Sixth Grade
Worksheets
Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft was one of the original feminist philosophers. In the 18th century, however, she was pointed to as an example of the way women shouldn't behave. Today that is no longer the case, but even so, few people know very much about her life or about her writings.
Mary had a short and difficult life. She was born in 1759 in London, England, and died at the age of 38. Her family had once been well off, but then they fell on hard times. Mary spent years of her young life caring for her mother and her sisters.
In 1778, Mary left home to find work and took one of the few jobs that was available to a young lady at that time in history. She became a lady's companion. Two years later, she was needed back at home once again to care for her mother who was dying. After her mother's death, Mary became a governess, taking care of a family's young children. It was a job with little chance of advancement. Wanting work in which she could use her intelligence, Mary left that job and tried to find work as a writer. Work in the field of writing was difficult to find, especially for a woman, but Mary didn't give up. She took what work she could find. She wrote reviews of novels, and she translated books.
