beings and imagined a social order founded on reason.

A sad end to a wonderful life

Wollstonecraft became pregnant and had her baby out of wedlock. Although the father, Gilbert Imlay, managed to get her and the child out of France as Britain declared war, he soon left her and the baby alone in the middle of the revolution. Severely depressed, Wollstonecraft attempted to commit suicide on many occasions before eventually steadying herself and regaining her literary roots where she rekindled her love with Godwin, marrying and having another child before her death in 1797.

Legacy

Due to many discrediting works published throughout her life and after death, Wollstonecraft was not truly appreciated until the turn of the twentieth century as the feminist movement came in to being. She is now seen as one of the founding feminist philosophers, her life and work often cited by feminists.

Find more free resources on our website

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People’s History Museum, Left Bank, Spinningfields, Manchester, M3 3ER

0161 838 9190 learning@phm.org.uk www.phm.org.uk

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