Mary

Mary is the only complete novel by the British feminist. It tells the tragic story of a woman's successive friendships with another woman and a man. It was published in 1788, shortly after her abrupt dismissal from her job and her decision to dedicate herself to writing, a precarious and frowned-upon profession for women in 18th-century Britain. Inspired by Rousseau's idea that geniuses educate themselves, Wollstonecraft chose Mary, a rational and self-taught heroine, as her protagonist. Wollstonecraft portrays Mary as independent and capable of defining femininity and marriage for herself.