Wollstonecraft's 'A Vindication for the Rights of Women'

Question 1

Wollstonecraft: Background Info

Answer 1

• 1759-1797, died in childbirth of her 2nd child
• Widower published memoir of her that ruined reputation, not until 20th century was he writing appreciated
• Wrote A Vindication as a response to Talleyrand’s ideas that women be denied equal education to men

Question 2

Wollstonecraft: Social Constructions

Answer 2

• God created all humans with the capacity to live good lives, why would he deny half population capacity to do so
• Girls are not taught to use their own independent reason, to think for themselves, engage with the world, just taught skills necessary to run family home
• The different education girls and boys received didn’t track their natural differences, it created them
• Marriage is a relationship of dependence, at the time when married, the woman belonged to the man, no longer existing as independent legal entity
• Marriage should be based on deep friendships rather than love
• We mistake social constructions of inequality through education, marriage and other practices for evidence of natural inequality

Question 3

Wollstonecraft: Patriarchy

Answer 3

• Patriarchy creates power for men that they shouldn’t ever want
• Also creates power for women, expectation that women entice and entrance would-be husbands with their beauty means that beauty becomes a form of power itself
• Patriarchy power isn’t equal, bit neither gender get the power they think they get
• Relationship between sexes is no different from other forms of inequality, power based

Question 4

Wollstonecraft: Women

Answer 4

• Anger towards women, “A bad wife makes a better mother”
• Targeted middle class women as they had the time, recognised that working class women too busy
• Women could be both slaves and tyrants;
  
  • Slaves through education, marriage etc.
  • Tyrants as horrible to other women through beauty standards
• Virtue is not gender specific, both genders should cultivate moral strength and civic responsibility
  
  • Traditionally when in acquirement of virtue, aim for obtaining different characters, meaning women not allowed the strength of mind to achieve true virtue