TheVindicationoftheRightsofWomen

The Vindication of the Rights of Women

 * by Mary Wollstonecraft**

The Vindication of the Rights of Women was written by Mary Wollstonecraft in 1792. Mary Wollstonecraft was a strong feminist of her time and believed in a higher value for women than the rest of the society did. She believed that education was beneficial so that women can be companions instead of property to their husband, they would also be able to pass this knowledge down to the children.

Summary of the Vindication of the Rights of Women

 * __Chapter 1__**: Men are naturally prejudice against women. They have no reason to be; it's simply a narrow-minded point of view that men seem to develop throughout their lifetime based partially on experiences. Due to the fact that men do not value women in society as much as they should, women are not given equal opportunities nor equal rights, such as the right to get as much of an education as the average man. Men are too absorbed in their power to even entertain the thought of possibly treating women as equals. Men see women as their subordiantes, and it is time for this to change.


 * __Chapter 2__**: When it comes to women, men complain simply because they do not understand women and their powerful emotions. In order to understand why women need their rights, men need to gain a greater understanding about women in general, but they refuse to do so. In society, women are taught to be obedient, have a soft temper, and told to just be beautiful because these are the ways to gain a man and the protection he offers. Women are not taught to be independent and self-sufficient, and this is a mistake that society is making. Women should not be expected to stay at home and do domestic chores; they should be taught to get an education, and to support themselves- without a man. In society, the manners that women have are crucial: the better a woman's manners, the higher she gets looked upon, and the more likely she is to get married. Society teaches women to be soft, gentle people so men will be more attracted to them. Instead, women should be taught that their lives should not revolve around obtaining a husband.


 * __Chapter 3__**: A man's physical strength seems to be the excuse for women being inferior to men. Other than a man's natural strength, which is assumed to be stronger than a woman's natural strength, there is nothing else that men are superior to women in. This includes education and the fact that women should be considered as moral and rational people. Men stereotype women as being highly emotional, yet, in actuality, women are extremely rational. If women do not get the education they need and deserve, then there is no way for society to progress and become more intelligent and intellectual. Men need to put their pride aside and realize that without the women in their society, they would not be able to function as a cohesive unit, and the women should not be taken for granted.


 * __Chapter 4__**: Women are denied their right to obtain knowledge. Men argue that women don't need knowledge. However, in actuality, women could benefit greatly from an education. An education would give women many more opportunities. If women are not given knowledge, then they will not be given understanding about the situations occurring in the world around them. They will simply be ignoring many important events and opportunities due to the fact that men refuse to give women a greater understanding of general ideas for some reason. Women are made to be dependent on men since they are lacking some extremely important rights. For example, women supposedly have to look up to a man for comfort because that is simply what she is taught. If they had other knowledge, then they would realize that they do not need to depend on a man for anything. Men think women are weak, so that is what women are taught. They do not understand that they should look out for themselves and that they do not need to be inferior to men because no one teaches them this.


 * __Chapter 5__**: Many writers have written in a way that makes women seem weak, although they are not. For example, Rousseau's comments insist that women should be weak and passive. He also says that women need to respect the men in their lives, no matter what. This makes women seem like they shouldn't have a mind of their own and that they are not strong. Other writers feel that women need to be aware of their place in society. Only men are deserving of the most sacred rights in a society, and women are not entitled to them. Women just need to be there to take care of their husbands, and that's it.


 * __Chapter 6__**: Women need to be able to express their ideas without worrying what the men are going to say. Women need to feel free to express themselves because everyone is entitled to his or her own ideas, and those ideas should not be supressed based on gender. Women need to say what they feel, not what men want them to say, and not what a book tells them they should say. If women are going to be treated as equals, then their ideas should be taken seriously as well.


 * __Chapter 7__**: Women should be thought of as modest people who have their own ideas and know how to carry themselves well. In order to be percieved like this, women need to learn to always carry themselves with grace and humility.


 * __Chapter 8__**: If women are to be taken seriously, then it is highly important for them to maintain a good, respectable reputation. Reputation is everything. If a woman does not know how to carry herself well, with good manners and sensible actions, then how can she expect a man to take into account what she feels and what she thinks. A woman's opinion matters, but if a woman does not show that she is adequate and qualified to state those opinions, then her opinion won't even be given a second thought. Although women are not treated fairly, if they do not present themselves with poise, then it will take an even larger effort for them to be taken seriously.


 * __Chapter 9__**: Women cannot be expected to truly be themselves until they are completely separated from men. This is because women know how they need to act around men, so most of the time, they are simply acting how they were taught to act- like proper, young ladies. Also, if women are around men, they might not state their true opinions, possibly because they know if their opinion differs from their husband's opinions, then in a way they are going against what he believes, and in return, disobeying him in a way. As long as a woman is around her husband, she will agree with what he says, and he will appreciate it, but then again, it is a woman's duty to stand by her husband and what he says.


