A Vindication Of The Rights Of Women: Feminism Through The Eyes Of Mary Wollstonecraft

Mary Wollstonecraft was an English author who advocated for rights and equality of women. She was born on the 27th April 1759, in Spitalfields, London and is known for most her famous work which is “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman”. Mary was also a translator and an adviser to Joseph Johnson for a period of time. While nursing her firstborn, Wollstonecraft wrote a conservative critique of the French Revolution in An Historical and Moral View of the Origin and Progress of the French Revolution. Mary did not necessarily affiliate her views with one political slant exclusively, but overall her positions on equal rights for men and women on a fundamental basis and in particular her call for an increase in the educational opportunities for women This book is a criticism on Political and Moral Subjects is considered by many to be the manifesto of feminism and one of the first written expressions of feminist ideas. It is considered to be the first comprehensive statement about the need for women to be educated and for philosophical treatises on the nature of gender differences. In chapter one, Mary stated that the power of Reason is what places humankind above the rest of the natural world. It is supposed to help us overcome our biases by looking at things more objectively. However, most men would use reason to justify their biases instead of overcoming them. The society in Mary’s time would show you a world where a small percentage of the people were rich and powerful simply because they were born into the right family (royalty). An example Mary would use was Jean Jacques Rousseau, because he is someone who got so fed up with the injustice of the modern world that he decided to live in solitude. She disagrees with Rousseau's belief that humans should go back to their natural state and start acting more like animals again; and she believes that God gave us reason and civilization in order to improve life. However, she does admit that many humans have abused these gifts. Mary disagrees with government tyranny and any part of life where one person demands blind obedience from another; this would also include schools and workplaces. She believes that in the early days of humanity, the biggest and strongest people were to rule over the others. But now we've evolved into the age of reason, so now brute strength is no longer a valid basis for power. In chapter two, it highlights that men would argue over women; their age and the strength they mentally posses for them to be known as morally good. The men believe that their moral level would be enhanced with their assistance. But Wollstonecraft states that if women have souls, they should have the same level of power of any man. Mary adds that women back then was faced with having to bare the fact of staying at home. They believe that women should only be taught the skill of pleasing her husband and nothing else. Wollstonecraft added that an individual’s child should indeed remain innocent but did not justify the same instance for women. In addition, she mentions that parents should later on teach their child to have a mind for themselves. She blames the men in that timeframe especially Jean Jacques Rousseau for promoting such teachings portraying women to be worthless. Evidence shows that Rousseau thinks that men are perfect creators and are superior over women and that a woman should follow in the footsteps of a man. In today’s society Wollstonecraft believes that women can now learn through observation of objects the only downfall is that women take time to process their observation. Wollstonecraft constantly reminds us that women can either depend on men to guide them or that women can stand on their own and think for themselves. The comparison between a king and the common folks; men in particular was seen where it states, “men have about as much rights to oppress women as a king to oppress men” meaning they believe that a man and a king has equal power to dominate. Lastly, during this time when Wollstonecraft was writing this piece the men were against the thought of political oppression showcasing that the movement of democracy came about applying the same logics of women’s rights. Wollstonecraft was very critical of the stereotypes of femininity and of the women who lived up to them. She observed that many women were in fact irrational and that they were only concerned with trivial things like fashion. She also observed that many women would manipulated men in order to get things that they wanted; she referred to them as 'capricious tyrants'. She said however, that this is not woman's true nature, but as a result of poor education. Mary only supported marriage of a very specific kind. She believes that marriages should be based on common affection and respect, which could not possible unless the husbands and wives were equals, that both would have to be rational and educated. She believed that love would fade over time, and that only relationships based on friendship would last into old age. The Enlightenment was an intellectual and philosophical movement that took over the world of ideas in Europe during the 18th century; this period was also known as the 'Century of Philosophy'. The Enlightenment included a range of ideas centered on reason as the primary source of authority and legitimacy and came to advance ideals like liberty, progress, tolerance, fraternity, constitutional government and separation of church and state. In France, the central doctrines of the Enlightenment philosophers were individual liberty and religious tolerance, in opposition to an absolute monarchy and the fixed dogmas of the Roman Catholic Church. The role(s) of women in this time would vary. They would take on different roles depending on where they lived and also depending on what their rank was. These things also determined the amount of formal education they would have received. The rural women would have unceasing labor. From sunrise to sunset she was responsible for the home, the needs of all members of the family, as well as whatever other forms of labor necessary to keep the family afloat. Mary Wollstonecraft believes that the lack of education affects the marriage; she argues that educating women will strengthen the marriage relationship. Her concept of marriage underlies these arguments. A stable marriage, she believes, is a partnership between a husband and a wife – a marriage is a social contract between two individuals. A woman thus needs to have equal knowledge and sense, to maintain the partnership. She says, “Only when woman and man are equally free, and woman and man are equally dutiful in exercise of their responsibilities to family and state, can there be true freedom.” I feel that she thinks that the women of` that time were trapped because of the lack of education. That they were not able to think holistically on matters, because they do not know. They are to be equal but men are at an advantage.