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Shreya Mane (A022)

Dhrumi Shah

Literary theory and criticism

5 JUNE 2021

The mind has no gender: A critical analysis of Mary Wollstonecraft’s thought on equal education

in ‘A vindication of the rights of woman’.

Abstract

Mary Wollstonecraft's ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Woman’ was published in

1792. In this revolutionary text, Wollstonecraft talks about the rights of humankind,

particularly of women. As she began writing this essay, she established the premise that all

things were not equal, particularly a woman's place in society when compared to that of a

man's. This paper deals with the critical analysis of Wollstonecraft's thoughts and vision,

specifically her emphasis on equal education.

Background

Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) was an English writer of the 18th Century. She gave

great importance to education and believed that both men and women deserve equal

education and that no quality makes either superior to the other. She states that the education

females received in 18th century denied them the basic development of their ability to reason,

thus subjugating them to male authority. The crust of this essay by her can be seen as

fomented by her childhood and youth in London and the people who surrounded her.
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Wollstonecraft had a particularly unhappy childhood and youth owing to her abusive father.

According to Godwin, Wollstonecraft used to sleep outside her mother’s bedroom to deter

her father from entering and hurting her mother; which later made young Mary develop a

strong intolerance for injustice.

In 1782, when Mary’s younger sister, Eliza, married and had a child, it turned out to be an

unhappy and dysfunctional marriage. Eliza suffered from postpartum depression and her

husband, Meredith Bishop, was the reason of contributing to Eliza’s pain. When Eliza wanted

to end the marriage, it was not simple task for women as they were required by law to

perform and protect their ‘dutiful wife’ roles unless some serious abuse had occurred. So,

Mary helped Eliza flee in secret. Later, when Mary Wollstonecraft wrote ‘A vindication of

the rights of woman’ she attacked the laws that had forced her sister to escape her marriage in

this way.

Wollstonecraft later got introduced to Joseph Johnson, the publisher who commissioned her

first book- ‘Thoughts on the education of daughters’ (1787) which contained arguments that

an early marriage and poor education can ruin a woman’s life. With this, she embarked on a

writing career that brought about her fame and brought about to the world the revolutionary

idea that women deserve the same fundamental rights as men. ‘A vindication of the rights of

woman’ was published just five years later.

Liberal feminism and ‘A vindication of the rights of woman’-

Liberal feminists are a part of a long tradition that begins with classical liberal thought. This

tradition strongly values liberty and regards human beings as autonomous and rational

individuals entitled to universal human rights. In the words of Rosemarie Tong, Liberal

feminism is worthy of creating “A just and compassionate society in which freedom

flourishes.” Only in such a society can women and men thrive equally.
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Mary Wollstonecraft was such a liberal feminist and a pioneering figure of the first

wave of feminism who challenged the prevailing ideology of the moral and intellectual

inferiority of women. In ‘A vindication of the rights of woman’ published in 1792,

Wollstonecraft talks about women in the 18th century. It is the most famous of her works and

is well known as one of the earliest examples of feminist philosophy and continues to be read

today and hold meaning for the present and the future. In this essay, Wollstonecraft talks

about women, both of upper and middle class. The upper caste rich women found themselves

left at home, rather, confined at home with little productive work to do. These women were

never expected to work outside their home or even inside it as they had several servants.

According to Wollstonecraft’s estimation, the middle class women were “kept” women who

had to sacrifice their liberty, freedom, virtue and even health for whatever their husbands

could provide. Both the upper and middle class women here were not permitted to make their

own decisions, they lacked liberty.

A woman with narrow fortune had little scope; she could either be an old maid, dependent

on her relatives, or become a governess. Education of women was not given any

consideration. They might study at home though in an informal way. Words of Miss

Bingley in Pride and Prejudice are quite explanatory in this matter:

―A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing and besides all

this; she must possess a certain something in air and manner of walking. (p. 32)

Women were expected to be proficient in singing, playing piano, drawing and formal

etiquettes. All such proficiencies were developed to groom them for marriage. And

these very assumptions made the women of the time to resort to artifice or to adopt false

feminine sensibility.
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As literature of the time is a best source to know the social conditions of a time

period, there are multiple examples in literature which reflect upon what Mary Wollstonecraft

talks about in her essay. Taking a far older play into consideration, ‘Othello’ by Shakespeare.

‘Othello’ involves three different social classes of women – high class, middle class and low

class, which provide us with an overview of the social status and condition of women

according to their class during the 16th century.

The character of Desdemona is an upper class woman belonging to a noble Patrician family.

She has the least freedom of all women and her behaviour is watched carefully. The fact that

she wasn’t allowed to step out of the house hours without a gentleman by her side speaks of

how the upper class women had to depend upon the family men.

