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    Original Stories: “All the sacred rights of humanity are violated by insisting on blind obedience”
    Original Stories: “All the sacred rights of humanity are violated by insisting on blind obedience”
    Original Stories: “All the sacred rights of humanity are violated by insisting on blind obedience”
    Ebook120 pages1 hour

    Original Stories: “All the sacred rights of humanity are violated by insisting on blind obedience”

    By Mary Wollstonecraft

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    Mary Wollstonecraft was born on 27th April 1759 in Spitalfields, London. Although her family had a comfortable income much was squandered by her father leading the family to become financially diminished. Wollstonecraft struck out on her own in 1778 and accepted a job as a lady's companion. Frustrated by the limited career options open to respectable yet poor women, she nonetheless decided to embark upon a career as an author. At the time, few women could support themselves by writing.

    She learned French and German and translated texts. She also wrote reviews, primarily of novels, for Johnson's periodical, the Analytical Review.

    Wollstonecraft also pursued a relationship with the artist Henry Fuseli. Boldly she proposed a platonic living arrangement with Fuseli and his wife. Fuseli's wife was shocked and the relationship was severed.

    In December 1792 she left for France to view first hand the revolutionary events that she had just celebrated in her recent ‘Vindication of the Rights of Men’ (1790) and that had brought her immediate fame.

    France declared war on Britain in February 1793 and Wollstonecraft tried to leave for Switzerland but was denied permission. Despite her sympathy for the revolution, life for Wollstonecraft was very uncomfortable.

    Having just written the ‘Rights of Woman’, Wollstonecraft determined to put her ideas to the test. She alighted on and fell passionately in love with Gilbert Imlay, an American diplomat and adventurer. By now she was disillusioned by the Revolution’s path. She thought the republic behaved slavishly to those in power while the government was 'venal' and 'brutal'. To protect Wollstonecraft from the prospect of arrest, Imlay made a false statement to the U.S. embassy in Paris that he had married her, automatically making her an American citizen. Wollstonecraft, now pregnant by Imlay, gave birth to her first child, Fanny, on 14th May 1794. She was overjoyed.

    The winter of 1794–95 was the coldest winter in over a century. Wollstonecraft and Fanny were reduced to desperate circumstances. Wollstonecraft now had to risk leaving France and did so on 7th April 1795. She sought Imlay out but he was impassive to her pleas. In May 1795 she attempted to commit suicide, but it is thought Imlay saved her life. But it was now certain that her relationship with Imlay was over. She attempted suicide for a second time but a passing stranger witnessed her jump into the Thames and rescued her.

    Gradually, Wollstonecraft returned to literary life, and to a relationship with William Godwin. Once Wollstonecraft became pregnant by him, they decided to marry so that the child would be legitimate.

    On 30th August 1797, Wollstonecraft gave birth to her second daughter, Mary. During the delivery the placenta broke apart and became infected. After several days of agony, Mary Wollstonecraft died of septicemia on 10th September 1797.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMiniature Masterpieces
    Release dateJul 18, 2019
    ISBN9781787807044
    Original Stories: “All the sacred rights of humanity are violated by insisting on blind obedience”
    Author

    Mary Wollstonecraft

    Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) was an English writer, philosopher, and feminist. Born in London, Wollstonecraft was raised in a financially unstable family. As a young woman, she became friends with Jane Arden, an intellectual and socialite, and Fanny Blood, a talented illustrator and passionate educator. After several years on her own, Wollstonecraft returned home in 1780 to care for her dying mother, after which she moved in with the Blood family and began planning live independently with Fanny. Their plan proved financially impossible, however, and Fanny soon married and moved to Portugal, where, in 1785, she died from complications of pregnancy. This inspired Wollstonecraft’s first novel, Mary: A Fiction (1788), launching her career as one of eighteenth-century England’s leading literary voices. In 1790, in response to Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), Wollstonecraft wrote Vindication of the Rights of Men, a political pamphlet defending the cause of the French Revolution, advocating for republicanism, and illustrating the ideals of England’s emerging middle class. Following the success of her pamphlet, Wollstonecraft wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), a groundbreaking work of political philosophy and an early feminist text that argues for the education of women as well as for the need to recognize them as rational, independent beings. The same year, Wollstonecraft travelled to France, where she lived for a year while moving in Girondist circles and observing the changes enacted by the newly established National Assembly. In 1793, she was forced to leave France as the Jacobins rose to power, executing many of Wollstonecraft’s friends and colleagues and expelling foreigners from the country. In 1797, she married the novelist and anarchist philosopher William Godwin, with whom she bore her daughter Mary, who would eventually write the novel Frankenstein (1818). Several days afterward, however, Wollstonecraft died at the age of 38 from septicemia, leaving a legacy as a pioneering feminist and unparalleled figure in English literature.

