CONTINUED CHANGE: SPOTLIGHT ON THE LATE/EARLY 1800 WOMAN
The young advocate for women’s right to education (2013)
Mary Wollstonecraft: Context Category
Can one voice challenge the thoughts of a crowd and bring hope for change? For one thing, women have been wishing for rights way past the creation of Wollstonecraft’s publication of A Vindication of Rights of Woman, published almost closely 223 years ago. If Wollstonecraft had a chance to see how life has changed for women today, she’d be revealed with the fact that women are now seen in Government, Engineering, Education and in all fields of study. Yet, the world never ceases to hold people who seek dominance by imposing rules that restrict other’s from freedom and equality. Today, such situations exist for young girls around the world, in one familiar case, Malala Yousufzai a young girl who faced a dangerous reality as she was shot for threatening a system that wanted young girls without education (Malala’s,N/A). Her willingness to speak up for that specific cause and tell the world her story in 2013, revealed that women rights still needs to be worked on in places around the world. We may see change where we stand but that won’t prove that change exist everywhere else. How has education bothered anyone before? With Mary Wollstonecraft publication of A Vindications of The Rights of Woman, arguments for the freedom for every individual be it man or woman, to be educated individuals.
British literature captures the heart of persuasion from a woman’s perspective on the issue of equality in genders. The final years of the 1700’s, had Wollstonecraft using strong terms such as “slavery” to make sense of the reality of the environment women were being raised in. One article highlights that this was because women were put into “standards [that]male figure placed on them” (Tomaselli, 2013). Slavery, wasn’t physically being used on women but was psychologically felt since they essentially had no rights “In the eyes of the law, a married woman had no property, no vote, no money of her own, nor any rights to her children” (Anonymous, N/A). Furthermore, one particular idea that Wollstonecraft wanted to give emphasis about was the dying nature of beauty. Wollstonecraft, uses a flower to give special attention to the fact that beauty “fades” with time (Wolfson S., Manning P.,2013). It was her way of decreasing the importance of beauty and promoting the idea that woman were capable of much more. Stanford’s Encyclopedia examines how it could of been because, “She wanted women to be transformed into rational and independent beings whose sense of worth came, not from their appearance, but from their inner perception of self-command and knowledge”” (Tomaselli, 2013).
In Vindications of the Rights of Woman, Wollstonecraft, emphasized primarily on the fact that woman should be viewed differently from vain, helpless, and weak human beings , to rational creature (Wolfson S., Manning P.,2013). Without equality of education for women, the situation was that women were fully controlled by the male figures in their lives, ” fathers, brothers and male relatives and finally by their husbands” (Smith, 2002). Some women like Wollstonecraft, were raised with a sense of independence since her own father really wasn’t there for her during her childhood years and she didn’t really believe in marriage until she actually “set aside her principle and decided to marry” William Godwin (Wolfson S., Manning P.,2013). However, the topic of marriage in her arguments “contains advice on how to make marriages last […]marriages ought to have friendship rather than physical attraction as their basis. Husbands and wives ought not, moreover, to be overly intimate and should maintain a degree of reserve towards each other” (Tomaselli, 2013). Marriage was like the only reason for existence, the young girls in the late and early 1800’s were being raise with the mentality that their goal in life was to find a husband, have children, and be faithful wives in their lifetime (Smith, 2002). Education was in no part an admired attribute in woman “socially reading alone was seen as selfish and antisocial, a sign of self-indulgence that bordered on moral danger of excess.”
Mary Wollstonecraft, proves how not being able to have accessed to education limited woman from being involved individuals in political and social rights. Wollstonecraft uses her writing to portray that for equality, women must be given political and civil rights or “natural rights of mankind” (Wolfson S., Manning P.,2013). Her own words did not portrayed in any sense the views of an extremist, but simply put in her way to clarify she does,” not wish them [women] to have power over men; but over themselves.” (Wolfson S., Manning P.,2013). Moreover, something that does not seem surprising at all is the fact that not giving woman access to education, conflicted them from finding good working jobs. In this century, woman found themselves working in fields like ,” domestic service, agricultural laborers, seamstress, washer women, and serving the wealthy residents” (Smith, 2002). In one case, an Irish-born woman named Margaret Bulkley disguised herself as a man her whole life to study medicine in school in Edinburgh, she spent the rest of her educational years dressed as a boy to become a surgeon (Anonymous, n.d.).
Finally, the liberty to now be sitting here, writing an assignment for a University that gives me access to education no matter my gender, is alone a pretty awesome privilege. As a woman myself, I reflect on the meaning of this opportunity with new found respect for the author who brought me this realization I don’t really think of on a daily basis, for I know that getting here wasn’t something that was gained and given to me over-night. I think it’s interesting how an author born 256 years ago could gain one new admirer for her 1792 published work. Moreover, In today’s world Malala Yousufzai was a young girl who because she was born a female in a wrong place, was told she could no longer get education. Giving everyone education is a freedom no one should be ceased from. Mary Wollstonecraft words “Make them free, and they will quickly become wise and virtuous,” provides the reason for having such powerful tool such as, education.
