Frances Sherwood

I wonder if it is a peculiarly American trait to want our heroes to be perfect? We have no state religion and so we have taken as our gods those men and women who stand for the virtues we admire and forget about the less heroic parts of their characters.
As someone who has an interest in feminism and women's history, I was vaguely aware that Mary Wollstonecraft, in the late 1700s, wrote one of the first treaties about the rights of women, but I didn't have any real idea of her life beyond that. I imagined her to be someone eminently sensible who went through life fighting for a cause.
As brought to life in this book of historical fiction, however, Wollstonecraft was not at all sensible. She loved fine clothes and splurged on fanciful shoes even when she couldn't afford them. Her early dreams were only about being "famous", some 18th century Kardashian. And most surprising of all, she falls repeatedly, hopelessly in love with men who do not value her and who drive her to suicide attempts and a stint in Bedlam. After visiting her married lover at his house and being rejected she lies down on his lawn until she is awoken to the words: "Mistress Wollstonecraft, we are the Lunacy Committee from Bedlam Infirmary, I am Dr. Munro, and you are a dangerous and incurable lunatic".
As someone who is used to a more modern version of feminism, Wollstonecraft's actions were a bit difficult to wrap my head around. It is only towards the end of the book, when she is being discussed by two friends who talk about how one minute she is happy and chattering a mile a minute, the next she is in the depths of despair and of the pendulum swings of her moods that it is clear that her erratic behavior is caused at least in part by a bi-polar disorder.
However, despite all of this, I found much to admire in the author's version of Wollstonecraft. She did not back down from a life of writing just because it was difficult and unexpected of a woman. She was able to choose this unusual life despite the fact that she was raised in a violent home by a father who issued regular beatings and a mother who seemed bothered by the presence of some many daughters and not enough sons. Wollstonecraft's ideas that women should be considered rationale beings and allowed to pursue all manner of employment is the corner stone of our modern view of women.
In addition to recommending this book to those interested in women's history, I would also recommend it to those interested in history more generally. The author does a really fantastic job of capturing details of the period, such as the fact that lower class women were sewn into their clothing and only removed them to bathe twice a year. I learned a lot in addition to being entertained.… (mehr)