Mary Wollstonecraft Research Paper

Mary Wollstonecraft was an English writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights.

"Tartuffe" is a play which takes place in 17th century France where the controversial topic of feminism was high, and is written by a French author by the name of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Moliere. A "Vindication of the Rights of Women" was written by Mary Wollstonecraft, an English author, theorist, and supporter of women 's rights. In ways, there are similarities in between the two passages such as how they point out how women are weak and are subjected to men. But where these passages differ is the way of each author 's thinking, Wollstonecraft disagrees with Moliere on the roles of women. She believes that women should have more power and education so that they are not subjugated to a pathetic level that was demonstrated in Tartuffe.

Wollstonecraft strongly believed,“...both sexes must act from the same principle…” (Doc D) Wollstonecraft strongly wanted both sexes to follow the same criteria and be given the same educational rights, so that women could be wiser and more virtuous. Wollstonecraft and Locke both believed that all should be equal and this supports that women are one of the groups besides religion that were not given as many rights as others. She also thought,“... women must be allowed to found their virtue on knowledge...to full fill their peculiar duties...to free them from all restraint…”

These four Enlightenment philosophers all had the same main idea. The 17th and 18th centuries were the two centuries of the philosophers. The philosophers hoped to accomplish that nature is an excellent teacher. The philosophers believed careful observation and clear-headed reasoning were necessary to find out the truth of things. Find what the main idea is of the philosophers.

Mary Wollstonecraft’s A vindication of the rights of women written in 1792 can be considered one of the first feminist documents, although the term appeared much later in history. In this essay, Wollstonecraft debates the role of women and their education. Having read different thinkers of the Enlightenment, as Milton, Lord Bacon, Rousseau, John Gregory and others, she finds their points of view interesting and at the same time contrary to values of the Enlightenment when they deal with women’s place. Mary Wollstonecraft uses the ideas of the Enlightenment to demand equal education for men and women. I will mention how ideals of the Enlightenment are used in favor of men but not of women and explain how Wollstonecraft support her “vindication” of the rights of women using those contradictions.

Mary Wollstonecraft was an advocate for women's rights and a writer. She was also the founder of movements and the rights of women. Mary conveyed and spoke out in her published books about injustice and the right to be equal in economics, education, and politics. She like many others during the 17th century spoke up for a greater future in France. Similar to John Locke who was also a philosopher that wanted the idea of a government that protected a person's natural rights including life, liberty, and property.

In her document she claims that, “Women must be allowed to found their virtue on knowledge, which is scarcely possible unless they be educated by the same pursuits as men”(Wollstonecraft, On National Education). Wollstonecraft dynamically argued that if women had the right to study, they’d be able to prove they aren’t inferior by ignorance and low desires. Despite the fact that these four philosophers had contrasting ideas on how to enhance daily life, they all concentrated the same central idea. They each contributed something unique to their society, which has influenced our daily

In the book of vindication of the right of a woman, Wollstonecraft brings out clearly the roles of a woman in her society and how it has led to oppression of women (Wollstonecraft 22). Wollstonecraft believes that men and women are equal given the same environment and empowerment, women can do anything a man can do. In her society, education for women is only aimed at making her look pleasing to men. Women are treated as inferior being and used by men as sex objects. Wollstonecraft believed that the quality of mind of women is the same with that of men, and therefore women should not be denied a chance for formal education that will empower them to be equal with men.

This includes a new public education system where boys and girls studied together and learned the same things. Wollstonecraft concludes her

Wollstonecraft wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in response to a report to the French National Assembly, which stated that women should only receive a domestic education (Johnson Lewis). She believed that women needed to be educated in order to find their way to equality with men. Wollstonecraft writes in the introduction: “The education of women has, of late, been more attended to than formerly; yet they are still reckoned a frivolous sex, and ridiculed or pitied by the writers who endeavor by satire or instruction to improve

The inequality of women has been a long-lasting issue since its existence, with the issue still persisting today. Women have gained more rights over time in great part to efforts made by feminists, however, much progress still needs to be made. Mary Wollstonecraft, often cited as one of the founding feminist philosophers, is a notable feminist whose advocacy and ideas on femininity have acted as a strong influence for the modern conception of feminism. One of Wollstonecraft’s most prominent works in regards to feminism is A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. In the piece, Wollstonecraft uses and critiques philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s work titled Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, in order to build a case in defense of a woman’s

Wollstonecraft argues for the rights of women in her A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: with Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects. She opposes that only men can receive education. Women are taught by their mother the knowledge of human weakness, “cunning, softness of temper, outward obedience, and a scrupulous attention to a puerile kind of propriety” (2.2). They should be beautiful, then men will protect them. Wollstonecraft argues that women focus on being beautiful and stay indoors, they can’t really run reason because they depend on men.

She wanted education to become a national concern. Children should be encouraged to expand their faculties and think for themselves, and this can be done by putting children together and by educating them on the same subjects. Wollstonecraft believes that private education is very confined and limited to the child’s mental development. When the youth are educated alone they never acquire that frankness and ingenuity of thought that come from speaking their minds. A child should develop his own mentality by discovering things on his own.

Feminist literary criticism’s primary argument is that female characters have always been presented from a male’s viewpoint. According to Connell, in most literary works, female characters often play minor roles which emphasize their domestic roles, subservience and physical beauty while males are always the protagonists who are strong, heroic and dominant (qtd. in Woloshyn et al.150). This means that the women are perceived as weak and are supposed to be under the control of men. Gill and Sellers say that feminist literary criticism’s approach involves identifying with female characters in order to challenge any male centred outlook.

Wollstonecraft emphasized the value of education for women, but she called for something more than opportunities to learn needle work and social graces. She stressed that a woman’s education should shape body, mind, and emotions, eventually leading to a sense of independence. Although Wollstonecraft’s thinking was a head of her time, it reflected philosophies of the Enlightenment, which championed the power of education, social reform, and moral worth and development as the right of individuals including women. Education was necessary for women, and through moral education women would acquire virtue, knowledge and honesty. For Wollstonecraft, lack of education was the cause of all feminine misery, and since women were denied the opportunity to expand their mental activities in many cases, they could never attain virtue.