Analysis Of Mary Wollstonecraft’s Reasoning In A Vindication Of The Rights Of Woman
Throughout Mary Wollstonecraft’s piece, “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman,” she explores many themes related to the rights women should have and the reasons why they require them. While exploring these themes, she offers the idea that a civilized human being must possess virtue, reason and knowledge. While all of these characteristics are important, I feel the one characteristic that is heavily tied to most of her other arguments is reason. It seems incredibly important to Wollstonecraft that each and every member of society is productive and possesses reason. To ensure this is possible, she takes a look into the role of parents on the upbringing of their children. It is true that the family, and thus the parents, are the initial and possibly the most influential agent of socialization. Meaning the ways in which they raise the child will have a direct effect on the citizen he or she becomes. Wollstonecraft expresses her fears that children raised without reason will become terrible members of society, because they will have manners instead of morals.
The distinction made between manners and morals is extremely central to her argument. She is claiming that when children are raised to follow order without providing a rational reason or explanation, they will likely do so in order to be polite and follow the discourse. However, if children are given proper reasoning behind the rules governing their household, or society for that matter, they will develop deep rooted morals which will likely turn them into productive, rule abiding citizens. Wollstonecraft expresses these beliefs when she says, “The father who is blindly obeyed is obeyed from sheer weakness, or from motives that degrade the human character”. Her use of the word weakness exposes how she devalues the characteristic of having manners, they are expressed as not strong enough and not holding any real truth or power. Wollstonecraft’s belief of the power of parenting and her claims that reason is invaluable both support her earlier argument for the education of women. Throughout many of her chapters, Wollstonecraft is pushing for women’s education. It is clear that this may very well be the main argument of the entire piece. Her statements about women being natural caregivers in earlier chapters are then being supported with the statements regarding reason and education. The connection between the points is simple; if parenting is so important and essential to raising rational children, and women are the primary caregivers, then women must be educated, rational thinkers in order to pass it down.
Although Wollstonecraft critiques Rousseau on several occasions, there is one quote she includes in which he seems to agree with this view, “Besides, how should a woman void of reflection be capable of educating her children?. . . She can only soothe or chide them; render them insolent or timid; she will make them formal coxcombs, or ignorant blockheads”. It appears that Wollstonecraft, and even Rousseau to a degree, use essentialism as a means to justify the importance of educating women. Mary Wollstonecraft uses her writing in an attempt to justify why women deserve to have the same respect and opportunities as men. She continuously stresses the importance of virtue, reason and knowledge and claims that women are denied these. One of her central arguments is that with access to education, and therefore knowledge, not only women, but all of society would benefit. She includes some of this logic in the beginning of the book, but comes to a stronger argument by chapter eleven.
After reading this piece in its entirety I believe Wollstonecraft has some good points and some strong arguments, however it is obvious to me that she wavers on some of the theoretical aspects she presents. It is hard to say if she at the time was aware of this, as many of these theories were not fully articulated at the time this piece was written. However, knowing the many different feminist theories in circulation in today’s society, it appears as though she goes between some essentialist theories as well as a few liberal theories.
All in all, I believe for the time in which she wrote this, and the audience she is addressing, Wollstonecraft’s ideas expressed throughout this book were groundbreaking and definitely helpful for the very start of the feminist movement.
