Mary Wollstonecraft: life, philosophy, and legacy

¶ … gender equality could be regarded as the most emphasized matter in western civilization and the favorite reoccurring object of public opinion. Mary Wollstonecraft's views on the subject, professed in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, proved to be the first outright manifestation against society's bias concerning women. Notwithstanding its significance, her work was awarded with proper attention after a century.

Despite the fact that Enlightenment centered on humanism and drew the outlines of what we presently call democracy, its leading figures entertained vastly progressive scenarios within the singular reach of men. As a matter of fact, the philosophers, in their arduous yet theoretical endeavors for human perfection, were oblivious to the imbalance and imperfection of this ultimate goal if half of mankind would be left out of it. From this perspective, historian Henry Noel Brailsford reckoned A Vindication of the Rights of Woman "perhaps the most original book of its century" (200).

The present research aims to outline Mary Wollstonecraft's perspective on women's plight in her time, her ideal spectrum of balance between genders and, by comparison, today's reflection of her views.

Perceived at the time as a rather preposterous piece of writing due to its unusual pro-feminine accent, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman emerged as a response to Jean-Jacques Rousseau's educational work Emile, which suggested that a girl's education should be a basic guide directed at making her auxiliary to and supportive of a rational man. Wollstonecraft reacted vividly to what she interpreted as the stance of woman as a compliant brute, robbed of the full potential of her reason capacity. This is patricularly visible in her vehement denouncements: "How grossly do they insult us, who thus advise us only to render ourselves gentle, domestic brutes!" (Wollstonecraft 21)

The faulty portrait of an adult woman, as depicted by the author, was generally acknowledged as satisfactory and appropriate so long as it revolved around pleasantry and solicitude. Firstly, it appears that one of the female's roles was that of a perpetual child, to serve as the object of man's fleeting affections by means of her charm, this innate grace serving as relief from mundane cares and uplifting of spirits. Secondly, a woman was supposed to fulfill the role of caretaker and child-bearer for man, concerning herself with the household's well-being. Furthermore, a certain amount of cunning was regarded as an indispensable part of training, since it was expected from a woman to influence a man's judgment only by stealth, indirectly.

Mary Wollstonecraft decries each of the above mentioned precepts. A proclaimer of universal independence and responsibility, she did not agree that women should exercise power over men, but power over themselves. (Wollstonecraft 34) Being equally endowed with judgment, the freedom of thought which they were deprived of would have allowed women to also seek out truths in their turn, and draw out rational endeavors leading to the perfecting of their being.

By means of rectifying this unfair situation, Wollstonecraft forcefully proposes several aspects of reform. For instance, the most poignant issue is the one of co-education: "Day schools, for particular ages, should be established by government, in which boys and girls might be educated together." (Wollstonecraft 27) She strongly believed that full use of reason, modelled by education, individual investigation and constant strive for truth, provided the solution to a meaningless existence. Therefore, both genders are entitled and to some extent compelled to act towards the attainment of perfection. Seeing as one human being could not be regarded as superior to another, she pressed the point of equal education, work opportunities and rights. Foremost, education held the key to producing a sense of self-respect and a renewed self-image that would enable women to make full use of their capacities.

Another aspect takes into account men and women's conjugal lifestyle. A Vindication rejects the idea that woman is to be protected, guided and cherished by man, as "the lordly caresses of a protector will not gratify a noble mind that pants for and deserves to be respected" (Wollstonecraft 30) The author also challenges the notion that strength, embodied in man, and beauty, embodied in woman, combine to achieve perfection. In fact, she argues that man is scarcely more than an overgrown child himself and it would be unwise to rest the responsibility of progress entirely on his shoulders, as this can only bring about a negative outcome. What is more, a woman who actively aspires to a stronger body and more able mind will eventually, through family management and practice of virtues, transform her condition of humble dependency into equal-footing partnership.

In addition, Wollstonecraft observes a relevant social example of similarity between men and women in terms of pleasantry which speaks for itself, a generally overlooked scenario which fails to effect the same degrading impression. It is the case of military officers, who as a rule go to great extent to be presentable, agreable, and socially gregarious, a downright example of gallantry, taught to please. Though wallowing in the same conditions, the gallant officers are however still considered superior by nature to women, yet on what grounds this occurs cannot be logically fathomed.

In terms of equivalence between the views of Mary Wollstonecraft, an advocate for freedom from two centuries past, and today's situation, more than one observation can be made.

Women's status is proclaimed to be considerably different in our modern society. Legally speaking, a girl can and will benefit from the same standard education as her boy counterpart, will be offered the same opportunities and choices in life, and will be granted the same rights in a marriage. However, a personal, in-depth analysis of these freedoms and day-by-day experience might testify that situations where women are discriminated are far from exctinct. Women tend to be valued for their physical charms more than ever, an entire industry of film, advertising and pornography fully endorsing their image. What is more, it often occurs that women are treated with condescension and patronization, either at home, at school or in the workplace.