Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Who was Mary Wollstonecraft? In what time period did she live? What social and political philosophies are associated with her?

Teaching Suggestion: If your students have little background knowledge about Wollstonecraft, you might offer them the first two resources below before they attempt this prompt. If they are familiar with her and her work, you might ask them for preliminary answers to the prompt, then have them refine their answers once they have had a chance to review the links below or similar resources.

• This article from Oxford Learning Link includes an overview of Wollstonecraft’s life and philosophy.
• This 4-minute video from Biography shares background information on Wollstonecraft (Content Note: mentions attempted self-harm).

2. What common attitudes toward women and their role in society existed in England in the late 1700s? How did other aspects of identity—like class, race, and ethnicity–intersect with people’s understanding of womanhood?

Teaching Suggestion: Students are likely to have a fairly solid understanding of attitudes toward women in Wollstonecraft’s day.