From Betty Friedan and Germaine Greer in
the 1970s, let’s do a time travel of
sorts, back in time to the 1790s, to have a glimpse into the life and works
of Mary Wollstonecraft, mother of Mary Shelley!
This, her much popular seminal nonfiction
text titled, A Vindication of the Rights
of Women (1791), argues for the equality of women – and their right to
education as much as men do!
Although there were bouquets galore for
her text, there were brickbats as well! Walpole even went to the extent of
calling her ‘a hyena in petticoats’! Yet in spite of these stinging remarks,
she has rightly established herself as the godmother of modern feminism!
Interestingly, it was in the very same
year that Thomas Paine had also published his book titled, Rights of Man (1791), in which he argues that popular political
revolution is permissible if the ruling establishment fails to safeguard the
natural rights of its people.
It should also be noted that, Mary
Wollstonecraft had already written a pamphlet on a similar title, A Vindication of the Rights of Men, in a
Letter to the Right Honourable Edmund Burke; Occasioned by His Reflections on
the Revolution in France in 1790! This was a political pamphlet that
strongly condemned aristocracy and advocated republicanism.
Well, Mary Wollstonecraft assumes
significance to us all today, not only because she is a proto-feminist of sorts
- pioneering the way for the liberation, freedom and the emancipation of women
- but also because she’s been a guiding light and an inspiration for a
generation of writers who adore her and respect her for her bold stance in
favour of women’s education!
One such ardent enthusiast and fervent
fan of Mary Wollstonecraft is present day celebrity writer and journalist, Bee
Rowlatt!
She's much akin in temperament also, to Mary Wollstonecraft, who was
a veteran traveller and a seasoned adventurer, who journeyed all the way up to Scandinavia
accompanied only by her maid and baby daughter! Bee Rowlatt, a married mother
of four, so inspired by Mary Wollstonecraft and her adventure-seeking way of
life, decides to retrace her travels taking her own baby along! (Remember Jane
Goodall!?)
It should be noted that, way back in the
18th century, when Mary Wollstonecraft set out on her travels, the
situation was such that, it was almost next to impossible for a woman to travel
anywhere she wished to, without a male to accompany her and to protect her, in
an age and clime that was known for its overt patriarchal dictates! But still, inspite of these insurmountable
oddities around her, Mary Wollstonecraft managed to make it, and even went
ahead and penned down her travels for posterity, in a book titled, Letters Written During a Short Residence in
Sweden, Norway, and Denmark! The book not only went on to become such a hot
seller in a short matter of time, but also became a huge inspiration to a host
of Romantic poets and writers!
Well, Bee with her baby boy follows in
Mary’s footsteps, to seek and to find out the trigger that prompted Mary, the
mommy, to move ahead on her travels, her musings on the people and places she
had visited, to help gain a better knowledge and understanding of Mary
Wollstonecraft and her relevance for us all today!
 |
| Bee in Norway with her baby boy! |
Bee’s book is significantly titled, In Search of Mary and it’s subtitled, “The
Mother of All Journeys”, and with a reason at that!
Bee, in an interview to her publishers, talks
in detail about her first rendezvous with the works of Mary Wollstonecraft,
when she was a student of literature! She had then taken to reading her book on
her Scandinavian Travels and, right
there, - she says, - she was hooked on the spot at the fearlessness and the gut
instincts that acted the trigger for Mary to go ahead on her travels!
Following Mary Wollstonecraft’s footsteps
to Norway, Bee is all praise and admiration for the Norwegians, calling them
the freest people of Europe, and rates Norway today as among the fairest and
best places to live! Although 216 years may have separated their journeys, Bee
admits with a startled surprise that, they were both shocked by the price of
Norwegian coffee!!!!! Ende deivameyyy!!!!!
On her favourite Mary Wollstonecraft
quote, Bee says –
I do not wish women to have power over
men, but over themselves.
On her Norway part of the sojourn she
says –
If you get the slightest chance to use a
holiday to follow a passion, an odd curiosity, a book or a story, then you’re
the luckiest person alive!
Befits Bee to a tee!
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