Wollstonecraft thought the French Revolution was a glorious chance to obtain virtue and happiness. Blood’s death devastated Wollstonecraft and was part of the inspiration for her first novel, Mary: A Fiction(1788). Moreover, her abandonment of the school led to its failure. In 1785, Wollstonecraft uprooted her life at the school in an attempt to nurse Blood back to health, but to no avail. It was there that she became pregnant and severely ill. Blood soon became engaged and, after her marriage, moved to Lisbon Portugal with her husband, Hugh Skeys. In order to make a living, Wollstonecraft, her sisters, and Blood set up a school together in Newington Green, a Dissenting community. However, her friendship with Fanny remained strong throughout her life, despite their differing views on womanhood.
During the two years she spent with the family, she realized that she had idealized Blood, who was more invested in traditional feminine values than Wollstonecraft. Rather than return to Dawson’s employ after the death of her mother, Wollstonecraft moved in with the Bloods. In 1780, she returned home upon being called back to care for her dying mother.
However, Wollstonecraft had trouble getting along with the irascible woman. Unhappy with her home life, Wollstonecraft started life on her own in 1778 and accepted a job as a lady’s companion to Sarah Dawson, a widow living in Bath. Wollstonecraft credited Blood with opening her mind. The second and more important friendship was with Fanny (Frances) Blood, introduced to Wollstonecraft by the Clares– a couple in Hoxton who became parental figures to her. In some of Wollstonecraft’s letters to Arden, she reveals some the volatile and depressive emotions that would haunt her throughout her life. Unfortunately, the attachment became somewhat possessive. Wollstonecraft thrived in the intellectual atmosphere of the Arden household and valued her friendship with Arden greatly. The two often read books together and attended lectures presented by Arden’s father, a self-styled philosopher and scientist. Two friendships shaped Wollstonecraft’s early life, the first being Jane Arden. The costs, however, were severe– her sister suffering social condemnation and doomed to a life of poverty. Making all the arrangements for Eliza’s leave was the first sign of Wollstonecraft’s ability to challenge societal norms. In a defining moment in 1784, she persuaded her sister Eliza, suffering from postpartum depression, to leave her husband and infant. This made Wollstonecraft very protective over her mother and sisters. Her father was also quite a violent man, often beating his wife in drunken rages.
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