Mary: A Fiction is the only complete novel by 18th-century British feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. It tells the tragic story of a female’s successive friendships with a woman and a man. The novel’s representation of an energetic, unconventional, opinionated, rational, female genius within a new kind of romance is an important development.
About Mary: A Fiction in brief
Mary: A Fiction is the only complete novel by 18th-century British feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. It tells the tragic story of a female’s successive “romantic friendships” with a woman and a man. Composed while she was a governess in Ireland, the novel was published in 1788 shortly after her summary dismissal and her decision to embark on a writing career. The novel’s representation of an energetic, unconventional, opinionated, rational, female genius within a new kind of romance is an important development in the history of the novel because it helped shape an emerging feminist discourse. It is partially based on Lady Kingsborough, who believed she cared more for her dogs than her children. More importantly, the friendship between Mary and Ann closely resembles the relationship between Woll stonecraft and her intimate companion Fanny Blood, who meant the world to her and her husband William Godwin later put it to use as a ruling minder for the ruling family of the Kingsboroughs. The last few lines of the book imply that she will die young. WollStonecraft later repudiated Mary, writing that it was laughable. However, scholars have argued that, despite its faults, the novel’s portrayal of a rational, rational and female genius in a romance is a significant development in history of novel writing. It rewrites the traditional romance plot through its reimagination of gender relations and female sexuality. Mary begins with a description of the conventional and loveless marriage between the heroine’s mother and father.
She neglects her daughter, who educates herself using only books and the natural world. Mary becomes quite attached to Ann, who is in the grip of an unrequited love and does not reciprocate Mary’s feelings. Mary is depressed by her marriage to Charles and bereft of both Ann and Henry, until she hears that Henry’s consumption has worsened. Mary rushes to his side and cares for him until he dies. At the end of the Novel, Charles returns from Europe; he and Mary establish something of a life together, but Mary is unhealthy and can barely stand to be in the same room with her husband; the last few Lines of the Book of Mary suggest that Mary will die soon after. Mary’s mother, Eliza, is obsessed with novels, rarely considers anyone but herself, and favours Mary’s brother. Mary is able to repay their debts after she wed Charles, but her marriage gives her limited control over her money. Mary has contracted a passion for Ann, for whom she has so fervent, as fervent as her mind has constituted the ruling mind of her mind for the years she has been married to Godwin Godwin, her husband of 30 years. Mary later marries another man, Henry, but is forced to return to England separately. Mary and Henry fall in love and Mary is grief-stricken. Mary leaves England and returns to Lisbon to live with her mother and her brother, who she has never met.
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This page is based on the article Mary: A Fiction published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 04, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
