Education In The 1700's

During the Age of Enlightenment in the late eighteenth century, Mary Wollstonecraft presented a radical essay, A Vindication of the Rights of Women, that shed light on the largest, underrepresented groups of the time, women. The essay voiced the inequalities women at the time faced and called upon Wollstonecraft’s audience to invoke a revolution for the rights of women. Through her writing, she presented a compelling argument that slowly allowed women to question their “place” in society and demand change to the British social order. While these changes did not happen quickly, her work sparked the feminist movements through its unique message and called upon women to demand equality through the Match Girls Strike and Women’s Suffrage

Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman addresses the causality between a lack of education and a lack of reasonability. She advocates for virtue through reason, rather than virtue over reason. Wollstonecraft argues that the minimal freedom of women has limited their view on life, and thusly, their potential intelligence. In fact, she stipulates “all the difference that I can discern, arises from the superior advantage of liberty, which enables the former [man] to see more of life.” Through this greater exposure to the world, Wollstonecraft argues that man holds greater capacity for the development of a thoughtful mind. She extends this reasoning when asserts that a female who attempts to grow her intellect is quickly quashed through deflection to a life of domestic rules and behavior. Wollstonecraft asserts, “if they have natural sagacity it is turned too soon on life and manners.” In summary, this piece of literature contends that women are shaped into subservient individuals who lack the capacity for original thought and discourse. This is portrayed in her comparison of women to a soldier. “[T]hey may well be disciplined machines, but they seldom contain men under

Women in Wollstonecraft’s time were only valued for their attractiveness, were only useful for their role as a mother, and were not given the right to an education nor the right to jobs. Wollstonecraft observes that “when a women is admired for her beauty, she suffers herself to be...intoxicated by the admiration she receives as to neglect...the indispensable duty of a mother, she sins against herself by neglecting to cultivate an affection that would equally tend to make her useful and happy” (Wollstonecraft 6). In other words, women getting so wrapped up in presenting themselves as beautiful in order to meet society’s standards then completely neglect their natural role as a mother that would make them “useful” by society’s standards by fulfilling the only role they really could at the time: a mother. Instead of being praised for being a virtuous mother, women were valued solely for their sexual attractiveness. Once their beauty fades and they have already birthed and raised their children, as Wollstonecraft states, “let them not expect to be valued” (32). During Wollstonecraft’s time, a typical woman was “dependent on her husband’s bounty for her subsistence during his life or support after his death” (19). A woman did not have any other job than to be impregnated and raise her husband’s offspring, meaning she had to be financially dependent on her husband. Women could not “study the art of healing” nor “be physicians [or] nurses”—jobs Wollstonecraft argued “women might certainly study” given the opportunity

In Wollstonecraft’s work, she addresses the differences between men and women as being something that should be considered negligible, but instead is used to practically enslave one half of the population. The work details how women are akin to playthings when they lack an education, and that for her to truly be herself and practice her own free will, she must be knowledgeable. However, there are many different kinds of education, Wollstonecraft points out. Men received a formal education, consisting of a proper teaching of many subjects, while also aiding the young men in personal growth. Women, on the other hand, received a much less formal education. In their day to day lives, women observed, they leeched off

In Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of a Woman she argues that women deserve the same opportunities, especially educational opportunities, as men. Wollstonecraft lived in a time where a woman’s role was to find a husband and raise a family. However, she believed that women were not even being prepared for those roles. Instead of being prepared to be “affectionate wives and rational mothers”, they were trained to be “alluring mistresses” (6). This did nothing to change society. As a solution she suggested an education system where young boys and girls of all socioeconomic classes were educated together, in a school system that focused on teaching them how to think rather than just memorizing the material (169).

In the preface of her book she writes, “my main argument is built on this simple principle, that if woman be not prepared by education to become the companion of man, she will stop the progress of knowledge and virtue; for truth must be common to all (Wollstonecraft).” She claims that without the gift and opportunity for women to be educated, society will ultimately become a tumultuous and uncivilized place seeing as primarily their mothers teach most young children, both boys and

This quote from Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, best gives the reader an overall picture of the message that can be found throughout the work. The very premise of her work is about the lack of rights that have been awarded to women during her time. A large portion of this piece revolves around the education provided to women and its inferiority compared to that of men. Not only is the education system to blame, but she also compares women to soldiers who are sent to battle before they receive proper and full education and life experiences. Wollstonecraft uses this quote to demonstrate how this inferior mindset towards women has been expressed for a long time and even by philosophers that are considered great. The

