Vindication of the Rights of Woman: the foundation of modern feminism

She Speaks Volumes, the primer for over 500 years of feminist philosophy, history, and writing is produced by the Feral Culture Lab

Written and created by Daniella Sorrentino.

Mary Wollstonecraft is voiced by Fiona Thraille

In this episode we are listening to excerpts from the book that would lay the foundation of western feminism, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, written by Mary Wollstonecraft, and originally published in 1792.

Episode extracts from Project Gutenberg edition

Research from the Penguin Classic edition.

Mary Wollstonecraft was born April 27, 1759 in Spitalfields, now part of London’s East End. Instability in the family’s finances, and her father’s drunken rages prompted her to seek employment outside of London as soon as she was able. She worked first as a ladies companion in Bath, and as governess in Ireland, she also briefly started her own school. Finding none of these careers suitable she returned to London to embark on a career as a writer. ‘The first of a new genus’, she would write in a letter to her sister.

A complete list of her works can be found in the bibliography on her wikipedia entry.

Music:

Mandoline Concerto in C, Vivaldo (1729) from the Internet Archive

La Marseillaise, (1792 ) Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle, from Wikimedia Commons

Soundscape source credits:

"Rain on Windows, Interior, B.wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org

"Wind, Realistic, A.wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org

“Dry Thunder”, by JusKiddink of Freesound.org