The character of Emilia is a middle class women who actually voices the unfair rules that

apply to women and is very boldly voicing the need for equality between the sexes.

The character of Bianca was a courtesan in Cyprus. She belongs to the lower class of the

social scale. She is described by Iago as a ‘housewife’ and also a ‘strumpet’, which means a

female prostitute although there is no evidence at all to support the fact that she actually is a

prostitute.

The male society in Cyprus is seen to vent their anger by labelling all of the female characters

‘whore’ and doing what their husband and father tells them to do is considered as

natural while it is ‘unnatural’ for them to do anything else other than obeying them. This was

a time of strict social hierarchy and strong rules of how women should carry themselves, how

they should act in public and their homes.Women were responsible for maintaining the

“honour” of their families, which could only be done by following the strict patriarchal

system.
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Coming back to Wollstonecraft’s essay, Wollstonecraft opposes against the argument that

women are sentimental rather than rational by their nature. In the present society, the

differences between women and men have been totally resulted from the education they get.

Men get an education that supports their rationality whereas women get an education that

supports their sentimental and feminine characteristics and make these characteristics

permanent. Gender roles and traditions are artificial productions of the society and education.

The characteristics attributed to women and the educational systems based on these

characteristics make the women weak and increase their ignorance. It is clear that women are

unnecessarily obliged to behave in accordance with the prejudices of the men and socially in

general, that prevents women from become aware of their own situation, too. Wollstonecraft

asserts that ―Pleasure is the business of a woman's life, according to the present

modification of society, and while it continues to be so, little can be expected from such weak

beings. Which is exactly what is demonstrated in Othello, All three women of the play are

accused of inappropriate sexual conduct and prostitution, although it appears that none of

them are guilty. The male society in Cyprus is seen to vent their anger by labelling all of the

female characters ‘whore’. When things go wrong, it appears to be acceptable for men

to easily blame the women. Brabantio’s opinions of women clearly represents the Venetian

ideology. Speaking of Desdemona before she eloped with Othello, he describes her as

‘perfection’, ‘Of spirit still and quiet’ and ‘A maiden never bold’ By expressing these

qualities of women, through Brabantio compounds the traditional expectations of women in

a patriarchal society are brought to light to the readers.

‘Emile’ by Jean Jacques Rousseau and everything wrong with it-

Wollstonecraft later goes on to critique Rousseau and his ideas. What she greatly criticises in

her essay is what is termed today as “socially constructed gender roles”. See reasoned that
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women have greatly been subjugated by men and if men were confined to the same cages as

women, men would develop the same flawed character.

Wollstonecraft greatly abhorred ‘Emile’ by Rousseau which was a classic of educational

philosophy. In ‘Emile’ Rousseau portrayed the development of rationality as the most

important educational goal for boys but not the same for girls. According to him, men should

be educated and must possess virtues such as patience and good humour. Emile, who is

Rousseau’s ideal male student studies humanities, the natural and social sciences. On the

other hand, ‘Sophie’, his ideal female student, studies music, art poetry and fiction. Rousseau

hoped that limiting Sophie’s mental capacities and sharpening Emile’s would make Emile a

self governing citizen and Sophie a responsible and understanding wife and a loving mother.

Wollstonecraft agreed with Rousseau’s projections for Emile but not with Sophie’s. Her cure

for Sophie was to provide her, like Emile, with a kind of education that permits people to

develop their rational and moral capacities, their full human potential.

Conclusion

“Strengthen the female mind by enlarging it, and there will be an end to blind obedience.”

-A vindication of the rights of woman, 1792.

Throughout the pages of ‘A vindication of the rights of woman’ Wollstonecraft urges women

to become autonomous decision makers. Analysing Wollstonecraft’s writings illustrates her

presence in our educational arena. Mary Wollstonecraft saw education as a means of

obtaining the emancipation and empowerment of the individual, both male and female-

through the development and independence of the virtuous self. Writing such a powerful
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perspective during a time when women writers were not even acknowledged makes this essay

revolutionary. Mary Wollstonecraft did not just inspire others but also literally birthed a

genius writer, famously known as Mary Shelly, who just like her mother, stunned the world

with her writings. Mary Wollstonecraft thus proves that right education can change a

woman’s life.

References

https://uniteyouthdublin.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/a-vindication-of-the-rights-of-

woman-by-mary-wollstonecraft.pdf

https://www.litcharts.com/lit/a-vindication-of-the-rights-of-woman/themes/education-

and-virtue

https://www.oakton.edu/user/2/hgraff/WGSSummaryS12.HTML

Work cited

Rosemarie Tong, Feminist Thought. A more comprehensive introduction, third edition.

Westview Press, 2009.

Mary Wollstonecraft, A vindication of the rights of woman. Penguin classics; revised edition,

2004.

Shakespeare, Othello. Maple Press, 2013.