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aliceboule's review against another edition
4.0
Whether or not Maria was mad, Mary Wollstonecraft creates a world in which one can be both sane and insane at the same time. But insanity is not the madness we know of today, but rather a simple disassociation of mind and body; when the senses begin to lose credibility and what one sees and feels cannot be trusted.
Yes, Maria is an effort to show the brutalization of women in 18th century England, but more than that, this novel is a testament to Mary Wollstonecraft's ideas of the feminine versus the masculine and a desire to promote reason and common sense above all else. And so the true conflict of Maris, is not to leave her husband but the uncertainty of whether she is loosing her mind.
Yes, Maria is an effort to show the brutalization of women in 18th century England, but more than that, this novel is a testament to Mary Wollstonecraft's ideas of the feminine versus the masculine and a desire to promote reason and common sense above all else. And so the true conflict of Maris, is not to leave her husband but the uncertainty of whether she is loosing her mind.
katnissevergreen's review against another edition
4.0
"Are not...the despots for ever stigmatized, who, in the wantonness of power, commanded even the most atrocious criminals to be chained to dead bodies? though surely those laws are much more inhuman, which forge adamantine fetters to bind minds together, that never can mingle in social communion! What indeed can equal the wretchedness of that state, in which there is no alternative, but to extinguish the affections, or encounter infamy?" from "Maria."
Interesting collection of related stories from the mother/daughter. "Maria" was definitely my favorite, with its attempts at portraying the struggles of women at the time through the portrayal of various female characters and their struggles in the world. Effective and fairly well-told story. Honestly I probably enjoyed it more than Wollstonecraft's more famous "Vindication." But I wasn't a huge fan of "Mary," which was written earlier in Wollstonecraft's life. It's a more simple story, and one I found to be fairly didactic. I appreciate it for what is what doing at the time but I doubt it will stick it with me.
"Matilda" was good - and certainly confirmed that Shelley was a better writer than Wollstonecraft." The theme of incest surprised me. Unlike the ideas of Wollstonecraft's stories - which are discussed more openly in some places now - incest is certainly still shameful and hidden today, so you can imagine a similar story being written about it.
I liked these three stories being paired together. They're all quite somber, and it's notable to consider their similarities given the rather sad lives of both Wollstonecraft and Shelley, sadness which was certainly related to the misogyny they portray their female protagonists experiencing.
Interesting collection of related stories from the mother/daughter. "Maria" was definitely my favorite, with its attempts at portraying the struggles of women at the time through the portrayal of various female characters and their struggles in the world. Effective and fairly well-told story. Honestly I probably enjoyed it more than Wollstonecraft's more famous "Vindication." But I wasn't a huge fan of "Mary," which was written earlier in Wollstonecraft's life. It's a more simple story, and one I found to be fairly didactic. I appreciate it for what is what doing at the time but I doubt it will stick it with me.
"Matilda" was good - and certainly confirmed that Shelley was a better writer than Wollstonecraft." The theme of incest surprised me. Unlike the ideas of Wollstonecraft's stories - which are discussed more openly in some places now - incest is certainly still shameful and hidden today, so you can imagine a similar story being written about it.
I liked these three stories being paired together. They're all quite somber, and it's notable to consider their similarities given the rather sad lives of both Wollstonecraft and Shelley, sadness which was certainly related to the misogyny they portray their female protagonists experiencing.
michelleshinee's review against another edition
slow-paced
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Death, Misogyny, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, and Infidelity
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Suicide
caris96's review against another edition
4.0
“My poor Ann! Along this road we came, and near this spot you called me your guardian angel – and now I leave thee here! Ah! No, I do not – thy spirit is not confined to its mouldering tenement! Tell me, thou soul of her I love, tell me, ah! Wither art thou fled?”
Wollstonecraft’s fiction is seldom upheld among her greatest works, but here I want to defend them. ‘Mary’ is regarded as an example of Wollstonecraft’s earlier amateur writing, and ‘Maria’ the maturation of her craft. The writing style of ‘Mary’, while unusual, is, I believe, intentional. This was largely an autobiographical novel, with pervasive similarities to Wollstonecraft’s own life. Her melancholy heroine is a reflection of her (not much) younger self and the pain she endured from her various relationships:
“Every cause in nature produces an effect; and am I an exception to the general rule? Have I desires implanted in me only to make me miserable? Will they never be gratified? Shall I never be happy? My feelings do not accord with the notion of solitary happiness. In a state of bliss, it will be the society of beings we can love, without the alloy that earthly infirmities mix with our best affections, that will constitute great part of our happiness” (33).
