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Overall Summary

Mary Wollstonecraft wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in response to a pamphlet by French politician Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord. She believed that if women were not educated, they would stop progress and virtue. Women’s education is neglected because men believe that romance is the goal of life for women, but it isn’t.

In her essay, Wollstonecraft looks at the role of women in education and questions why many people believe that women should be educated differently than men. She argues that reason makes humans human, virtue is what separates humans from one another, and virtue comes with knowledge.

Although men and women generally have different duties in life, they should both strive to attain the same virtues. However, due to their education, women are not given adequate opportunity to develop their reason and acquire virtue. They’re taught only how to please men during courtship and marriage. Therefore, they aren’t even prepared for sustainable marriages or caring for children effectively.

Women are taught that their primary goal in life is to feel pleasure. Therefore, they’re never given the chance to struggle with adversity or learn how to reason and be virtuous. Instead of being rational, women are driven by emotions and sensitive feelings which do not prepare them for marriage or motherhood. This neglectful education also leaves them vulnerable if widowed or seduced by a man—situations in which they have no means of supporting themselves financially.

In the eighteenth century, Jean-Jacques Rousseau argued that women need to be educated only so they could serve men. Mary Wollstonecraft disagrees with this view and argues for a different philosophy of education. She also criticizes Fordyce’s sermons about being sentimental and Gregory’s rules of decorum. In conclusion, she states that it’s important for a child to learn early on what is right or wrong because one can absorb these standards from others without even knowing it.

Wollstonecraft sees the duty of women as extremely important. They should focus on their duties and responsibilities to society, especially being a good mother. Society pressures women to take care of their external beauty rather than what nature has given them, which is usually having children. Women deserve laws that protect them from these societal pressures in order to fulfill their natural duties in life. It would also be beneficial for women to have more occupational opportunities so they can be better contributors to society at large.

In conclusion, Wollstonecraft proposes a system of free education for all children in public schools. These schools will promote equality and virtues that are rooted in the family. Girls should be educated alongside boys so as to develop their minds and prepare them to take care of their families based on reason rather than prejudice or emotions.

Finally, Wollstonecraft calls for a revolution in women’s rights. She says that the reason why they’re treated as inferior is because of men’s prejudices and not any inherent weakness. Once women are free to develop their understanding and affections, society will benefit from it greatly.

Dedication

Mary Wollstonecraft wrote this book for the French diplomat, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord. She wanted him to reconsider women’s rights and education in France. She believed that independence was a prerequisite for virtue.

The author is inspired to write this book out of her love for humanity. She wants women to be able to help men in their quest for virtue, not hinder it. Her main argument is that if a woman isn’t educated enough, she may stand in the way of progress by keeping knowledge and virtue away from everyone else.