The Declaration Of The Rights Of Woman And The Female Citizen

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

The Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 in gave reasons why the United States believed its relationship with Britain could no longer work. The Declaration’s language appealed to enlightenment ideals and liberty rhetoric: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Declaration of Independence). Unfortunately, these rights were not given to women, the modern interpretation of this passage gives these rights to both men and women. Once Elizabeth Cady Stanton published her writings, Declaration of Sentiments, it received backlash from men. James Gordon Bennett wrote an article in New York’s Herald criticizing it. “The sentiments and doctrines

The “Declaration of the Rights of Women”, written by Olympe De Gouges, is a document that proves how in the 1790’ s women were trying to break-free from the belief that men have all the rights. This document was published in 1791 and it was made in comparison to the “Declaration of the Rights of Man” which was published in 1789. Olympe De Gouges wrote this document because she felt that despite having the French Revolution women were not receiving the rights they deserve. In the “Declaration of the Rights of Women” Olympe De Gouges often times mentions that women have the right to property, employment, and divorce. All of these principles relate to the Enlightenment idea because she is arguing for natural rights that many women back then were not given. De Gouges emphasizes that women deserve the right to have jobs and that they can equally fulfill the responsibilities that once belonged to a man. In the end of the “Declaration of the Rights of Women” De Gouges’ mentions a marriage contract which gives proof of Enlightenment thought because she argues that women should not have to stay married to their husbands if they don’ t respect them. Olympe De Gouges document, the “Declaration of the Rights of Women”, reflects the ideas of Enlightenment because throughout the document she often times mentions how women have every right to own property because it is a right that all “men” are given. She explains that women deserve to have employment and that by doing so they can go out

After the Declaration of the Rights of Man the first woman to publish a statement titled, “Declaration of the Rights of Woman” should have been expected. Only two years after the original declaration Olympe de Gouges published her statement. That woman greatly inspired Mary Wollstonecraft and she published a statement titled, “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” in 1792. Mary was a career woman and made her living by writing and is known for her protests against subjugation of women. Mary believed that everyone would be better off having a woman that is well-educated, independent, strong and capable in the world. She fought against the education system and how men treated women. She strongly opposed how women were only taught about beauty

She was a mother, a moral and political philosopher, a writer, and a feminist. Mary Wollstonecraft was the ideal image of what represented the push towards modern feminism. Some may even consider her as the founding mother of modern feminism itself. Much of Wollstonecraft’s literature is influenced by her own life experiences. In 1785, Wollstonecraft took on an employment opportunity as a governess. While spending most of her time there, she had a moment of epiphany where she realized that she was not suited for domestic work. Soon after, she returned to London and became a translator and wrote for a well-known publisher and discovered her love of writing. Eventually, years later she was then able to publish her most notable work, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792). A Vindication of the Rights of Woman is still a very popular book which can be seen as a guide to becoming a better citizen and understanding feminism in a critical context. This essay will argue that Mary Wollstonecraft is still relevant to the feminist cause today as her views portrayed in her book A Vindication of the Rights of Woman are still relatable to many of the feminist issues that currently exist around the world. This essay will do so by comparing how her views in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman can still be used as guiding principles to tackle feminist matters.

THE DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MEN AND OF CITIZENS - AN ANALYSIS IN FIVE PARTS

The rights and freedoms that women enjoy today did not come without struggle, and currently there is nowhere in the world women are treated equally to men. Henceforth the 17th hundreds women have been trying to affirm their position in the fabric of America. Early public policies treated wives and mothers as wards of their husbands and women in general were not considered citizens under the Constitution of the United States, the founding document referred of “men created equal”. Women were oppressed by gender and could not legally acquire land ownership, enter into contracts, initiate legal actions, acquire bank loans and wives that worked, their husbands controlled their money. Furthermore, women were barred from higher education, many professions and, public offices according to

As you walk down the street today, what do you notice about the people around you? Maybe there’s a white male, an Asian female, and a Latin male. Other than visual cues, there is no indication that there are any differences between one person or another. Any one person, whether black, white, male, or female, can enter any establishment, get a job, buy a piece of land, or vote in an election. However, this has not always been the case. Most of these people at one point or another had limited rights in the United States. Specifically, in the 1800’s, women had limited rights, especially after marriage. Once a woman was wed, she was no longer able to take in her own wages, sign a contract, or own any property. What were the rights that women were lacking, and where do we stand on those issues now? Have we come as far as we think we have with women’s rights? We have a widespread misconceived notion that women have equal rights, but we still have a ways to go. On the surface, it seems that we are all equal finally. However, there are still issues that are still being argued after over 150 years of being in front of our government.