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      Book preview

      Original Stories - Mary Wollstonecraft

      Original Stories by Mary Wollstonecraft

      Mary Wollstonecraft was born on 27th April 1759 in Spitalfields, London. Although her family had a comfortable income much was squandered by her father leading the family to become financially diminished.  Wollstonecraft struck out on her own in 1778 and accepted a job as a lady's companion. Frustrated by the limited career options open to respectable yet poor women, she nonetheless decided to embark upon a career as an author. At the time, few women could support themselves by writing.

      She learned French and German and translated texts. She also wrote reviews, primarily of novels, for Johnson's periodical, the Analytical Review.

      Wollstonecraft also pursued a relationship with the artist Henry Fuseli. Boldly she proposed a platonic living arrangement with Fuseli and his wife. Fuseli's wife was shocked and the relationship was severed.

      In December 1792 she left for France to view first hand the revolutionary events that she had just celebrated in her recent ‘Vindication of the Rights of Men’ (1790) and that had brought her immediate fame.   

      France declared war on Britain in February 1793 and Wollstonecraft tried to leave for Switzerland but was denied permission. Despite her sympathy for the revolution, life for Wollstonecraft was very uncomfortable.

      Having just written the ‘Rights of Woman’, Wollstonecraft determined to put her ideas to the test. She alighted on and fell passionately in love with Gilbert Imlay, an American diplomat and adventurer. By now she was disillusioned by the Revolution’s path. She thought the republic behaved slavishly to those in power while the government was 'venal' and 'brutal'.  To protect Wollstonecraft from the prospect of arrest, Imlay made a false statement to the U.S. embassy in Paris that he had married her, automatically making her an American citizen.  Wollstonecraft, now pregnant by Imlay, gave birth to her first child, Fanny, on 14th May 1794. She was overjoyed.

      The winter of 1794–95 was the coldest winter in over a century. Wollstonecraft and Fanny were reduced to desperate circumstances. Wollstonecraft now had to risk leaving France and did so on 7th April 1795.  She sought Imlay out but he was impassive to her pleas. In May 1795 she attempted to commit suicide, but it is thought Imlay saved her life.  But it was now certain that her relationship with Imlay was over. She attempted suicide for a second time but a passing stranger witnessed her jump into the Thames and rescued her.

      Gradually, Wollstonecraft returned to literary life, and to a relationship with William Godwin.  Once Wollstonecraft became pregnant by him, they decided to marry so that the child would be legitimate.

      On 30th August 1797, Wollstonecraft gave birth to her second daughter, Mary. During the delivery the placenta broke apart and became infected. After several days of agony, Mary Wollstonecraft died of septicemia on 10th September 1797.

      Index of Contents

      EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION

      PREFACE

      INTRODUCTION

      CHAPTER I - The Treatment of Animals—The Ant—The Bee—Goodness—The Lark’s Nest—The Asses

      CHAPTER II - The Treatment of Animals—The Difference Between Them and Man—The Parental Affection of a Dog—Brutality Punished

      CHAPTER III - The Treatment of Animals—The Story of Crazy Robin—The Man Confined in the Bastille

      CHAPTER IV - Anger—History of Jane Fretful

      CHAPTER V - Lying—Honour—Truth—Small Duties—History of Lady Sly and Mrs Trueman

      CHAPTER VI - Anger—Folly Produces Self-Contempt, and the Neglect of Others

      CHAPTER VII - Virtue the Soul of Beauty—The Tulip and the Rose—The Nightingale—External Ornaments—Characters

      CHAPTER VIII - Summer Evening’s Amusement—The Arrival of a Family of Haymakers—Ridicule of Personal Defects censured—A Storm—The Fear of Death—The Cottage of Honest Jack, the Shipwrecked Sailor—The History of Jack, and his Faithful Dog Pompey

      CHAPTER IX - The Inconveniences of Immoderate Indulgence

      CHAPTER X - The Danger of Delay—Description of a Mansion-House in Ruins—History of Charles Townley

      CHAPTER XI - Dress—A Character—Remarks on Mrs Trueman’s Manner of Dressing—Trifling Omissions Undermine Affection

      CHAPTER XII - Behaviour to Servants—True Dignity of Character

      CHAPTER XIII - Employment—Idleness Produces Misery—The Cultivation of the Fancy Raises Us Above the Vulgar, Extends Our Happiness, and Leads to Virtue

      CHAPTER XIV - Innocent Amusements—Description of a Welch Castle—History of a Welch Harper—A Tyrannical Landlord—Family Pride

      CHAPTER XV - Prayer—A Moonlight Scene—Resignation

      CHAPTER XVI - The Benefits Arising from Devotion—The History of the Village School Mistress—Fatal Effects of Inattention to Expense, in the History of Mr Lofty

      CHAPTER XVII - The Benefits Arising from Devotion—The History of the Village School Mistress Concluded

