Mary Wollstonecraft's The Subjection Of Women

There have been many movements over time that has led America to where we are today. “The Antebellum reforms was a new, more radical anti-slavery movement that emerged by the early 1830s. Its program for ending slavery stood in stark contrast to the “colonizationist” position earlier advocated by some prominent Americans and embodied in the American Colonization Society (1816–1964)”. (Walters, 1995) This reforms were put into place to better everyone as well as their families.

Women as Seen in Trifles There were a lot of outstanding female literary figures that saw emergence during the 19th century. One of the many women writers that became known was Susan Glaspell. Glaspell’s works saw her struggle with arguments such as gender and differences and other related concerns, thus making it as one of the 19th century’s legacy. In the middle of an artistic revival and renaissance, Glaspell together with her beloved husband, George Cook, started to write about the issues they were seeing. But in 1915, she started writing the Provincetown Players and saw the involvement of other female writers like Kate Chopin and Fanny Fern to the making of one-act play, the Trifles.

There was no advocating for the rights of women because women were seen as property of men instead of

ohn Stuart Mill ‘The Subjection of Women’ was composed in 1861 but was not published until the year 1869. Using irrefutable logic and true eloquence, Mill (1999) argues that in the legal system of The Great Britain women are dominated and controlled. According to Mill (1999), the involuntary vulnerability of women started ages ago when physical force transformed into authority and law. Furhtremore, he argues that women’s legal condition needs to be reviewed in order for the the nation to remain healthy (Mill,1999).

Although Wollstonecraft agrees with Rousseau that women are biologically not as strong as men, she does not believe that physical strength is a reason for women to be seen as subsidiary to men. According to Wollstonecraft, the systems of education in place perpetuate socialization among the sexes which results in a society in which women are not using their reason while men lack reason. This knowledge brings the importance of education to the forefront as the current educational system is perpetuating inequalities among women by educated youth to conform to the stereotypical gender norms that are brought on by socialization. To combat the negative aspects brought on through the educational system which perpetuates inequalities brought on by socialization, Wollstonecraft calls for an educational system that focuses on understanding rather than one that nurtures sensibility at the cost of understanding (Wollstonecraft, 82). She believes that the current educational system contributes to some women’s dependence on men as due to the amount of time that women have been dependent, “is it surprising that some

(Act 1, Scene 1). Through the quote, it suggests that women should be ignorant about the world, and calling “baby” instead of her name shows the inferiority of the women to men. In addition, Walter is expected to be the head of the family; Mama says, “It ain’t much, but it’s all I got in the world and I’m putting it in your hands. I’m telling you to be the head of this family from now on like you supposed to be” (Act 2, Scene 2).

I believe that despite all controversial views this event was a huge shift for social change and future breakthrough in this area. For the American feminist movement such impetus was the successful story of the suffrage movement during the First World War, including the adoption of the 19th Amendment. The history of women’s struggle for their rights is very long and sometimes seems endless. “The Age of Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries opened up job opportunities for women, released them from domestic confines and provided them with new social freedoms” (Repetto, 2010,

Furthermore, an over-educated woman could then surpass the intellectual abilities of her husband . It is thus necessary, for the good of the social order to limit their access to knowledge. In continuation, Vivés, a Valencian scholar and humanist who lived in the sixteenth century, recommended an education based on readings and writings, but added women shouldn’t neglect household work, such as learning how to cook or to hold a needle for example. Their only task was to please their husbands by using their natural charms and their conversation, they had to help them in domestics affairs and they had to raise the children in a Christian way

This movement was the building blocks to why women have the rights we have now. The Women 's Liberation Movement was one of the more known feminist movements that happened after World War II. This event motivated women in developed countries to want the right to be something other than a stay-at-home mom and housewife. Women felt they deserved to be treated like men, meaning wanting the same pay and job opportunities.

Women stay home and their roles are to take care of the children and they don’t make any income therefore this leads to them depending on men. Wollstonecraft mentions that women are taught to cultivate beauty and therefore states, “like flowers which are planted in too rich a soil, strength and uselessness are sacrificed to beauty” (95). Thus stating that those women who lived during this century with the ability to only exclude some “are anxious to inspire love, when they ought to cherish a nobler ambition and by their abilities and virtues exact respect” (96). Wollstonecraft’s views aligned with those of other Enlightenment thinkers especially Rousseau because he thought that women weren’t capable of thinking rationally. However Wollstonecraft argues that they are not able to think rationally now because they are more concentrated on beauty.

The Equal Rights Amendment and the Struggle for Women’s Rights The American women’s rights movement has come a long way in the last century. This branch of the civil rights movement worked towards achieving equality for women in various areas over the years, from voting to abortion. One of the goals of the movement since the beginning of the 20th century has been the addition of an amendment to the constitution protecting citizens from gender discrimination.

In 1902 was when Minnie really became more involved with suffrage issues. After marrying B. J. Cunningham in 1902 she began to get more involved with volunteer organizations. In 1912 one of the many volunteer organizations was the Wednesday Club which focused on women’s suffrage and children’s rights. When she first found that she had a passionate interest about suffrage she was able to realize that it was women who were truly the ones that deserved equality she was able to further become interested in women’s issues as a member of the Women’s Health Protective Association also known as the WHPA and the Galveston Equal Suffrage Association also known as GESA. It was in these organizations that Minnie was able to develop skills for public speaking because she was always the one to volunteer to speak at public events and in front of groups of legislators.

Women's issues suddenly became so prominent in American culture because things were changing. People were forming new opinions and women saw an opportunity. In the 1800's transcendentalism came into the picture. Transcendentalism was an intellectual movement led by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau (Henretta, G-13). They believed that they needed to examine individuality and self reliance closely.

Women in Elizabethan England, were not treated with as much respect as they should have been, but they were not treated as if they were not human beings. They were typically seen to be the weaker sex, mentally and physically and were thought to need a male figure constantly watching over them. If a woman was single, she was usually watched after by a father or an older brother, but if the woman was married it would be her husband’s job to take after her. Men were the ones that brought home the money. They were the head of the home and in charge of most decisions that took place.