THOUGHTS ON MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT'S "A VINDICATION OF THE RIGHTS OF WOMAN"

Ushered in on the sleeve of the French Revolution, the Romantic period brought with it a newly discovered obsession with individual freedom.  Government and society grabbled with conflict and turmoil, while the writers of the time grasped onto the concept of freedom, expounding on its virtues and presenting numerous ways for man to enjoy all this new freedom had to offer.  Great men like Thomas Paine, Rousseau, and Dr. Gregory produced powerful essays on the topic of freedom, education, and the rights of man, but none of these important voices of the Romantic period extended these same rights to women, “render[ing] women more artificial, weak characters than they would otherwise have been; and, consequently, more useless members of society” (Wollstonecraft 107).  It was her reading of Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord’s recommendations to the National Assembly of France concerning the educational system, however, that inspired Mary Wollstonecraft to address equality for women’s education in her essay, “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.”  Through the use of straightforward, powerful diction, Wollstonecraft composed a finely structured persuasive essay, urging women to dismiss the notion of sensibility and become rational, independent individuals capable of contributing to society, while also challenging men of importance to examine the antiquated beliefs towards women and education

Wollstonecraft crafted her essay into two major components.  The first chapter was designed to plant the seed of change in the minds of women “in the middle class because they appear to be in the most natural state” (Wollstonecraft 103). Wollstonecraft knew that she had to convince women that, by giving into their whims and emotions, “not only do they do harm to themselves but they also do harm to all of civilization: [that they] are not women who can refine civilization – [they] are women who will destroy it” (Wikipedia).  She felt strongly about the state of affairs women had been forced into accepting, leaving them to viewed more as the playthings of men rather than individuals capable of contributing to the world in which they lived.  It angered her that this inequality was blindly accepted so she set out to “persuade women to endeavor to acquire strength, both of mind and body, and to convince them that…the refinement of taste are almost always synonymous with epithets of weakness” (Wollstonecraft 104).  Because she didn’t wish to single out any one social class, her language was simple, forceful, and anything but delicate.  Wollstonecraft wanted her female readers to wake up and take notice of their situation and strive towards becoming independent and productive.

Because of her keen understanding of the situation of women, Wollstonecraft knew that the task of becoming independent through obtaining an education equal to that of their male counterparts was something that couldn’t be accomplished without assistance.  “Because women are uneducated…men must come to their aid [by initiating] the social and political changes she outlines in “Rights of Woman” (Wikipedia).  She doesn’t deny that the physical differences between men and women predestine a man to be superior in strength, thus making him the appropriate candidate for certain tasks.  She pleads with men of influence to help women “cultivate their minds, give them the salutary, sublime curb of principle, and let them attain conscious dignity by feeling themselves only dependent on God” (Wollstonecraft 116).  She goes on to assure these men that “should the experience prove that they cannot attain the same degree of strength of mind, perseverance, and fortitude, let their virtues be the same in kind, though they may vainly struggle for the same degree…the superiority of man will be equally clear” (Wollstonecraft 116).  In short, she presented the problem and then offered a solution and was willing to admit defeat if the situation called for it.

Wollstonecraft’s task to persuade women to stand up for their God-given rights, while also asking for the support of the very men she held responsible for the oppression of those women, loomed large in the face of a society that spent years supporting inequality between the sexes.  Fear of failure didn’t stop her from putting her powerful words to work towards the higher good of all concerned.  Her dedication to the cause of education for women opened the door for equality in many other areas. 

 

Works Cited

Wikipedia contributors. "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia.org. 1 Oct. 2016. Web. Accessed 4 November 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=A_Vindication_of_the_Rights_of_Woman&id=742139097

Wollstonecraft, Mary. “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.” The Broadview Anthology of British Literature: The Age of Romanticism. Vol. 4. 2^nd ed. Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview Press. 2010. pp. 103-116. Print.