Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication Of The Rights Of Women

Wollstonecraft created a base for the women’s rights movement and got women thinking for themselves about what needed to change. In her time, women’s rights were absent and around the world women had to act obedient and comply with whatever the men in their lives told them to do. There was no advocating for the rights of women because women were seen as property of men instead of

In Wollstonecraft’s Vindication of the Rights of Women, she questions the place of a woman in society. She writes in the 18th century, at a time of women oppression. Her argument is both passionate and logical, as she persuades the reader to reconsider the role of a woman in society. As a woman herself, she is able to give insight into the thoughts and desires of a woman. However, she is also careful to consider the place of men in society and what their role should be.

Mary Wollstonecraft devotes her life to feminism and “she fully believes that, if given the chance, women could be just as smart and virtuous as men are” (Shmoop Editorial Team, 2008). As a result, Mary Wollstonecraft doesn’t propose that women should be superior to men and as she wrote in From A Vindication of the Rights for Women, "I do not wish [women] to have power over men; but over themselves" (Kwatra, H.,2013). Besides, in Vindication, Mary Wollstonecraft also expresses that although women might be less physically strong than men, they shouldn’t be considered to be weaker than men totally and the reason is that physical strength is not the only point to evaluate one’s ability in modern world (Romantic Period). As a consequence, in addition

However Wollstonecraft argues that they are not able to think rationally now because they are more concentrated on beauty. Nonetheless if women were educated just like men they would be able to think rationally. Therefore that’s why she emphasis that both men and women should have the same

This paper will examine the question, “what is a woman?” utilizing readings from Beauvoir and Butler. Woman is not definable because woman is not just one thing. One is not born a woman or made a woman rather, one becomes woman. Once one has become woman she defines for herself what that means for her own life and future. She gets to do so because her experience differs from man, and from any other woman, same race or otherwise.

She would rather be able to identify with and relate more to a man from similar conditions than the supposed ‘sister’ from the polished society. One of the most prominent feminists, Simone de Beauvoir, faced similar problems in defining a woman. In her book, The Second Sex, she begins by asking the question “What is a woman?” (Beauvoir, 1949, p.13). She doesn’t agree with age old explanation of woman is a womb and thus realises that women have always been defined as the ‘other’

The first strand that will be discussed will be that of Liberal feminism which focuses on the issues of gender equality. This theory has influenced the breeding of social activists whose main concern has been conceived as to protect and mend the political and social freedom of life. This has transcended to waging legal and political clashes against gender based violence on a domestic level among others. Feminist political philosophers have enlightened the distinct separation of domestic and public and their influence on maintaining patriarchal domination of women. The domestic setup such as the family has provided for this type of notion, given the roles of bearing children and being caregivers in the household (McAfee, 2014).

Only because no one made the experience of having a female doctor doesn't , mean they are not capable. Another belief of Mary Wollstonecraft was the right to participate in politics for women. In her book A vindication of rights of women Mary argued, according to Jim Powell, that women also have to live in the society, so why don’t we have the right to decide about the decisions or nevertheless to vote? Accordingly, with women in politics, new ideas and new changes could be made and not to forget that the women’s beliefs and opinions finally would get represented. Concluded, when a woman participates in politics, she finally is allowed to speak freely and embody the needs of women.

In 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft expressed what would be the constant struggle of women for the following centuries to come: “I do not wish them [women] to have power over men; but over themselves”. This quotation, taken from in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, strongly illustrates how difficult it was for women to emancipate themselves from men with no ability to act upon their futures. However, when changes happened to improve the daily lives of women in Britain, one might think that those progresses meant the beginning of equality and thus, the end of difference –of being treated otherwise. Yet, difference remained. Therefore, in order to understand this phenomenon, we shall answer to the following question: Why women kept being marginalized despite the adjustments made to establish equality between men and women?

She supported the belief that motherhood in itself was not derogatory or damaging. But when women do not acquire proper formal education, because of then duty as mother or wives then they suffer from loss of self-esteem and dignity. Wollstonecraft states that women should not sacrifice themselves at the altar of motherhood. Wollstonecraft says, “To be a mother a woman must have sense, and that independence of mind which few woman possess, who are taught to depend entirely on their husbands. Such wives are foolish mothers”(106).