Maria, or the Wrongs of Woman


Read by BumbleVee

(4.8 stars; 14 reviews)

Maria: or, The Wrongs of Woman is Mary Wollstonecraft's unfinished novelistic sequel to her revolutionary political treatise A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. It was published posthumously in 1798 by her husband, William Godwin. Maria revolves around the story of a woman imprisoned in an insane asylum by her husband, and focuses on the societal rather than the individual "wrongs of woman". Publicised at the same time as Wollstonecraft's memoirs, both were considered scandalous. Not until the 20th century was the novel considered an important historical and feminist work. (Summary by Wikipedia) (4 hr 45 min)

Chapters

Preface and Author's Preface 6:06 Read by BumbleVee
Chapter 1 14:48 Read by BumbleVee
Chapter 2 22:01 Read by BumbleVee
Chapter 3 16:18 Read by BumbleVee
Chapter 4 9:21 Read by BumbleVee
Chapter 5 40:21 Read by BumbleVee
Chapter 6 9:12 Read by BumbleVee
Chapter 7 25:46 Read by BumbleVee
Chapter 8 9:37 Read by BumbleVee
Chapter 9 18:06 Read by BumbleVee
Chapter 10 17:08 Read by BumbleVee
Chapter 11 17:38 Read by BumbleVee
Chapter 12 17:59 Read by BumbleVee
Chapter 13 16:13 Read by BumbleVee
Chapter 14 7:48 Read by BumbleVee
Appendix & Chapter 15 6:21 Read by BumbleVee
Chapter 16 11:09 Read by BumbleVee
Chapter 17 12:30 Read by BumbleVee
Conclusion 7:28 Read by BumbleVee

Reviews

I recommend this book


(4 stars)

An excellent reading. This was hard to get into, but once I got involved in the stories of injustice that the women told, it was very engaging. With the benefit of hindsight it is incredible to think how unjust and unfair the situation for women was (and can sometimes still be). Wollstonecraft highlights the absurdities and cruelties so obviously it is hard to believe anyone could read this and not challenge the status quo. My rating is 3.5 stars, which I rounded up to four. It would have been four outright but the author died before the book was complete, so we only get to see fragments of the ending. Indeed it seems she had two possible endings in mind, and hadn't quite yet chosen between them, one was more fleshed out, the other had more connective tissue leading up to it.

Red Well


(5 stars)

A sad story, but has anything changed today? Really most women are subject to not divorcing their husbands on financial grounds.

great reader - thank you!


(5 stars)

Super helpful for student with dyslexia taking a class on English Women’s Lit. Wonderful reader. Thank you!

What a singular superior intelligence, compassionate soul and fighter for refor…


(5 stars)

And her writing on the vile oppression of women and the lower classes, and those labeled insane were suppressed until the 20th century. Today inhumane, torturous, life shortening deadly psychiatric drugs are a singular type of torture that are hidden within the patient unlike the more visible chains, physical beatings, lobotomies, high voltage ect, et al "treatments" of the past. Wollstonecraft is right, it is in so many words(the following I have coined)"how others behave towards us, how we behave towards others, and how we behave with ourselves that determines happiness, wretchedness or somewhere in between"(where i think most of us are at). Back in Wolstencroft's day it was upper class society sensibilities that determined whether one is to be locked up in the madhouse. In our times it is profit that is pathologizing more and more behaviors that are really merely different and benign to others and the self. I myself have been given neuroleptics for merely having a nervous breakdown and no threat to anyone, just a crying, helpless rag of person. And to put me into a state of akathisia via neuroleptics(anti-psychotics)almost killed me. And the children that are drugged up at school is considered normal procedure now. It's this way in the USA and from what I gather to significant extent in the UK. These unwitting or unwitting vultures and Dr.Mengeles via pills prevail. If a child is hyper active but not disruptive they will still drug her up. It's as if they were trying to make us all of the same cookie cutter person. But they are destroying lives. google(i.e. search)Dr. Peter Breggin and journalist Robert Whitaker both usa, Dr. David Healy in Wales UK, sadly just some of the already too few psychiatrists and journalists who know the emotional and physical damage that certain types of psychiatric drugs do. The fact is, including schizophrenics, that those who are "mentally ill" are less likely to do violence than those who are "normal". question normality and convention. Neuroleptics(e.g.abilify)have side effects(main effect)that are so painful it is no wonder there is such a high suicide rate among patients on these type of medications. If the drugs help then fine. But it is against all human rights to force them on people. Even violent people(usually normal folks)would be better off physically restrained then to be tortured and chemically straitjacketed from within themselves via these horrible psych drugs. These pushers of social control drugs would have you believe that a change in your behavior comes out of nowhere, like all of a sudden your neurochemistry made you start becoming depressed, anxious, or even think you are the king of spain. They would have your beleive that first comes the blushing face and that elicited a touching or embarrassing behavior towards from another. That is backwards and makes no sense but that is what prevails in mental health today. No, these are reactions to the problems of life....It is love, platonic love, love from your fellow man(gender neutral) that alleviates grief and even madness. I am not religious but I can't help but say god bless her then and now. It is no wonder that her daugther Mary Shelly wrote with similar sympathy and great intelligence. I feel they are both in the greatest writers of all time. You are one of the better readers I have heard to date Bumble Vee. thank you. I am a male but I find females are better readers then we males. I don't know why but a female reader helps me concentrate and retain better on the written work she reads. I wish more females read serious novels like this one. Of course, being an overly sensitive male(several nervous breakdowns) I am a bit too overparticular and put off even by a female reader whose voice bothers me. I do really appreciate librivox and IA for this wonderful free treasure trove. I could never afford even one audio book a month. I beg your forgiveness for being so fussy. "I have been through too much". And I hope some can understand my being "fuzzy", rambling and non sequiter in my comment. thank you dahszil male usa