The Connection Between Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication Of The Rights Of Woman And Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Birthmark

The nineteenth century was a period of progress. Progress within the nature of reasoning. Hawthorne's thoughts regarding science, beauty, and life still have a unique impact on our lives. Hawthorne’s curiosity of how things can be changed gives us this reasoning. The themes in this short story are religion, sexual orientation, and science which were applicable in Hawthorne's day, and still, are many years after. On the other hand, Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, which is based on Political and Moral Subjects, is viewed individuals to be the declaration of women's liberation and one of the main composed articulations of women's activist thoughts. Even though others before Wollstonecraft had expounded on the requirement for women's rights, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman is the main far-reaching proclamation about the need for ladies to be instructed and for philosophical treatises on the idea of gender orientation contrasts. This essay will address the connection between these two great works and the role gender played in the text as well as why men had maintained hegemonic masculinity and false consciousness over women.

Wollstonecraft’s main concern is women’s education. The text; A Vindication of the Rights of Woman is, in huge section, a reply to Jean-Jacques Rousseau's thoughts. Rousseau’s opinion respecting men, “I extend it to women, and confidently assert that they have been drawn out of their sphere of false refinement, and not by an endeavour to acquire masculine qualities”. Rousseau battles that progress has corrupted humanity, which would be in an ideal situation in what he calls the condition of nature. He contends that women ought to be educated to be the comfort and companions of men when men wish to abandon pursuits and be entertained as well as refreshed. Likewise, the core values of a woman's training ought to be to instruct her to obey, submit and to please. Wollstonecraft attests that since women are immortal creatures who have a relationship to their maker, they should be taught in the best possible utilization of reason. Monroe writes, “Wollstonecraft condescends to women, berating them for behaving in exactly the ways she claims society has directed them”. This quote relates to Wollstonecraft, she trusts that the quality that separates people from animals is the reason, and the quality that separates one human from another is prudence. Rousseau contends that feeling is the overwhelming human quality; Wollstonecraft fights that people have interests so they can battle against them and in this manner increase self-information. From God's point of view, the present insidiousness of passion prompts a future decent from the battle to overcome them. The motivation behind life for all people, not simply men, is to consummate one's nature through the activity of reason. This prompts knowledge and ideas, the characteristics God wishes every individual to gain. It is, in this manner, indecent to leave women in a state of ignorance or to be shaped simply by the weakness of society. An education that builds up the mind is basic to any creature.

At the point when the story in Birthmark begins, we discover that it is around two youthful love birds: Aylmer and Georgiana. In any case, what could have been a sweet romantic tale transforms into a bad dream as Aylmer ends up fixated on expelling a small birthmark on Georgiana’s cheek. He demands that it is the main thing that shields her from being flawlessly and full of beauty. He is a researcher and, similar to the author during the creation age; he trusts that science can fix anything. He is certain he will almost certainly think of a portion that would fix her. Georgiana is upset at his remarks. Envision if the person you adored couldn't stop discussing how ugly your face was. She likewise implies, “this hateful mark makes me the object of your horror and disgust”. Tragically, Aylmer is stubborn; he continues grumbling about how dreadful it is. Entirely soon he can't seem to think about anything else. He longs for the mark, and he shivers at seeing it. He detests it more than he adores Georgiana. Georgiana, then again, adores him more than she cherishes herself. She reveals to Aylmer that he should endeavor to expel the pigmentation, regardless of whether his endeavors murder her. This despair shows how a man can deceive women into false consciousness. In the contemporary world, a man would be too loving to even think about trying to change his wife. They would know better not to attempt to control nature. But, Aylmer is neither of those things. He hops into the experiment excitedly, overlooking many warnings that things will turn out badly. Notwithstanding when Georgiana says she would drink poison from his hands and is prepared to die, he encourages her to drink the portion he has made. The portion works, and the birthmark gradually vanishes. Shockingly, Georgiana's life blurs with it. Similarly, as Aylmer supposes he has succeeded, Georgiana dies. Women have set the conspiracy for men to have these hegemonic masculinity actions. Men show masculinity superior over women. In the Birthmark, Georgiana did not have a chance to choose her way because she was a woman and her husband was obsessed with the power that conflicted nature and science. She did not stand up to him because of this power. Likewise, in the A Vindication of Women’s Rights, it is apparent women have no power over men because of their education and nature of humanity. Both stories are based on the freedom of women, to both education and their natural creation.

Works Cited

1. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. ”The Birthmark.”
2. Monroe, Julie A. 'A Feminist Vindication of Mary Wollstonecraft.' Iowa Journal of Literary Studies 8 (1987): 143-152.
3. Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, and Barbara Foxley. Emile, Or, On Education. The Floating Press, 2009.
4. Wollstonecraft, Mary. Wollstonecraft: A Vindication of the Rights of Women. The Norton Anthology of World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, vol. 2, no. 4, W.W. Norton & Company, 2019, pp. 160-163.