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The author of the article examines the life and work of the English writer and thinker Mary Wollstonecraft (1759—1797), who in the treatise “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” (1792) argued that women deserve equal rights and education with men. The biographical facts and psychological origins of her views, as well as the stages of their formation reflected in her writings, were studied. Dramatic collisions are highlighted, during which Wollstonecraft's views came into conflict with reality. These collisions are traced in the context of political events in England and France at the end of the 18th century and in the context of Mary's personal life. The correlation of Wollstonecraft's views which were formed within the framework of Enlightenment ideas, with feminism of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries is studied. The author focuses on the unique personality traits of Mary Wollstonecraft, without which her views and creativity cannot be fully understood.