Who was Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797)?
From the late 18th century, she has been considered to be the mother of feminism in English-speaking countries, and the formother of feminism. In her life and in her writings, she was fighting for the dignity, intelligence and for the human potential of women. In her life and her literature, Mary Wollstencraft defended women’s rights, and it is is seen in her book Vindications of the RIghts of Woman (1792), which is considered to be the first feminist manifesto of Western feminism, which was grounded upon the principles of the French Revolution
·This feminist manifesto is founded on the principles of the French Revolution and so it had revolutionary principles (equality, liberty and fraternity among all men). Here she claims the fact that women are not mentioned, and so 3 years after the French Revolution she vindicated those same values but also for women. Mary Wollstencroft observes the inequalities and how women suffer in their daily lives, and how they overcome the prejudices perpetuated by men. She proposes ways to eradicate women’s inequalities and indignities suffered by women historically and daily.
-Her famous quote: “Make women rational creatures, and free citizens, and they will quickly become good wives,and mothers'”: She says that women are not only emotional creatures, but also rational, and they should be accepted in their private and public lives. Wollstencraft says that women need mental and physical activities outside of domesticity and that they need to receive an education. Additionally, she said that they need to have financial independence, and be able to participate in politics. In her work she proposes women to be liberated from the confinement of domesticity and to escape from the interior spaces and do richer things, both physically and mentally.
Important quotes from the novel:
"But whether she is loved or neglected, her first wish should be to make herself worthy of respect, and not rely for all her happiness on a being who is subject to infirmities like her own!" (p.19): According to Mary Wollstonecraft, women should rely on themselves rather than men to make them happy. This statement layed the groundwork for the notion that women need to be self-sufficient and autonomous.
"Taught from their infancy that beauty is woman’s sceptre, the mind shapes itself to the body, and roaming around in its gilt cage, it only seeks to adorn its prison." (p.30): Women are tricked into believing that their main worth is appearance. The truth is that society restricts women's potential and keeps them from growing intellectually and physically.
"Women, commonly called Ladies, are not to be contradicted in company, are not allowed to exert any manual strength. When any virtues are expected from them, they are negative ones—patience, docility, good humour, and flexibility—virtues incompatible with any vigorous exercise of intellect." (p.40): Instead of being pushed to reach their full potential, women are expected to fit into established roles and to comply with certain virtues (patience, docility,...)
"Women have more wit, men have more genius; women observe, men reason. The two together give us the clearest light and the most perfect knowledge that the human mind is capable of attaining unaided." (p.27): If men and women came together they would accomplish so much more through their collaboration, and they would even be capable of improving the whole of society.
"It’s true that they couldn’t then be described as ‘the sweet flowers that smile in the walk of man,’ but they would be more respect-worthy members of society, performing the important duties of life by the light of their own reason. ‘Educate women like men,’ says Rousseau, ‘and the more they resemble our sex, the less power will they have over us.’ That is exactly the point I am making; I don’t want women to have power over men; I want them to have power over themselves." (p. 43): Women's growth and independence depends on education and exercise and society restricts girls' potential by denying them these possibilities. Women would be more respected if they could have the opportunity to reason as men and just as Rosseau states, they need to gain power over themselves and not be subjected to men in order to achieve happiness.
"Men aren’t aware of the misery they cause, and the vicious weakness they encourage, by only inciting women to make themselves pleasing; they don’t consider that they are making natural and artificial duties clash by sacrificing the comfort and respectability of a woman’s life to voluptuous notions of beauty, when in nature they all harmonize." (p.86): Women's oppression is sustained by societal norms and men perpetuate the cycle of exploitation by placing a higher value on passivity and attractiveness than in reason and knowledge. Women are placed solely on the value of beauty, when there are many virtues they could gain if they weren't pushed to only looking beautiful.
"The most respect-worthy women are the most oppressed; this is a melancholy truth about the blessed effects of civilization! Treating them like contemptible beings will make them become contemptible, unless they have understandings much above the average for humanity (both sexes). Many women waste life away, the prey of discontent, when they might have practised as physicians, run a farm, or managed a shop, and stood upright supported by their own industry, instead of hanging their heads." (p.88): The heartbreaking fact is that the most capable and deserving women frequently experience the most injustice in society. Wollstencraft points out that, with the exception of a select few who are exceptionally strong and perceptive, treating women as inferior might cause them to absorb those unfavorable opinions and feel worthless. She believes that many women have unhappy lives and waste their potential by not pursuing rewarding professions like medicine, farming, or business ownership, which would allow them to stand tall on their own two feet rather than feeling inferior and dependent.
-The novel encourages contemporary feminist ideas by emphasizing the necessity of women's equality, freedom, and education. Men are clearly the ones that have to carry the task of advancing in equality and eradicating inequities, and Mary Wollstencraft highlights the value of men and women respecting and understanding one another.
Works Cited
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