 * __Chapter 10__**: It is in a woman's nature to care for her offspring. It's something that a woman is born with, that innate characteristic to love her children, no matter how good or bad they are. A mother must never forget this, because if she does, then the child could feel neglected and worthless. A woman has to show her child affection and care to ensure that the child grows up and is familiar with the way society expects he or she to act. A good mother is sensible, as well as emotional. Although she will care about the child unconditionally, there has to be a point where she teaches the child basic life lessons such as the difference between right and wrong. This is another part of a woman's responsibility when it comes to her child.


 * __Chapter 11__**: Children have a duty to obey their parents. After all, a child's parents are the ones who give the child everything he or she needs to live a healthy, productive life. In order for a child to live to his or her full potential, it needs to be shown affection and discipline. If the parents did not successfully do this, then the child could turn out to be rude, and not present itself well in public. For this reason, children need to respect their parents enough to obey them in public and in the house as well. Children should act civilized and above all, appreciate their parents.


 * __Chapter 12__**: The problem with education won't be completely taken care of until it becomes a national issue, not just an issue in a few towns. In order from children to benefit the most from the education they will recieve, children across the nation should be exposed to the same subject material. This way, education will be completed in an organized way. Adults need to be responsible for getting children the education they need at a young age, before they completely lose interest in learning new subjects and learning about different events.


 * __Chapter 13__**: Women need to be more accepted by society, especially since they are an extremely important part of it. Women should not be discriminated against when it comes to basic rights such as the right to recieve a proper education. Men have been ignorant by thinking that women are weak people who are incapable of many things. They have ruled over society, and have ignored women's rights on numerous occasions. Women are essential in order for a society to function properly, so they should be well taken care of, not looked down upon.

=__**Historical Content of The Vindication of the Rights of Women**__=

The late eighteenth century was a time of revolution. People were interested in the idea of equality rather than social stratification. Documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen stressed the concept of inherent rights and perfectability, the idea that humans can work make the world a better place to live. In response to these new ideas, writers like Edmund Burke argued that the world could not be fixed and favored traditional regimes especially to protect the royal women. Mary Wollenscraft wrote her Vindication of the Rights of Women to counter Burke. She believed that human were inherently good and he should not worry about the aristocratic woman, but the rest of the women who were treated unfairly in a traditional society. In 1792, Wollenscraft traveled to France to see the impact of the revolution. She admitted that humans had the potential to commit bloody deeds such as those that occurred during the revolution. However, she felt humanity’s good intentions would inevitably lead to a better government.

During her time, women were expected to be wives and mothers. Wollenscraft once said that if she did not marry, she would simply be a burden on her family. While some women received an education, it was not as extensive as a man’s education since they had no economic purpose in life during that era. After the French Revolution, women were excluded or forgotten in all documents claiming that all men have natural rights and should be treated equal. While Wollenscraft was not the first women to criticize the attitudes of the so called revolutionary men, (Olympe de Gauge wrote the Declaration of the Rights of woman first but there is no evidence that their works are connected) she is the first to speak solely about the education and is known to some as the first modern feminist.

Lecture about Wollenscraft:http://www.mala.bc.ca/~Johnstoi/introser/wollst.htm

Themes:

 * __Education__**

One major theme of Wollstonecraft's book was education. The mindset of the society was that women were too fragile and naive to think clearly, let alone obtain an education. She argued this idea in two of her other works, __Thoughts on the Education of Daughters__ (1787) and __Original Stories From Real Life__ (1788). She believes that women are the backbone of society and that without them, it will collapse. The only reason that women were stereotypically viewed this way is because that was the mindset of men during this period of time. Women were also considered irrational because they are supposed to be inferior to men in their knowledge and only valued for their attractive outward appearances. Wollstonecraft's mindset was ahead of her time, she believed that women should get the same opportunities as men in the area of education, therefore, having the schools be co-ed.


 * __Feminism__**

Another theme of Wollstonecraft's book is the idea of feminism as she has strong feminist views. She was not considered a modern feminist because she did not believe that men and women should be equal in all aspects of life. Instead, she believed that they should be equal in the important facets of life such as modesty and the sanctity of marriage. However, she still respects the men's strength and superiority of their natural build. Wollstonecraft was ahead of her time in her beliefs of the powers of women, and wanted society changed so women could exercise those powers. Yet she realized that because women were so repressed, men would need to initiate this change in order for anything to occur.


