The Vindication of the Rights of Women

Chapter VII

It is important for women as well as men to be confident, but with poor education comes poor self confidence

Also, women are becoming too familiar with each other, creating gossip and rendering marriages as unhappy things

"To say the truth women are, in general, too familiar with each other, which leads to that gross degree of familiarity that so frequently renders the marriage state unhappy. Why in the name of decency are sisters, female intimates, or ladies and their waiting-women, to be so grossly familiar as to forget the respect which one human creature owes to another?" (Par. 25.)

Vocab:

Bashfulness-uncomfortably diffident and easily embarrassed; shy; timid

Chapter VI

Chapter IX

Without proper education, women are unable to accurately judge a person's character

With proper education, women would be able to find a more true love, rather than depending on the will of men

"Education thus only supplies the man of genius with knowledge to give variety and contrast to his associations; but there is an habitual association of ideas, that grows 'with our growth,' which has a great effect on the moral character of mankind; and by which a turn is given to the mind that commonly remains throughout life." (Par. 4.)

"Of the pernicious effects which arise from the unnatural distinctions established in society"

How wealth creates inequality in society

Vocab:

perceiving directly by intuition without rational thought, as a person or the mind

Wealthy get more respect then they deserve

Chapter VIII

There will never be morality in society without equality

"Morality undermined by sexual notions of the importance of a good reputation"

Many believe having a 'good' reputation is the same as being a morally good person.

Wealth causes women to be selfish

Although reputation is a good indicator of one’s personality, it should not get in the way of who you truly are.

sycophants-a person who acts obsequiously toward someone important in order to gain advantage.

Humans care more about what others think of them then what they think of themselves.

Indolent- Lazy

Chapter V

Chapter X

Parental affection

Mary recalls Rousseau, who said that women should be passive and weak

Infers through this that women were created to please men

He also says men must remain stronger to sustain dominance

"He then proceeds to prove that woman ought to be weak and passive, because she has less bodily strength than man; and, hence infers, that she was formed to please and to be subject to him; and that it is her duty to render herself agreeable to her master—this being the grand end of her existence." (Par. 4.)

Parents who think their kids are perfect actually think themselves to be perfect

All parents are selfish

A good parent-child relationship is to know how to treat each other

Vocab:

Frivolous-of little or no weight, worth, or importance; not worthy of serious notice

Despotic- tyrannical

Chapter II

• Mary believes women are only perceived as weak by most people who discuss female manners and education.
• "All the writers who have written on the subject of female education and manners, from Rousseau to Dr. Gregory, have contributed to render women more artificial, weak characters, than they would otherwise have been; and, consequently, more useless members of society" (Wollstonecraft II. par. 27).

Chapter III

• Knowledge is equal for both genders in nature. Truth is sometimes hidden from women to preserve their "innocence".
• Bodily strength is not viewed as necessary as it once was.

Chapter I

Chapter XI

• Mary believes that human nature must be measured by Virtue, Reason, and Knowledge. Reason is used by men to justify their acts.
• "Yet such deeply rooted prejudices have clouded reason, and such spurious qualities have assumed the name of virtues, that it is necessary to pursue the course of reason as it has been perplexed and involved in error" (Wollstonecraft I. par. 5).

The Author's Voice

Mary Wollstonecraft

1759-1797

Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Women

She was brought up by an abusive father, and when she left home she dedicated her life to writing

Mother of Mary Shelley

The impact parents have on their children, and how it affects society

Tone: superior, degrading, cautionary, empathetic

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Point of view: Firsthand experience with oppression

Chapter IV

"It is the irregular exercise of parental authority that first injures the mind, and to these irregularities girls are more subject than boys". (Par. 18)

Writing style: Elaborates well, and in depth, backs up points with evidence and reasoning, uses educated vocabulary

• The fact that women have been slaves and despots throughout history degrades their strength and virtue.
• "The grand source of female folly and vice has ever appeared to me to arise from narrowness of mind; and the very constitution of civil governments has put almost insuperable obstacles in the way to prevent the cultivation of the female understanding" (Wollstonecraft IV. par. 8).

Vocab:

Subjugate-to make submissive or subservient

Chapter XIII

Women have determined their own fate, and the distractions of society prevent them from rising to their full potential

Chapter XII

By Corbin Maxson , Trevor Murrow , Lauren Desmedt, and Grace Bales

Corrupted education and its impact on the minds of children

"[a child] only asks a question instead of seeking for information, and then relies implicitly on the answer he receives... the subjects of inquiry, though they might be influenced, would not be entirely under the direction of men, who frequently damp, if not destroy, abilities, by bringing them forward too hastily: and too hastily they will infallibly be brought forward, if the child be confined to the society of a man, however sagacious that man may be." (Par 2)

"The poison contains the antidote; and we either reform our evil habits and cease to sin against our own bodies, to use the forcible language of scripture, or a premature death, the punishment of sin, snaps the thread of life." (Par. 22)

Vocab:

Sagacious- having or showing acute mental discernment and keen practical sense; shrewd

Vocab:

Propensity- a natural inclination or tendency