Real Warrior Women: Mary Ann Matthews Wrighten Pownal
Bernadette Kelly
My essay will explore the life and writings of Mary Ann Matthews Wrighten Pownall, who is listed as the performer of “The Female Captain,” ballad 110 from Diane Dugaw’s collection of Warrior Women. Notably, as the women in “The Female Captain” do not crossdress, neither does Mary Ann. However, both the women narrating the ballad and Mary Ann act with agency by using bodily autonomy to establish their expectations of their men folk, even if that means subverting men’s place within the social norms of the late 1700s. I would like to use Mary Ann’s story to provide an overview of gender relations during the time period as she is an example of how marriage, a rigid social structure, could be flexible. Due to Mr. Wrighten’s tyranny over Mary Ann’s income, she divorced him to marry Hugh Pownall and took their two daughters with her to America. She never cross dresses, but she does undergo a sea adventure of her own free will. Another artifact of Mary Ann’s that will be helpful in discussing gender relations, is her book “An Apology for the Life and Conduct of Mrs. Mary Ann Wrighten.” Although the original title offers itself as an apology, Mary Ann steadfastly claims that the divorce was caused by her husband’s treatment of her. Her apology, if it can claim being one without being satirical, is offered to London society for not abiding by social law rather than being addressed to her husband. By studying Mary Ann’s life, readers will get an idea of gender relations during the later time period of the warrior women ballads listed in Dugaw’s collection.