Bibliography
Anonymous. (N/A). Taking Liberties:The Struggle for Britain’s Freedom and Rights. Retrieved 10 28, 2015, from British Library: http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/takingliberties/staritems/65wollstonecraftrightsofwoman.html
Devito, D. (n.d.). Reading Evolution: intellectual History. Retrieved from Maine University: Wollstonecraft preferred privacy and her books. Societally, reading alone was seen as selfish and antisocial, a sign of self-indulgence that bordered on moral danger of excess.
Smith, K. (2002). Retrieved from Historical Brief-Lives of Women in early 1800’s: http://staff.washington.edu/cgiacomi/courses/english200/historicalbriefs/women.html
Susan Wolfson, &. P. (2013). The Longman Anthology of British Literature: Fifth Edition. In M. Wollstonecraft, A Vindicationof the Rights of Woman (pp. 302-27). Upper Saddle River,NJ: Pearson Education.
Tomaselli, S. (2013, 07 17). Wollstonecraft. Retrieved 10 28, 2015, from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/wollstonecraft/
The young advocate for women’s right to education
Joanna, I found several thought-provoking things here. First, the blog overall seems explicitly or implicitly to touch on how women can become educated, whether through actual book-learning or even how they can change, even transform, their self-image, an “education” or “schooling” all of its own. I like the 2nd para’s treatment of “slavery” not just in obvious terms, but its more hidden meaning, that is, the para seems to suggest that women are in a mental “bondage” that compels them to think of beauty as most significant. I encourage students to think of slavery as more than just visible, since the mind and spirit can be enslaved too, the more invisible levels. The personal tie-in at the end makes a good connection over 220 years from Mary’s time to ours. This treatise is a favorite of mine, and well worth repeated examinations.
I thought that this was a very well thought out interpretation and analysis in regards to education and its restraints on women. It seems reasonable that women have always wanted education not for the power over others, but for a sense of self and individual confidence in their lives. You used very interesting sources that helped bring the conversation of women and education not just from the writing of Mary Wollstonecraft, but also into today’s society. We are very lucky individuals to be able to write freely as women and I think you showed great representation in your post. Great job!
I really appreciate this post! I think you do a great job at linking her writing into problems with modern day society as well. The analogy to women as slaves furthers your post really well, especially when you wrote “In Vindications of the Rights of Woman, Wollstonecraft, emphasized primarily on the fact that woman should be viewed differently from vain, helpless, and weak human beings , to rational creature (Wolfson S., Manning P.,2013).” I really like your gif as well! I did wonder what Mr. Jeter wrote about—the idea that slavey is also a state of mind and not just external— and I am really interested because I think this idea would tie into the rest of your post really well, especially the gif.
Malala is such a great image of the importance of education for women and for children and links with a solid comparison to Wollstonecraft. Women are seen as vanity in Wollstonecraft’s time period. In reality, Women are the one’s that raise the family yet how are they supposed to do so if they don’t have education. I like the point that slavery isn’t just a physical thing but it is a state of mind. Good job!
I thought that your analysis was great! I enjoyed how you explained the “Vindication” and what Wollstencraft meant by it. Your thoughts on education and what women stand for, were intriguing. Also, your example of Malala and her repression in her country was a great example of how women should have the right to have an education. And the Cristina Yang gif was just the cherry on top!!
I loved reading your article! How much information you included about Wollstonecraft’s opinions on the rights of women were perfect and set a great tone during your post. In your second paragraph when you mentioned how Wollstonecraft compared the restraints placed on women during this time with slavery, then further connecting it to Malala’s story, I found it very thought provoking. Here in the United States we have really advanced in the right that women have, but this is not the case in some of the world. Also, loved the Christina Yang gif! Fit perfectly with the story of Malala and the opinions of Wollstonecraft!
It is very interesting to see, in Wollstonecraft’s writing, both how far we have come on the issue of women’s rights and education, and how far we have to go. I thought your blog did a very good job of bringing the discussion forward to the modern stage. In Malala’s story, and those of the girls she speaks up for, I can see the same situation against which Wollstonecraft argued.
In Wollstonecraft’s time, like with Malala, there seems to be an expectation that young girls act obey a certain standard and avoid pitfalls set up for them by society without the benefit of education on how to recognize the danger. It would seem that the thought of the society surrounding them is that, by keeping them ignorant, they can be kept docile and compliant. Women like Wollstonecraft and Malala are to be commended for blowing that theory out of the water.