Mary Wollstonecraft

This is a portrait of Mary Wollstonecraft at the very end of the 19th Century, by John Opie, courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London (see them here). She was a feminist far ahead of her time and, really only gaining popularity in the last century, her philosophies continue to be relevant in our current time.

I hadn't heard of her before today, when I attended a lecture over the lunch hour as part of the Toronto Public Library: Great Books Lecture Series. Ann Shteir of the Department of Women's Studies and Humanities at York University, presented with passion Wollstonecraft's life and work in highlighting the relevance of these ideas to the past, present and future. More particularly, she described in great detail the ideas presented in Wollstonecraft's book "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman."

Woman, so clearly defined as a singular entity, universal. Though some of her ideas have become a bit dated, there is still a great amount of knowledge one can gain from her insights and so I will do my best to present what information I retained, though I have never read this book.

Equality

The book presents a vindication, a defense or justification, of the rights of woman. She held strong beliefs that men and women should be considered as equals, both in society and in the family.

She felt the distinction between men and women were not important, as women were made women, they were nurtured into fragile, delicate creatures, lesser than men. She also hated that women used these features to manipulate others.

She truly believed in the innate rationality of both men and women, that the mind had no sex. Interestingly, this debate has resurfaced as sex differences in the mind are being scrutinized by modern technology.. Regardless, she believed that there was a natural equality between men and women that was denied by cultural and institutional injustices oppressing women.

Beliefs that hold more strongly now, she hoped that women would become more independent, able to sustain themselves, and that marriage would be more of a friendship and coexistence. She felt that women should be able to work and vote but also be educated in the same institutes as men.

Modern Critiques

The book is certainly not without flaws, as it was written in a time when Wollstonecraft showed an immense insight but only for her time. Now, considering womanhood as universal may be a bit limiting, when considering the differences between women but also the grey area that is the so-called the dichotomy of the sexes. Some might also feel poorly represented by her views that are somewhat "Euro-centric" and westernized, in an attempt for universal claims that may not translate to other parts of the world.

Interestingly, a strong argument is against her lack of consideration for sexuality. She considers that to be rational is a trade-off for pleasure and desire, both in men and women. Is it only by repressing sexuality that one achieves gender equity? I think and certainly hope NOT. To this day, women are judged much more harshly for demonstrating their sexuality and statements like "she had it coming" in cases of rape should be unheard of.  Praise to the Slut Walks.

Book cover art from Wiki.