Mary Wollstonecraft’s 1788 novella narrativizes the struggles of the eponymous protagonist to make her way in the world as an intelligent, sensitive, independent-minded woman. Mary, previously neglected by her parents, only receives a decent education after her elder brother dies young, leaving her the sole inheritor of the family wealth. During the protracted illness of Eliza, Mary’s mother, her parents press her into marriage with Charles, the son of a man pursuing a legal suit against the family estate; Mary agrees to the marriage in an effort to soothe her mother in her final moments. This loveless marriage, arranged to ensure her family’s financial security, disgusts Mary, who reflects bitterly on “having been thrown away—given in with an estate.” After her father also dies, Mary asks Charles, who has been on the continent for the duration of their marriage, if she may travel to Portugal to care for her dying best friend, Ann, and he readily accedes to the proposal. While they are in Portugal, Mary falls in love with an older man, Henry. Eventually, both Ann and Henry die. Throughout the novella, Mary devotes herself to the care of others, but she receives little satisfaction from or appreciation for her efforts.