January 23rd
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- What was Wollstonecraft’s critique of Eton? How did it blend with her critique of the aristocratic Kingsborough family in Ireland?
- What parallels do you see between Wollstonecraft’s Original Stories and her work as a governess for the Kingsboroughs?
- Do you agree with Lyndall Gordon’s reading of the educational philosophy of the Original Stories? Why or why not?
- How did Ned Wollstonecraft’s decision regarding the proceeds of a successful lawsuit illustrate how society and government was patriarchal in eighteenth-century England?
- How does Wollstonecraft’s friendship with her publisher Joseph Johnson help her through her time in Ireland?
- What is Wollstonecraft’s romantic status at this time in her life?
- What do you think of Wollstonecraft’s physical malaise during her time in Ireland? Do you agree with both her and Gordon’s interpretation of its significance?
- What were some of the important books that Wollstonecraft read in Ireland? What is the significance of the timing of her reading of them?
- Do you agree with Gordon’s claim that Wollstonecraft “was not a born genius; she became one”?
- What book does Wollstonecraft start writing while working as a governess?
- How does Wollstonecraft escape from service to the Kingsboroughs?
- Who remains her devoted pupil even after her departure?
- Who was Edmund Burke? What is his relationship to Mary Wollstonecraft? What is his relationship to the politics of the Romantic era?
- What was Burke’s critique of Richard Price’s interpretation of the parallels between the Glorious Revolution and the French Revolution?
- What was Burke’s understanding of proper constitutional change and reform?
- What was Burke’s view of class and how it affects a person’s place in society?
- What was Burke’s defense of hereditary property? Do you buy it?
- What is Burke’s distinction between natural rights and government-prescribed rights, and why is it significant for his political theory?
- How does Burke portray gender roles in his depiction of the mob’s storming of Versailles in the opening stages of the French Revolution? Why are these depictions of gender roles significant for his critique of the French Revolution?
- How does Burke conceptualize and normatively critique “revolution” in the Reflections on the Revolution in France?
Copyright 2008,
by the Contributing Authors.
Cite/attribute Resource.
aguthrie. (2007, January 28). January 23rd. Retrieved November 21, 2008, from Notre Dame OpenCourseWare Web site: http://ocw.nd.edu/political-science/mary-wollstonecraft-and-mary-shelley/discussion-questions/january-23rd.
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