CONSTRUCTING IDENTITY, CRAFTING CRITIQUE: MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT'S SUBVERSIVE USE OF THE TRAVELOGUE EPISTOLARY GENRE

Abstract

Historically marginalized populations, denied access to traditional forms of political advocacy, have contributed to public discourse through their subversive uses of genres. In the field of Rhetoric and Writing, scholars have diversified their understanding of history by exploring new perspectives and voices in previously untapped genres. One such genre, the travelogue, was used by Mary Wollstonecraft as a mode of engaging in political conversations in eighteenth-century European society. Her text, Letters Written During a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, serves as a unique example of the ways in which one woman utilizes the genre conventions of the travelogue to naturally discuss topics such as geopolitics, gender roles, identity, and equality. By placing herself into the role of "hero," she subverts expectations of womanhood and domesticity, demonstrating a woman’s ability to be bold, adventurous, and opinionated. At the same time, she writes this travelogue in the culturally “feminine” epistolary genre, rhetorically conforming to certain cultural gender roles in order to gain acceptance and broader readership. These letters, which are presumably written to an estranged lover, attracted readers due to their romanticism and performative intimacy. This rhetorical analysis underscores the importance of recognizing non-traditional modes of communication throughout history to enrich understanding and strive for greater inclusion of systemically overlooked contributors. Rhetorical scholars must continue to seek a radical incorporation of undiscovered genres to advance scholarship toward diversity and progress.