 * __Class__**

Mary Wollstonecraft also focuses her political standpoint in this novel on social class. She is of the middle class and believes that it is the "most natural state". She praises modesty and industry, hence the need for women to participate in this. She argues that the difference between the upper and middle classes is unnatural and that in is morally wrong to view the upper class as being on a pedestal. Instead of separating society by monetary fortune, she also separates them by intelligence saying that by the age of nine, children need to be separated in education so that the gifted children can excel and are not restricted by their social class.

=Criticism of The Vindication of the Rights of Women=

Richard Polwhele__**- He wrote a poem called "The Unsex'd Females" that critisized Mary Wollstonecraft and other feminist writers. This poem was used as a way to illustrate all of the things that women do wrong and how their actions all have hidden meanings. He made women seem sneaky and destructive. As a result of this poem, many people who were once interested in Mary's ideas became instantly disinterested.
 * __[[image:http://etext.virginia.edu/britpo/unsex/Images/unsextitle.jpg width="191" height="243" align="left"]]


 * __Horace Walpole__**- He criticized the book by calling it "a hyena in petticoats." He thought that the whole idea of the book was completely unrealistic and he felt that no one should pay attention to it because it wasn't worth anyone's time.

//Critical Review//- This review says that Mary's ideas are inconclusive and vague. It says that her ideas are imperfect and says that they are scared of losing thousands of domestic wives due to the publication of Mary's ideas.

Many people criticized Mary Wollstonecraft's thoughts in __The Vindication of the Rights of Women.__ For example, she describes virtue as an individual's happiness, not through the good of society as a whole. People, especially critics, felt that she wasn't using her common sense because many people would agree that the survival of everything depends on the good of society as a whole, not just on the happiness of an individual. Saying that virtue is based on an individual's happiness puts the society second to the individual, when in actuality, the good of the society should come first, before the happiness of one specific individual in the society.

Frankenstein and The Vindication of the Rights of Women:


Frankenstein's parents Alphonse and Caroline, rescued his cousin Elizabeth from a home where she was no longer wanted. Her father thought it best for Alphonse to adopt her and educate her as his own rather than being brought up by a stepmother. Caroline took a strong liking to her as one of her own daughters and her dying wish was for Elizabeth to marry her son and after Caroline's death, Elizabeth's primary role turns to consoling the grieving Frankenstein men. Elizabeth is a presented and a romantic feminine idea as she portrays sweetness, happiness, affection, imagination and beauty. Akin to most female characters of the novel Elizabeth is educated, passive and in love. As stated in Wollstonecraft's opinion, Elizabeth was modest and engaged to be married to Victor, as per Caroline's death wish. However, Victor saw Elizabeth as his "property", and this recognition is contrary to what Wollstonecraft believed. With Victor's love growing for her she became less of a property and more of a wife and the main focus of his love.
 * __Elizabeth-__**

Victor was constantly focused on his love for Elizabeth, as it was his only source of happiness. She serve as his ray of hope and epitomized all that could be good and wholesome in his life. When the Victor created the monster, he realized the horrors that his evil wretch could unleash upon the world. Each time another family member of his was murdered by the creature, his first thoughts turned to Elizabeth's safety. After her murder, Victor becomes strikingly similar to the creature in that he becomes bereft of the comfort of loving companionship.

Justine Moritz's life before the Frankenstein's rescued her was dreadful. Her mother, Madam Moritz was a widow with with four children, Justine being the third. She was her father's favorite child but when he died, her mother was not able to care for her anymore and treated her very badly. Caroline Frankenstein witnessed this atrocity when Justine was twelve years old and was able to convince her mother to let Justine stay with them instead. The Frankenstein family brought Justine out of the slums and into the upper middle class. They were able to change her morals and her manners and gave her a better education than she would have gotten by staying with her family. Mary Shelley used her mother's idea of education and class structure to describe the obstacles that Justine had to overcome. Justine valued her education greatly and Victor looked upon it with satisfaction. The middle class is the most natural class and anyone not in that class is wrong. Therefore, by bringing Justine into their family, the Frankensteins made her more pure. **"She is very clever and gentle, and extremely pretty" (68).** Mary Wollstonecraft believed that women were supposed to be modest and soft spoken which Justine was, and she also highly valued education, believing that both men and women should have equal opportunities in school. According to Wollstonecraft, women are not only supposed to be smart but they are also supposed to have beauty both inside and out. Men are still shallow people that want their woman to be attractive, and since the male counterpart is still superior, inferior qualities still need to be shown. Justine was also very pure of heart and naive in believing that the judicial system will show the truth that she is innocent, even if she confesses. Since this does not work out, it proves that society is flawed.
 * __Justine Moritz-__**

Justine had a great impact on Victor because she died, as did his brother, because of the monster that he created. Even though his intentions were good and his plan was well thought out, the result was not what he expected. After Justine was convicted, Victor became obsessed with the safety of the rest of his family, especially Elizabeth. He also tried numerous times to try to catch the wretch and get his revenge for killing his brother and Justine, who was like a sister to him. Victor also felt continuous guilt that he was still alive and she wasn't. The actions or results of Justine's life controlled Victor's emotions entirely. This proves Mary Wollstonecraft's idea that women are the backbone to society, and without them, it will become ruins.