Consequently, it feels as though ‘Mary’ tells us about Wollstonecraft herself more than ‘Maria’ does. I understand the latter was an [unfinished] sequel to “The Rights of Woman”, and this is easily discernible through its plot. However, it just didn’t land with me for its intended purpose. It was simply a fine novel. But I will admit that my opinion of these two novels is very much contextual and based on my prior interests in the author and subjects they tackle. I can see how the latter is more highly praised. I would absolutely recommend both of these, but as their context implies, it would help a lot to have read Godwin’s “Memoirs” and Mary’s “Rights of Woman” first.
Wollstonecraft’s fiction is seldom upheld among her greatest works, but here I want to defend them. ‘Mary’ is regarded as an example of Wollstonecraft’s earlier amateur writing, and ‘Maria’ the maturation of her craft. The writing style of ‘Mary’, while unusual, is, I believe, intentional. This was largely an autobiographical novel, with pervasive similarities to Wollstonecraft’s own life. Her melancholy heroine is a reflection of her (not much) younger self and the pain she endured from her various relationships:
“Every cause in nature produces an effect; and am I an exception to the general rule? Have I desires implanted in me only to make me miserable? Will they never be gratified? Shall I never be happy? My feelings do not accord with the notion of solitary happiness. In a state of bliss, it will be the society of beings we can love, without the alloy that earthly infirmities mix with our best affections, that will constitute great part of our happiness” (33).
Consequently, it feels as though ‘Mary’ tells us about Wollstonecraft herself more than ‘Maria’ does. I understand the latter was an [unfinished] sequel to “The Rights of Woman”, and this is easily discernible through its plot. However, it just didn’t land with me for its intended purpose. It was simply a fine novel. But I will admit that my opinion of these two novels is very much contextual and based on my prior interests in the author and subjects they tackle. I can see how the latter is more highly praised. I would absolutely recommend both of these, but as their context implies, it would help a lot to have read Godwin’s “Memoirs” and Mary’s “Rights of Woman” first.
msgtdameron's review against another edition
4.0
Great read. The intro gives a Wonderfull idea of what to look for as you read. But, it is incomplete, especially in reference to Matilda. All the stories do deal with suicide, but Matilda also deals with incest, Maria with the low position of women in the early 19th century. This was a good read and enjoyable to me.
elizastudying's review against another edition
3.0
I read Maria by Mary Wollstonecraft and Mathilda by Mary Shelley, Wollstonecraft's daughter. Even though these books aren't a pleasure to read, they are very interesting. They can be tedious at times and they deal with heavy subject matters. However, they also deal with issues of the time they were written in and are very interesting in line with the Romantic era and early feminism! Wouldn't recommend reading this book unless you are a literature student interested in feminism, romantic literature, or anything related, though.
triceratopper's review against another edition
2.0
(To be clear, my rating and review only reflect "Mary", not "Maria" or "Matilda".)
I was assigned this novel for class. I found it tedious but thankfully not too long. To put it lightly, it was simply not my cup of tea.
When we discussed this novella, however, I could see the professor's point in having us read it. "Mary" is actually a very feminist novel, and constantly references the age-old idea of sensibility, which was apparently a big deal in this time period.
So I wasn't crazy about it. I'm usually not too interested in books I read for class, so that's not surprising. But if you're looking for a short book that has some historical value (even though it is largely ignored in terms of the literary canon), it's worth giving it a shot.
I was assigned this novel for class. I found it tedious but thankfully not too long. To put it lightly, it was simply not my cup of tea.
When we discussed this novella, however, I could see the professor's point in having us read it. "Mary" is actually a very feminist novel, and constantly references the age-old idea of sensibility, which was apparently a big deal in this time period.
So I wasn't crazy about it. I'm usually not too interested in books I read for class, so that's not surprising. But if you're looking for a short book that has some historical value (even though it is largely ignored in terms of the literary canon), it's worth giving it a shot.