Treatment of Women in John Stuart Mill's The Subjection of Women

At the very beginning of this work of his, "The subjection of Women", Mill sets forth the objective of the essay. He explains in clear terms that the legal subordination of one sex to the other is wrong in itself. This principle which regulates the existing social relations between the two sexes ought to be replaced by a principle of perfect equality. This principle should admit no power or privileges on the one side or disabilities on the other.

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

Many people believe that marriage is important in this day and age, but it holds little significance compared to the importance of marriage in the Victorian era. In the Victorian era women were to get married to a man of the same or a better social status, be good wives, and be a mother to her husband's children. Very few marriages started with love, but a woman's life is not complete without being married. Over time, the role of married women has evolved a great deal and they now have rights and privileges. John Stuart Mill was one of the great thinkers of the Victorian era, and his essay The Subjection of Women tells how few privileges women had and that they were slaves to their husbands. He also says that women are their own people and

From housewives to educated intellectuals, the roles of women in society have evolved throughout the years. Factors such as wealth, status did affect their roles in the 1700s, but overall every woman had their own place in society. The line between male and female was very distinctive. Substantial events such as the American Revolution, played a big role in modifying gender roles. Women impacted the war in great ways. They proved their capability in more than just being basic housewives. Their heroic activity all the way through the war led them both into an adequate and better off state.

Men are respected more in the 17th and 18th century and to this day in some places of the world. Another equality philosopher, Mary Wollstonecraft believed that women should work to be at the same rank as men. In Wollstonecraft’s book she argues that women must be able to found their virtue on knowledge, but for that to be possible they must be educated as equally as men. Wollstonecraft also argued that if the government makes women free, they will become wise and virtuous. Because of Wollstonecraft's ideas she helped introduce women's equality and rights to the world.

Mill's case for women's equality reflects his Utilitarian roots. The subjection of women, he argues, is not only "wrong in itself" but "one of the chief hindrances to human improvement." By denying women the same opportunities as men, he says, society not only hinders the development of roughly half the population but denies itself the benefit of their talents. The fact that men are typically superior to women in physical strength leads to the assumption that men are superior to women in all areas, despite the fact that there is no proof to support this claim. In this respect, Mill says, the unfair situation of women matches that of slaves. Mill argues that the progress of society requires that all people, men and women alike, not be imprisoned in the "fixed social

Today, women are believed to be equal to men however this was not always the case. During colonial times, women did not have the same roles as women do today; men and women had fixed roles in society. Roles between men and women do not exchange due to strict gender roles. Additionally, married women were not exactly considered as companions instead, as the husband’s property. Although gender roles were a significant issue among women in early America, another issue was the background of these women. Factors such as race, religion, geography/region, and social class were substantial to the extent of control a woman had over her own life. These factors significantly shaped the lives of these women. For instance, white women had differences

Mill makes a very strong argument that the position women have in society is not the only possible way to structure societal hierarchy. The reason it seems unnatural to change its structure, he claims, is because it is uncustomary.

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.

In the metaphor that Mill uses to describe the state of women as a form of slavery, he reveals that wives are restricted by their husbands in certain aspects of their lives yet appreciated in others. He states, “whatever in them has not been crushed down by an iron heel has generally been left alone” (Mills). Mills also indicates that the characteristics that men do enjoy are not restricted only to their preference, and that as a result, these women could excel with these traits. This leads to the metaphor of the flowers in the hothouse, where he depicts the women flourishing in these certain characteristics that are not oppressed by her husband. He states, “...while other shoots from the same root, which are left outside in the wintry air...have a stunted growth, and some are burnt off with fire and disappear” (Mills). In this metaphor, Mills explains that although the aspects of the women thrive because their husbands do not inhibit them, the aspects that the men do restrict will always be a detriment to their whole self, ensuring that she does not supersede their husbands.

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.

Throughout history, women were “conditioned” to believe that it was their duty to be obedient to men. That it was their “nature to live for others….and to have no life but their [men’s] affections” (Mill, 1995, pg.16). Thus, it seemed natural that women were to be subservient to the needs of the men in their lives. They gave up their lives in order to serve and be accepted by them. Mill, however, claims that this was not the case. The subjection of women was not brought upon by natural development, but rather, through customary power relationships that went on to become institutionalized in the same way that slavery was.

Composed by four distinct chapters, “The Subjection of Women”, offers its readers with precise arguments demonstrating Mill’s liberal feminism and his commitment to gender equality. In the first chapter of his essay, John Stuart Mills challenges the common notion that women are by nature unequal to men. He argues that “… From the dawn of human society, every woman was in a state of bondage to some man, because she was of value to him and she had less muscular strength than he did…” alluding to the idea that women have always been conceived to be physically and mentally less capable than men, and therefore needed to be taken care of by the stronger gender. As a result of these primitive

“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.

The argument Mill makes is characterized by a few premises. The first is that society is known to enforce opinions and beliefs upon the individual in hopes of maintaining a utilitarian good based upon a common set of truths that the society believes in. Due to this, individual liberty is often suppressed for the good of everyone else. When someone has dissenting views, they will be suppressed by the majority. Yet Mill’s believes that dissent is good because it helps to progress society by disconfirming our believes through listening and reasoning with those who are different. By addressing different views, people are able to develop their own ideas and as a society we are able to reach a better understanding of a utilitarian truth. For Mill, humans are not