Mary Shelley's character, Safie, clearly indicates that Shelley was influenced by her mother's writing. Many of the themes of Wollstonecraft are evident in Safie. Not only in Safie clearly a strong, self-enabled woman figure, but she also has clear boundaries and inhibitions inflicted by men. Safie's father obviously has, or at least believes he should have, control over most aspects of Safie's life. "she tried to expostulate with her father but he left her angrily, reiterating his tyrannical mandate." __Frankenstein__ pg.106 Regardless of the boundaries placed on her by her father, Safie advanced her status through self-empowerment, education, and religion.
 * __Safie-__**

Religion: "'As the conduct of a woman is subservient to the public opinion, her faith in matters of religion should, for that very reason, be subject to authority. //Every daughter ought to be of the same religion as her mother, and every wife to be of the same religion as her husband: for, though such religion should be false, that docility which induces the mother and daughter to submit to the order of nature, takes away, in the sight of God, the criminality of their .'// As 'they are not in a capacity to judge for themselves, they ought to abide by the decision of their fathers and husbands as confidently as by that of the church.'" __A Vindication of the Rights of Women__ Wollstonecraft of course goes on to refute this quote. Shelley drew from this that women should be capable of their own religious understanding and choices which is why Safie was portrayed as she was. Safie's mother "instructed her daughter in the tenets of her religion and taught her to aspire to higher powers of intellect and an independence of spirit forbidden to female followers of Muhammad." __Frankenstein__ pg.104 This statement shows that Safie's mother was the source of her feminist inspiration as Shelley's mother was hers. Safie learned from her mother not to allow men and society to reduce her into bondage as they had her mother. Although her father desired her to be Muslim, as he was, Safie followed her mothers Christian beliefs. This is a prime example of how her character is representative of them influence of Wollstonecraft's work on Shelley. Beside religion, Safie also exemplifies aspects of Wollstonecraft's writing such as the education and self-empowerment of women.

Education and Self-Empowerment: "No, it is indolence and vanity—the love of pleasure and the love of sway, that will rain paramount in an empty mind. I say empty emphatically, because the education which women now receive scarcely deserves the name. For the little knowledge that they are led to acquire, during the important years of youth, is merely relative to accomplishments; and accomplishments without a bottom, for unless the understanding be cultivated, superficial and monotonous is every grace. Like the charms of a made up face, they only strike the senses in a crowd; but at home, wanting mind, they want variety. The consequence is obvious; in gay scenes of dissipation we meet the artificial mind and face, for those who fly from solitude dread, next to solitude, the domestic circle; not having it in their power to amuse or interest, they feel their own insignificance, or find nothing to amuse or interest themselves." Wollstonecraft's __A Vindication of the Rights of Women__ In keeping with Wollstonecraft's disgust with the condition of female education, Shelley allowed Safie to completely disobey the rules set for her by a patriarchal society. Once Safie's father has been captured, she takes it upon herself to learn where her lover was and to plan a way to reach him. It was because of the education and 'interest' she provided for herself, that she found salvation and fulfillment. Safie's self-empowerment and esteem, though thwarted and inhibited by men, persevered and allowed her success.

__**Agatha-**__ Agatha fits into Wollstonecraft's model of a woman. She, although originally from upstanding class, has now regressed to a lower social class. She is educated in home-making and the labor of the day. Additionally, she is a kind, benevolent, innocent young girl that would be a "companion" to a husband, rather than a possession. Her class, lower-middle class, was equal to that of Wollstonecraft's "natural state." Her education was great compared to the women of the time, as she was knowledgeable in basic studies of language. She evidenced this by aiding Felix in the education of Safie.

Alphonse, the key male figure in Caroline’s life, saved her from despair after the death of her father. Despite a vast gap in age, they grew to love each other. Alphonse, feeling obligated to marry her, as she was the daughter of he recently deceased friend, began to educate and care for her. In accordance with Wollstonecraft’s ideas, Caroline was a celestial, strong character who was educated and saved from despair by man, yet, proved to be a valuable companion towards him. Furthermore, Caroline died pure, as she contracted a disease from a good deed, in which she saved Elizabeth from an unwanted family. However, Caroline deviates from Wollstonecraft's beliefs by stating to Victor that Elizabeth was to be his "possession." A wife, according to Wollstonecraft was to be a "companion" rather than a possession or property.
 * __Caroline-__**

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