Similarities Between John Stuart Mill And The Subjection Of Women

Women in the nineteenth century lived in a time characterized by gender inequality. At the beginning of the century, women could not vote, could not be sued, were extremely limited over personal property after marriage, and were expected to remain obedient to their husbands and fathers.( women’s suffrage movement 1) In most situations, the men would have to go to work and bring home the money, and the women would have no choice but to stay home, clean the

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

The eighteenth century brought about a great deal of change and a new-found interest in science and reason. Because of this, many great inventions, ideas and innovative theorists arose from this time period. Among them was a forward-thinking essayist by the name of Mary Wollstonecraft. In her book, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Wollstonecraft preaches her belief that the oppression of women is largely due to lack of female education. Although the term "feminism" wasn’t coined until decades later, Wollstonecraft paved the way for future women’s rights movements by advocating equality in education for women. She believed men and women should be equal in the very basic aspects of life, such as in loyalty in marriage. Wollstonecraft

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, many European women were still struggling for basic rights such as choosing who they married, obtaining full citizenship and having the right to vote. Because so many women were fighting for the same thing, many formed groups or alliances that were designed to fight against the male-driven political parties that wanted to deny them their rights. As the “woman question” became a bigger deal in politics and society, people began to form stronger opinions about whether or not they thought women should be allowed to vote. The eighteenth century in Europe began a revolution on the topic of women’s suffrage. An overwhelming amount of feminist groups argued for women’s suffrage and fought against

The Subjection of Women looks at the society and its struggles in adjusting to an environment where women are treated equally. John Stuart Mill’s approach to changing society comes from the viewpoint that after many years of submission and discrimination, women should be treated equally. This conclusion comes from a reflection on past classes of people that were similarly oppressed. Mill looks at similar situations throughout history where one certain group was dominant over another submissive group such as free vs. slave, white vs. black, etc. Mill states “but if the principle is true, we ought to act as if we believed it, and not to ordain that to be born a girl instead of a boy, any more than to be born black instead of white, or a

The first rumblings of feminism began in the latter part of the eighteenth century with what was later to be called the “women’s movement.” By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the political focus of the women’s movement would center on suffrage—the political right or act of voting, and those who advocated such rights for women suffragists or suffragettes. (Klein 29) During this beginning era of feminism, it is clear that equality means one and only one thing: sameness. That is, being viewed as essentially the same as men; having the same rights, opportunities and privileges as

Mary Wollstonecraft, an American writer and advocate for women’s rights from the late 1700s, was born into a world much different from modern Western society. As Wollstonecraft explains in her passage, “Of Pernicious Effects Which Arise from the Unnatural Distinctions Established in Society,” eighteenth-century America granted women with hardly the same amount of privilege, opportunity, and education as it granted men. Wollstonecraft also explains how wealth often corrupts both women and men. Since Wollstonecraft’s time, women’s struggles have yielded victories that have led to advancements toward a more equal society, although inequality and corruption among the wealthy still remains to this day.

Women bearing the weight of unfairly biased ideals set by the society standards of the 1800s led to the reformation called the suffrage movement. Each woman endured the impossible guidelines of how a gentlewoman should conduct herself. Set in a time period in which one’s reputation meant prosperity or ruin, the public view meant everything. The suffrage movement of the early 1800s was influenced by the first industrial revolution. Reformation was not widespread until a majority of women joined the second industrial revolution. The taxing demand of working and sustaining the household, pushed women to their limit and they were no longer subdued by imaginings of a perfect life. Equality rights were not immediately seen from the first generation of women in the 1800s. The later oppressed generations of women pushed for equality and were successful. The right to vote and hold positions in office was the goal of the women’s suffrage movement. Without any political rights, the reform took longer because men had to vote for their cause. Decades later in the 1920s, the nineteenth Amendment was passed for women’s legal right to vote. The suffrage movement marked the twentieth century with one of the first victories of democratic civil rights. The controlling restraints of society’s idealistic views of how a woman should tend to her household and not expand beyond her civil duties led to

with this hackneyed life, others struggled to free themselves from it. Many not only fought for rights but against injustices their sex had sustained in previous centuries (Gay 172). The end of the nineteenth century saw an increased activism by women, who argued against their dominated position and for fundamental changes in laws (Gay 177). While there did exist some men who supported women and believed their deprivation of many rights was unjust, many more were disheartened with the advancing woman. Because men had come to relax in their domineering role, they became uncomfortable, if not fearful, when women showed their independence. This led to a bourgeois culture which can be summed up in a single word: uncertainty (Gay 48, 171). Changes were occurring

In the early 1800’s, women were second class citizens with little to no political rights, and limited access to education and professional careers. Women were not granted the same privileges as men, for educating women outside the home or women obtaining professional jobs went against traditional views. The ideology behind it was that men and women ideally inhabited different societal spheres. Men dominated the public sphere which had opportunities for education, paid labor, fighting in wars, and political rights. However, as industrialization and the population grew in the North, working class women began entering the public sphere for job opportunities.

Although women in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries faced oppression and unequal treatment, some people strove to change common perspectives on the feminine sex. John Stuart Mill, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and Virginia Woolf were able to reach out to the world, through their literature, and help change the views that society held towards women and their roles within its structure. During the Victorian era, women were bound to domestic roles and were very seldom allowed to seek other positions. Most men and many women felt that if women were allowed to pursue interests, outside traditional areas of placement that they would be unable to be an attentive

I disagree with John Stuart Mill’s opinion however the evidence given in his article goes both ways. Himself agrees and disagrees, I disagree with his statement “those only are happy (I thought) who have their minds fixed on some object mankind.” I disagree because I feel that he is relating to himself as a person being happy,he doesn't really think about anyone else's opinion. Although he gives a bit of a hint to where he explains that you aren't happy with what you receive but something that you feel very kindly, he words it very differently.

Despite being under the rule of a female monarch, women faced many inequalities and suffering during the Victorian age. Examples of these inequalities include not having the right to vote, unequal educational and employment opportunities. Women were even denied the legal right to divorce in most cases. As the Norton Anthology states, these debates over women’s rights and their roles came to be known as the “woman question” by the Victorians. This lead to many conflicting struggles, such as the desire by all for women to be educated, yet they are denied the same opportunities afforded to men. While these women faced these difficulties, there was also the notion that women should be domestic and feminine. There was an ideal that women should be submissive and pure because they are naturally different. The industrial revolution introduced women into the labor workforce, but there was still a conflict between the two identities; one of an employed woman, and one of a domestic housewife.

As one of the earliest feminist writers, Mary Wollstonecraft faced a daunting audience of critics ready to dispel her cry for the rights of women. Her powerful argument calling for equality in a society dominated by men was strong, and her ideas withstood a lot of criticism to become one of the most important feminist texts. Her argument was simple and illustrates a solution to the inequality in society. The foundation of this argument is the idea of education and how independent thought is necessary to live a virtuous and moral life. In the present state of society, women are seen as inferior to men and held in a state of ignorance. The worst effect of this

“Absolute liberty is the absence of restraint; responsibility is restraint; therefore, the ideally free individual is responsible to himself” - Henry Brooks Adams. There has been great debate, past and present with regards to what constitutes as an individuals liberty. It has been subject to constant ridicule and examination due to violations of civil rights. Freedom, liberty, and independence are all important human rights represented within John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty.