Session 12 Discussion Questions

Questions for Discussion: Wollstonecraft’s Letters Written during a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway and Denmark (1796), advertisement and letters 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 11.

1. Do you sympathize with Godwin’s response to the Letters—namely, that the book made him fall in love with its author?
2. What is Wollstonecraft’s account of her approach to recounting her journey through Scandinavia?  What is the tension between “first-person” narration and providing “a just view of the present state of the countries I have passed through”? Keeping this issue in mind, think about the following:
1. How does Wollstonecraft portray her relationship with Marguerite? 
2. How does Wollstonecraft portray her relationship with Fanny (her infant)?
3. How does Wollstonecraft portray her relationship with Fanny (her friend)?
4. How does Wollstonecraft portray her relationship with Imlay?
5. How does Wollstonecraft portray the people of Scandinavia?
6. How does Wollstonecraft portray the natural landscape of Scandinavia?
7. To what extent do these literary portraits of her relationships and her observations on nature and culture relate to one another in a cohesive master-story?
8. If a cohesive master-story is emerging in the Letters, what is it thus far?
3. What discrepancies do you notice between Wollstonecraft’s Letters and Gordon’s biographical retelling of the first half of her journey?
4. What is the relationship between personal/spiritual reflection and philosophical/political reflection in the Letters?  How does Wollstonecraft’s incorporation of personal/spiritual reflection in the Letters alter the substance and style of her writing, especially in comparison to her earlier works such as the Stories and Vindications?