Often overlooked concerning the fight to obtain equality among the sexes, Mary Wollstonecraft is a British feminist of the late 1700s whom wrote the book titled A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in the year of 1792, radicalizing the entire scope of feminism as we know it today with one of the very first written accounts of women’s rights.
Even from the 1700s, feminism was prevalent within many minds, as the entirety of the patriarchal society was — and still is — a threat to the average woman. Women like Wollstonecraft fought out against the superiority of men through many different ways, including writing, and within her book, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Wollstonecraft speaks out about the many issues with the solely patriarchal society, the problems women face and how their manners have been corrupted due to the normative feminine inferiority ideals.
She begins within her introduction stating that “either nature has made a great difference between man and man, or that the civilization which has hitherto taken place in the world has been very partial.” Wollstonecraft is claiming that the first problem with our world and societal norms is the fact that the entire human race views men and women differently; the partiality claims so. It is not an innate difference, rather something that humans invented in order to give men the higher, more important status.
Men have constructed this sort of system, which lines up women behind men in terms of intelligence, strength and power: “Women, in particular, are rendered weak and wretched by a variety of concurring causes, originating from one hasty conclusion,” she continues, claiming that any potential “strength and usefulness are sacrificed to beauty.”
These same men are infatuated with the idea that women posess “that weak elegancy of mind, exquisite sensibility, and sweet docility of manners,” only because these things have been dubbed the “sexual characteristics of the weaker vessel,” i.e. women. Only then will men have the ability to attain that higher power.
This picture painted by Wollstonecraft is the construction of the patriarchal society that women have for so long been tossed into, being forced to live under man’s rules and authority, only ever coming out to breathe and look pretty.
She also states that “men endeavor to sink us still lower, merely to render us alluring objects for a moment; and women, intoxicated by the adoration which men, under the influence of their senses, pay them, do not seek to obtain a durable interest in their hearts, or become the friends of the fellow creatures who find amusement in their society.”
That is such a powerful statement; this is seen more than often within the modern day society, and it is clearly prevalent within film, music, literature, etc. As an even greater issue, women oftentimes play along with man’s endeavor to claim the higher role or status — this is something women need to be aware of in order to ultimately avoid encouraging such behavior.
The statement “render us alluring objects for a moment; [. . .] intoxicated by the adoration which men [. . .] pay them” is one of truth — women are viewed as objects, pieces of art for the male gaze, but only so. According to this, women are viewed as unintelligent and “unable to stand alone.”
Yet another part of the vindication insights that when women marry — when they do the one thing they are supposed to do for men, which is to be solely a marriage partner — they “act as such children may be expected to act: — they dress; they paint, and nickname God’s creatures.”
There is nothing of importance or relevance within the female counterpart of the dominant male figure; women are restricted to sitting still and keeping their mouths shut, wearing beautiful clothing and make-up and styling their hair in many exquisite ways, all for man to enjoy for a time being. Women do not need intellect or education, because that is for the men to pursue; when women have this idealized physical attractiveness, their role in society does not surpass that.
All of these aspects and ideas pertaining to the female sex imply that women are the weaker of mankind’s beings. That women are in need of men and their society — their patriarchal, sexist, unequal society. Their world which pursues the concocted and imagined ideals of a woman’s hopeless, dependent place in society and the world as a whole.
Wollstonecraft makes several more strong arguments against these patriarchal ideas within her book, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman; she offers strength to women in what was and what still remains a world where women are consistently viewed as second, rather than as equals to men. In doing so, she continually attempts to further the awareness of this real, highly prevalent issue within the minds of so many individuals, even today.
The very fact that the word “feminism” scares or offends individuals today is a clear indication that women’s rights still has yet to exist as a norm; women are still often treated poorly and differently, disrespected and looked down upon for attempting to participate in “masculine” activities or tasks. Taking the time to invest in literature such as A Vindication of the Rights of Woman will certainly help push our society toward that equality women have been fighting for even before the 1700s.
(There are so many under-appreciated, overlooked writers and individuals, especially within Women’s Literature, such as Mary Wollstonecraft, who have a great amount of empowerment to share with the world through their eloquent words; sometimes you just need to do a little more digging to find them!)
“For, like the flowers which are planted in too rich a soil, strength and usefulness are sacrificed to beauty” (Wollstonecraft, 1792).