As I was examining the potential documents to research, Olympe de Gouges’ “Declaration of the Rights of Woman” was immediately striking to me. Personally, I was familiar with the original document: “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.” Therefore, I was interested in learning more about de Gouges’ version. Also, this particular document was striking because of the time period it was written in. The French Revolution is a fascinating period to study because of the implementation of Enlightenment ideals, and then the collapse of a lot of those ideas with the Jacobins and even later with Napoleon Bonaparte. I was interested in learning more about an influential woman of the French Revolution. Specifically, how her works and opinions

After reading from the excerpts of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman I have concluded that the situations of women, as far as rights are concerned, have indeed improved vastly. However, even though their situation has been amended and they are now afforded the same equal rights as men, not all women take advantage of these rights. A fraction of women still care more about their own physical beauty, appearance, and the prospect of finding a husband than anything else. Furthermore even, some of the more juvenile women will even occasionally go so far as to play dumb, thinking to attract the affection of men; while others get so self-obsessed with their appearance that they don’t even have to act in order to be received as dim witted or

                          Paul Halsall. "Modern History Sourcebook: Olympe De Gouge: Declaration of the Rights of Women, 1791." Internet History Sourcebooks. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov.

Many women were involved in the uncertainty of women's rights during the French Revolution between the years of 1789 and 1804. Exploration of the unfolding struggles of France managed to turn my head in the direction of woman's rights more than once in my discovery. Perhaps because of the persistence of the women during this time period and their straight forwardness in their mission, was I so determined to see a positive progression in the fulfillment of their needs. "Even during a revolutionary time like this, equal rights for women seemed out of reach. Women had to struggle for a position in the revolution" (Ajaibu 2001, 1).

In times of instability women grew close to men in value and equality. They were more necessary because society was changing, and were harder to oppress in a time where every social class was changing. In addition, a job left unchecked by men, teaching became the profession dominated by women. These women became educated, and gained power and confidence to lead movements for anti-slavery and health reform. Then, ideas of female equality were in the air during and after the Revolution. Tom Paine spoke for the equal rights of women (Zinn 111). Furthermore, during this period many women were placed in a frontier society. They took up on many jobs and professions, yet they still had the responsibilities of domestic life. It proved hard to be a labor worker and a home wife. As a result, we have the unification of women to rebel against the system of labor. Women were trapped at home and when forced to work in factories, it created another type of servitude. With the emergence of feminist consciousness we have intellectual women like Angelina Grimke, Harriet Hanson Robinson, Lucy Stone, and Margaret Fuller. These women were involved in movements of reform for anti-slavery, health reform, dress styles, and prison conditions (Zinn 120). Also, many movements were set forth for prisoners, black slaves, for the mentally ill, but the most important one was the “rights of woman” that took place at Seneca County Courier in New York the 19th and 20th of July. A Declaration of Principles was signed at the end of the meeting. It was made use of the language and rhythm of the Declaration of Independence: “When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one portion of the family of man to assume among the people of the earth a position different from that they have hitherto occupied… We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created

Olympe De Gouges, born Marie Gouze in 1748, was one of the most profound, bellicose and confrontational female advocates of the French Revolution. She is a perfect example of a woman who denounced eighteenth-century gender constraints through her writing, in her Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Female Citizen Olympe begins by asserting; “woman is born free and remains equal to man in rights, social distinctions may be based only on common utility” (Hunt). Olympe De Gouges devoted her life to her political beliefs, as she worked tirelessly to attain representation and adequate political presence in the public sphere for women. However, Olympe de Gouges had many more concerns and her rhetoric included works on several different issues as well, such as; “private rights, such as inheritance, married

Throughout history, women have been seen in many different lights. From a woman’s perspective she is strong, smart, helpful and equal to men. In the eyes of men, she is seen as the weaker being, the housewife, and the caretaker. By looking at the following pieces of writing, one can see that through the centuries, women have struggled to break out of the mold that man had put her in and make themselves known in society as important.