was, she argued, a lack of education or the entirely wrong kind of education which created and perpetuated the crippling stereotypes of women as helpless and simple-minded, really little more than children. She also noted that the frustration of a confined existence and limited education was the main reason many women of means became tyrants in their households, terrorizing servants and children in order to have some small sense of control over their own lives. (History Guide, answers.com, SEP)

While Reason was at the heart of Wollstonecraft’s philosophy from the beginning, a series of personal tragedies and disillusionments later prompted her to reexamine her initial views of Reason as preeminently sovereign. Wollstonecraft, a supporter of the early impetus of the French Revolution, journeyed to Paris in 1794 to experience it first hand. However, by the time she arrived there “The Terror” had begun, making the city dangerous to Wollstonecraft and other British citizens. Not only was this very disillusioning, but it was the start of a devastating on-again-off-again relationship with Gilbert Imlay, an American writer, explorer, entrepreneur and philanderer. She bore Imlay a daughter, Fanny, out of wedlock and her tumultuous relationship with him twice prompted her to attempt suicide. (answers.com)

Three months after her second thwarted suicide attempt, Wollstonecraft became reacquainted and fell in love with William Godwin, whom she had first met in 1791. Both Wollstonecraft and Godwin found marriage abhorrent, but in 1797, when Wollstonecraft discovered she was pregnant, they decided to get married for the protection of their child. Sadly, the arrival of this child precipitated Wollstonecraft’s death only a month later. She died of blood poisoning caused by complications in the delivery of their daughter, Mary (later to become the author of Frankenstein and wife of the poet Shelley). A year after her death, Godwin published a biograp