While printing off Wollstonecraft’s essay, I quickly realized that it wasn’t going to be a quick read. Struggling through the first two paragraphs of Old English, I settled myself into a comfortable chair for the long haul. By page three, I finally found myself able to understand Wollstonecraft’s thoughts without having to re-read pages.
Throughout the essay, I was impressed by how professionally Wollstonecraft presented her evidence on behalf of women. She constantly pointed to famous references such as Rousseau and John Milton (a famous English author and poet) only to refute their beliefs. Although the essay seemed dreadfully long at times, every page was used to its fullest potential to fight for women’s civil and intellectual rights. From tradition to obedience to Biblical references, Wollstonecraft effectively destroys every reason why women are thought inferior. She proceeds to further explain how these prejudices adversely affect a woman’s life -- specifically an endless search for exciting passion and sensation.
It is hard to conceive that women’s rights are less than a hundred years old. Today, women are a vital part of America’s workforce and are making a difference in every career imaginable. However, there are still struggles to overcome regarding military placement for women; although I am unsure if Wollstonecraft’s data applies. Nevertheless, I believe that Wollstonecraft’s essay was compelling in its explanation of the natural necessities of women’s rights.
Great post Matt! I too had a hard time deciphering what Wollstonecraft was trying to say, but after a while it did get easier. I was also impressed with the references that she chose to refute. I feel like they added a lot to this essay and made it more of a report rather than just an opinion article.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that women deserve just as many rights as any man, I for one was very disinterested in this article. As an article written in the 1700's, it must have been great back then, but today, it just feels out of place. All of the references to the great minds of the past like Rousseau and Milton meant very little to me because I (like much of the modern world) consider it to be common sense that their sexist opinions are false. For me, they added little to the article other than to peak my interest that somebody like Rousseau could be such a sexist bastard.
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