Thelma And Louise : A Feminist Portrayal Of The Rights Of Woman

Mary Wollstonecraft and Virginia Woolf most likely would not have agreed with most of the ideals of this movie because it portrays the female protagonist as a damsel

Mary Wollstonecraft contributed the best to the United States democracy because she was one of the first women to be a strong activist for women’s rights. She believed that all men- and women are created equal and therefore should have equal rights. She expresses women are looked at as “weaker” to men because they are not given the same opportunities as men, such as education. But, she also wrote several books like A Vindication of the Rights of Women, still looked at today as a strong women rights book. Mary Wollstonecraft believed that not just men and women-

The film begins with Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon), living repressed lives in Arkansas. Both women have stereotypical roles in this movie. As best friends, they decide to go on an adventure that takes a dramatic turn and ends up being an adventurous police chase to the sudden death. Thelma is an unhappy housewife who despises her husband (Daryl), who is a bumbling, controlling and narcissistic. Her character is somewhat infantile, in that she relies completely on her husband for support. She is too timid to confront him about going on a weekend getaway with her best friend Louise. Her timidity is evident in every act she displays. She is unhappy with her life as a housewife but doesn't blatantly show it. She cooks

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.

Everyone should be treated as equals. However, in Mary Wollstonecraft’s era, women did not have the same equal rights as men. It was a time period of sexism and double standards. In her work Vindication of the Rights of Women, she argues and defends for the equality of women. Wollstonecraft believed that everyone has the ability to reason and learn; therefore women should be able to receive the same amount of necessities involving proper education, support, attitude, respect, etc., that are needed in order to accomplish goals as any other person, in this case, men. As of today in the 21st century, Wollstonecraft would be disappointed due to the amount of disrespect society contributes on women, as well as some women who have no respect for their own self-worth. In order to improve, changes must start from within.

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.

From the very beginning of her text, A Vindication of The Rights of Woman, Mary Wollstonecraft asserts the many grievances that she holds against the patriarchy and its misogyny of her society. She continually argues that aside from the realm of physical strength, women are completely equal to men. She highlights that women have the same abilities to reason and learn as their male counterparts. She strives to “persuade women to endeavor to acquire strength, both of mind and body, and to convince them that the soft phrases, susceptibility of heart, delicacy of sediment, and refinement of taste are almost synonymous with epithets of weakness” (Wollstonecraft 114). Knowing that all women are capable of great things, she pushes for an equal education system, so that women can finally put their great minds to use. Finally, she argues that women should have just as much power and societal influence as men. Hailing from two completely different texts,

“I do not wish them [women] to have power over men; but over themselves” (Wollstonecraft, 1995). Women were expected to be passive, Wollstonecraft believed women should have the right to be independent. In

"It is not that women are really smaller-minded, weaker-minded, more timid and vacillating, but that whosoever, man or woman, lives always in a small, dark place, is always guarded, protected, directed and restrained, will become inevitably narrowed and weakened by it."

Wollstonecraft is not advocating for physical equality because in terms of nature, men are built in a more superior manner. However, one’s mind was not built to be superior or inferior depending on one’s sex. Wollstonecraft states that men have caused women’s minds to be, “rendered weak and wretched” due to the stereotypes that became embedded in minds and cultures for hundreds of years.

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

     The weakness of women is found in various forms throughout the text. Henry refers to women as “a decorative sex” and that “they never have anything to say, but they say it charmingly.” (Wilde 43) Nowhere is this better supported than during Lady Henry’s

Men hold the power to influence the thoughts of society because they keep women ignorant by withholding a formal education and the chance to think independently. To Wollstonecraft, education is important because it leads to independent thought and independence itself. Without education, women are ignorant and unable to fight their standing in society. Wollstonecraft refers to this situation as a "slavery which chains the very soul of women, keeping her under the bondage of ignorance." This line is important because it echoes the idea that women are forcefully denied the chance to better themselves through education. Also, the language Wollstonecraft uses, namely comparing women to slaves, shows Wollstonecraft's ideas about any form of slavery, not just involving women. Because the main subject

These were the women who had the time to obsess over fashion and who had the leisure to concern themselves with sensibilities, these women were passive rather than active, they did not venture outdoors to breathe fresh air and go for long walks to strengthen their constitution. Their embracing of emotion and sensibility rendered them incapable of self-control and therefore in need of guidance from others: their husbands or fathers. These women needed to be shaken from their self-obsession and sensibility and become rational citizens capable of self-direction rather than relying on their husbands/fathers. This facet of Wollstonecraft’s argument adds to my concept of autonomy by emphasising why self-direction is so

Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of Rights of Women is a treatise concerning how she views society in 1792. She observes the oppression of women and the lack of education in society. Wollstonecraft is saying that men hold more influence over society than. The society, community, life itself is organized for men to succeed and be successful.[Oppression and Women's History, Linda Napikoski and Jone Johnson Lewis, 2017]. Women were used to pleasing men and only focus on dressing nice and staying quiet[Oppression and Women's History, Linda Napikoski and Jone Johnson Lewis, 2017]. To Wollstonecraft, this is the view of women being under men for everything. Women are still to this day being oppressed and treated unfairly. Women face issues such as sexual violence, underpaid, or even getting shamed.( 10 challenges, Ms. Magazine, 2017). Women still experience all things society but them through but they still impact the world.