<p>In 'Maria: or, The Wrongs of Woman', Mary Wollstonecraft extends the philosophical discourse initiated in her earlier work, 'A Vindication of the Rights of Woman,' into the fictional realm. Unfinished at the time of her death and published posthumously, the novel remains an important artifact of 18th-century literature, not only enveloping the reader in the gothic trappings of its narrative but also incisively critiquing the societal construct...