Analysis of Vindication of the Rights for Women by Mary Wollstonecraft

Wollstonecraft transcended the notion that she is simply expressing grievances over the unjust treatment of women establishing herself as an articulate, intellectual thinker with innovative ideas and solutions for progressing society. Through voicing her opinions, Wollstonecraft created a small revolution for women’s rights that would encourage others to begin seeking equal treatment from the men of society.

In addition to education, Wollstonecraft brings the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau to the reader’s attention because he claims that women should not feel independent, and they should be a man’s companion. “…In 1792 the British writer Mary Wollstonecraft directly confronts Rousseau’s views of women and their education…” This “initiated a debate that echoed throughout the centuries followed.” Even today, this debate is still prevalent among both young and old people.

Perhaps the most important thing that Wollstonecraft believes should be extended to women is education. She deems the main hindrance on women in her day is their lack of education. She strongly thought that if women were to be educated, they would be liberated, and be able to generate the same thoughts and brilliant ideas as men. On the education of women, Wollstonecraft writes:

She also argued that people should have the same education and social freedom. “To render [make] mankind more virtuous, and happier of course, both sexes must act from the same principle; …. women must be allowed to found their virtue on knowledge, which is scarcely possible unless they be educated by the same pursuits [studies] as men.” (Doc D). Wollstonecraft believes women are seen as ignorant and inferior, but to make women equal to men, they should be allowed to study the same topics as men. As Wollstonecraft said, “Make them free, and they will quickly become wise and virtuous…” (Doc D). Women did house chores all day as men would go to school or work. When the men come home and talk about their day, the women can not have a conversation because they are not educated. To have an actual conversation, women need to be educated in the same topics as men. Wollstonecraft’s main idea was to have gender equality and social freedom. Everyone should have the freedom as an individual to be able to get educated and to speak

states, “I may be accused of arrogance; still I must declare firmly what I believe that all the writers who have written on the subject of female education and manners from Rousseau to Dr.Gregory have contributed to render women more artificial, weak characters than they would have other wise been; and consequently more useless members of society” (22). Wollstonecraft believed that men who advocated for the trivial education that women received, if they received any education at all, did not even adequately prepare them for the one role that they were allowed, that of a wife.

When writing “A Vindication of the Rights of Men”, Wollstonecraft was a woman in a “man’s world”. Her voice was a lone female amongst the opinions and politics of men and she “went up against two of the

Firstly, Wollstonecraft argues that women lack the worthy object that “sufficient serious employment” (The Rights of Men and The Rights of Woman, 194) furnishes. Accordingly, the premise of Vindication, suggests the duties of the female, are influenced by

She writes that the second type of women can become more useful members of society but they lack the greatness of mind and taste which allows them to do so, as a result of their education. Wollstonecraft believes that women in this state cannot be effective mothers because all of their power derives from their believed and implied superiors, men. She then examples many different vocations and career which would be suitable for women, and criticizes these professions for being vain or useless. She then goes on to state that women, should they ever need to support themselves should and could practice as physicians, lawyers, shopkeepers and politicians; however, their lack of education and status keeps them from being able to pursue vocations where they would be effective. The excerpt then finishes with two notions, the first being that men should release women from the proverbial chains that imprison them in their lives so they can become better mothers, wives and citizens. The second is the notion that, if given the freedom, women would emulate the high moral standards of men, otherwise known as virtue which is a central theme in Vindication.

It is in my opinion that Mary Wollstonecraft was influenced not only by the overall treatment in society upon woman but how they were portrayed in literature and on paper; she referenced the works of a Dr. Gregory and Jean- Jacques Rousseau and how she thought their thoughts were superficial and silly. In comparison to Thomas Paine and his work of the Rights of Man, I would say him and Mary Wollstonecraft shared the same views on equality and removal of despotic hereditary based regime. Paine focused more on the overall power structure in society and Wollstonecraft focused more on its citizens and affects equality, or lack thereof, has on society. In the argument of her case, Wollstonecraft made strong arguments for fair and equal treatment of woman and men alike and even left us with a blueprint of what has become our modern public school

With this assertion, Wollstonecraft argues that the only reason that women are perceived as less than and incapable is solely because of the fact that they, women, are not afforded the same levels of education that are given to males leading to women using more primitive means to further their, societally created, frivolous goals of beauty and popularity, “they [civilized women] are, therefore, in a much worse condition than they would be in were they in a state nearer to nature…all their thoughts turn on things calculated to excite emotion and feeling, when they should reason.” (79). If education were given to these women who are clearly lacking in it,

When I first started my report, I didn’t know anything about Wollstonecraft. As I researched further about her, however, I became quite interested. Wollstonecraft was a brilliant writer who fought for women’s rights. Back then, women’s rights were a touchy subject nobody would really get into in fear of being criticized by the public. Wollstonecraft was confident and passionate when she presented her

The Age of Enlightenment encouraged writers to break away from conventional thought and express their ideas and opinions through reasoning. Mary Wollstonecraft’s “A Vindication of the Rights of Women” and Marquis de Sade’s “Philosophy in the Bedroom” examine the conventional norms in their respective author’s contemporary societies. In both accounts, Wollstonecraft and Sade prescribe the path humanity should take in order to improve the human condition.

Wollstonecraft shows us the possibility to decide whether women are too weak that they have to be guided by men, or they can fend for themselves, moreover, she does not want to say that women have to be

Wollstonecraft responds in Vindication of Rights of Women by stating that society is to blame for women's degrading character and status. The cultural conditions were also to blame as well. Because of the society and culture, women's education

Wollstonecraft served as a protector for her mother often from her father’s abusive outbursts and violent behavior initiated as a result of his drunkenness. This could have well been the catalyst of her commitment to aid as a women’s activist, to stand for one and the same opportunity for men and women, and proclaim the label of the much known voice of feminism: a women’s movement, liberation, and radicalism. In her essay, A Vindication of the Rights of Men, “she relied on rational principles to attack