William Godwin lived for many decades after his wife’s death, and though he continued writing and publishing, he never again achieved the success or influence he had enjoyed in their early years together. [1]
The union of Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin brought together two of the most original minds of the late eighteenth century. Both were already established thinkers when they met in 1791, yet it was not until several years later that admiration became affection. Their marriage on 29 March 1797 was built on mutual respect and the belief that rational companionship was the soundest basis for happiness.
Their path to the altar was neither hasty nor uncomplicated. Wollstonecraft, already celebrated for A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, had survived a heartbreak so deep that it drove her to attempt suicide twice when American adventurer Gilbert Imlay, with whom she had a daughter, Fanny, abandoned her. Godwin, the author of An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, viewed marriage with philosophical suspicion, convinced that it constrained individual freedom. Yet as their relationship deepened, the discovery that Mary was expecting a child led them to formalise their union to spare their daughter the shame of illegitimacy.
Their marriage revealed the fact that Wollstonecraft had never been married to Imlay, and as a result, she and Godwin lost many friends. Godwin was further criticised for advocating the abolition of marriage. They lived separately in nearby houses so they could both still retain their independence. By all accounts, theirs was a happy and stable relationship founded on intellectual vitality rather than domestic routine.
Tragically, the marriage lasted only a few months. Wollstonecraft died on 10 September 1797 from complications following the birth of their daughter, Mary—later Mary Shelley. Godwin was devastated, preserving her memory in a pioneering biography that ensured she would not be forgotten.
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