Read the next few chapters and don't worry about understanding every little detail; try to focus on small passages and the ideas you can understand. Remember, too, that this novella is Wollstonecraft's attempt to show people the world they refuse to look at--the plight of unhappily married women and impoverished servants who have no recourse to justice. She wants us to feel their pain and despair even at the expense of writing a balanced, logical story. Also, since she never finished it, she never had time to clean the story up and make it read a bit smoother, as she would have done. So take it with a grain of salt as an important historical work that influenced many writers to come, even if it's not a beach read.
Answer TWO of the following:
Q1: One of the most powerful lines in the story, and perhaps the most autobiographical one, is when Maria exclaims, "Why was I not born a man, or why was I born at all?" (105). While this might sound melodramatic, why might a woman of this time think these thoughts? What rights and privileges does any man, rich or poor, have over any woman, rich or poor? Why might a woman of intellect and imagination truly wish to be a man?
Q2: In Chapter X, Maria writes that the women in books (some written by men) are often too good, and too sensible, always doing the "right" thing, particularly as submissive wives. However, these women "may possess tenderness; but they want that fire of imagination, which produces active sensibility, and positive virtue" (114). What do you think she means by this? Why would a good, submissive wife lack active and positive qualities?
Q3: In the story, all the men soon realize that Maria's husband is a con-artist and a swindler. Even Mr. S--, the man intent on seducing her, says that "his character in the commercial world was gone" (119). So why is no one trying to rescue her from the marriage or protect her from his schemes? Aren't gentlemen supposed to be "gallant" and protect the innocent women of society?
Q4: In the late 18th century, and throughout the 19th century, sex was the ultimate taboo topic. It was unthinkable for a woman to write about sex herself, much less the secrets between a husband and wife. What makes this work so shocking in this regard? How does Wollstonecraft flaunt the taboo in the name of truth and justice? What does she want her readers to see and understand about the reality of a wife's sexual existence?
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