Historically, women weren’t seen as equal partners when it came to their male counter parts. In fact, they weren’t seen as an actual person at all. Only as an object that was to be possessed by the men of society. In chapter twelve of A Vindication of The Rights of Woman, by Mary Wollstonecraft, she speaks a great deal on national education and how important it is in shaping one’s views of the world. She begins this concept by starting with the differences between a private school education and that of a home school education. She then goes on to explain how boys are taught in a private school setting, they tend to become “gluttons and slovens” whereas in a home schooling environment, boys tend to become “ vain and effeminate” and in return develop an overbearing, cocky and aggressive attitude and way of thinking towards other peers and members of society. Wollstonecraft proposes a simple solution to this issue, allowing everybody, boys and girls of every social class to be placed in a public school environment and all taught the same exact lessons.

This non-consensual subjection of women was likened to slavery. Therefore, Wollstonecraft argues that women must attain individual rights and liberties for society to be virtuous or happy (p. 217). To achieve virtuosity, she posits that one must exercise one’s faculty of reason (p. 219). Through education and socialization, women have been construed as inferior to men (p. 214) and have been artificially barred from obtaining virtue (p. 223). By eradicating such barriers and granting women, civil liberties then can society progress.

Wollstonecraft, outlines the issues faced with motherhood. Many women are expected to have children as this is a part of who they are (Ford, 2009). Wollstonecraft outlines the need for women in society to not conform and to try to teach their children equality, and not to please men, and she states that in society many “parents are the educators forced young girls into a precocious desire to please men at the expense of developing their intellects and capacity for virtue” (Field, 2011). This quote expresses Wollstonecraft’s need for women to not conform to society ideals, and as parents, they should try and teach their children that they do not need to please men, as they “must be taught to respect themselves as rational creatures” (Field,

Seminar Portfolio Writing Women Into the past In the seminar on Writing Women into the Past we addressed several time periods where the role of women had all shifted due to changes in the perception of their roles in society. Mary Wollstonecraft, writing in the late 18th century openly questions men’s treatment of women and questions that since men complain about women being foolish, whimsy, flighty and stupid, then why don’t men teach them reason in order to not be so . Overall this article questions men’s treatment of women and what has held them back from becoming equal with men. I personally found this source to be very intriguing as it gives us an insight into the view of one of the first major feminist writers.

First, Wollstonecraft discusses education of women as secondary to men. They learn a little bit of sewing, how to dress, how to sing and speak a little of a language. She criticizes

1. Mary Wollstoncraft's works emphasizes the Romantic characteristic of the importance of female rights and identity . 2.The theme of right of women's education and social standards in A Vindication of the Right of Women is present in the first paragraph. 3. The line from this paragraph reads “that if she be not prepared by education to become the companion of man, she will not stop the progression of knowledge and virtue; for the truth must be common to all”(211). 4. Wollstonecraft continues to express in this work, many arguments about the moral right of members of the female sex to be educated. 5. In chapter two of A Vindication of the Right of Women Mary Wollstonecraft begins to change the focus of her work to female identity and their

Mary Wollstonecraft’s, A Vindication of the Rights of Women, is another example in which an Enlightenment author exhibits their opinion on the education and purpose of women. Contradictory to Rousseau’s writing, Wollstonecraft believed that women have a greater purpose than to serve man, and that is to be independent and care for others while they also care for themselves. She stated that unlike in Emile, women should be seen as and act independently and take care of themselves. She believed that women are not on this Earth for the purpose of serving men, and that they can stray away from these duties if they wish. Education wise, Wollstonecraft believed that a woman should not be limited to caring for their families, but may choose to pursue a higher learning, such as nursing and healing. But, she also said that caring for their children and husbands is not to be seen as a lesser job that women take part in, and that it is to be respected. Although Wollstonecraft incorporated some

Women have experienced a similar degrading to that of the laborers and capitalists. Metaphorically, the women are the laborers and the men are the capitalists. They look down upon women. Wollstonecraft (2004, 12) states “it is observable that the female in point of strength is, in general, inferior to the male” but “men endeavor to sink us still lower, merely to render us alluring objects for a moment.” Wollstonecraft understands the physical difference between men and women. Wollstonecraft (2004, 16) rebuttals when she says, “some women govern their husbands without degrading themselves, because intellect will always govern”. A person who is intellectually gifted should not be looked down upon. A physical appearance does not mean inferiority. A person is a body that is being inhabited by a soul and a soul is believed to be genderless. But women did not have a say in government or could not pursue professional careers. Just like the laborers with the capitalists, women are being