      CHAPTER XVIII - A Visit to the School Mistress.—True and False Pride

      CHAPTER XIX - Charity—The History of Peggy and her Family—The Sailor’s Widow

      CHAPTER XX - Visit to Mrs Trueman—The Use of Accomplishments—Virtue the Soul of All

      CHAPTER XXI - The Benefit of Bodily Pain—Fortitude the Basis of Virtue—The Folly of Irresolution

      CHAPTER XXII - Journey to London

      CHAPTER XXIII - Charity—Shopping—The Distressed Stationer—Mischievous Consequences of Delaying Payment

      CHAPTER XXIV - Visit to a Poor Family in London—Idleness the Parent of Vice—Prodigality and Generosity incompatible—The Pleasures of Benevolence—True and False Motives for Saving

      CHAPTER XXV - Mrs Mason’s Farewell Advice to her Pupils—Observationson Letter Writing

      MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT – A SHORT BIOGRAPHY

      MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT – A CONCISE BIBLIOGRAPHY

      EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION

      The germ of the Original Stories was, I imagine, a suggestion (in the manner of publishers) from Mary Wollstonecraft’s employer, Johnson of St. Paul’s Churchyard, that something more or less in the manner of Mrs. Trimmer’s History of the Robins, the great nursery success of 1786, might be a profitable speculation.  For I doubt if the production of a book for children would ever have occurred spontaneously to an author so much more interested in the status of women and other adult matters. However, the idea being given her, she quickly wrote the book—in 1787 or 1788—carrying out in it to a far higher power, in Mrs. Mason, the self-confidence and rectitude of Mrs. Trimmer’s leading lady, Mrs. Benson, who in her turn had been preceded by that other flawless instructor of youth, Mr. Barlow.  None of these exemplars could do wrong; but the Mrs. Mason whom we meet in the following pages far transcends the others in conscious merit.  Mrs. Benson in the History of the Robins (with the author of which Mary Wollstonecraft was on friendly terms) was sufficiently like the Protagonist of the Old Testament to be, when among Mrs. Wilson’s bees, ‘excessively pleased with the ingenuity and industry with which these insects collect their honey and wax, form their cells, and deposit their store’; but Mrs. Mason, as we shall see, went still farther.

      It has to be remembered that the Original Stories were written when the author was twenty-nine, five years before she met Gilbert Imlay and six years before her daughter Fanny Imlay was born.  I mention this fact because it seems to me to be very significant.  I feel that had the book been written after Fanny’s birth, or even after the Imlay infatuation, it would have been somewhat different: not perhaps more entertaining, because its author had none of that imaginative sympathy with the young which would direct her pen in the direction of pure pleasure for them; but more human, more kindly, better.  One can have indeed little doubt as to this after reading those curious first lessons for an infant which came from Mary Wollstonecraft’s pen in or about 1795, (printed in volume two of the Posthumous Works, 1798), and which give evidence of so much more tenderness and reasonableness (and at the same time want of Reason, which may have been Godwin’s God but will never stand in that relation either to English men or English children) than the monitress of the Original Stories, the impeccable Mrs. Mason, ever suggests.  I know of no early instance where a mother talks down to an infant more prettily: continually descending herself to its level, yet never with any of Mrs. Mason’s arrogance and superiority.  Not indeed that this poor mother, with her impulsive warm heart wounded, and most of her illusions gone, and few kindly eyes resting upon her, could ever have compassed much of Mrs. Mason’s prosperous self-satisfaction and authority had she wished to; for in the seven years between the composition of the Original Stories and the lessons for the minute Fanny Imlay, she had lived an emotional lifetime, and suffering much, pitied much.

      In Lesson X, which I quote, although it says nothing of charity or kindness, a vastly more human spirit is found than in any of Mrs. Mason’s homilies on our duty to the afflicted:—

      See how much taller you are than William.  In four years you have learned to eat, to walk, to talk.  Why do you smile?  You can do much more, you think: you can wash your hands and face.  Very well.  I should never kiss a dirty face.  And you can comb your head with the pretty comb you always put by in your own drawer.  To be sure, you do all this to be ready to take a walk with me.  You would be obliged to stay at home, if you could not comb your own hair.  Betty is busy getting the dinner ready, and only brushes William’s hair, because he cannot do it for himself.

      Betty is making an apple-pye.  You love an apple-pye; but I do not bid you make one.  Your hands are not strong enough to mix the butter and flour together; and you must not try to pare the apples, because you cannot manage a great knife.

      Never touch the large knives: they are very sharp, and you might cut your finger to the bone.  You are a little girl, and ought to have a little knife.  When you are as tall as I am, you shall have a knife as large as mine; and when you are as strong as I am, and have learned to manage it, you will not hurt yourself.

      You can trundle a hoop, you say; and

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