Mary Wollstonecraft
Although she was born in 1759, Mary Wollstonecraft is hailed as the first modern feminist (Cucinello pp). Her "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman," published in 1792, is the first great feminist treatise (Wollstonecraft pp). Wollstonecraft preached that women must be strong in mind and body and that sentimentality was symbolic with weakness (Wollstonecraft pp).
Born to a "gentry" farmer and an aloof mother, it is said she began protesting at an very young age, when her brother received that favored position when it was Mary who would protect her mother from the abusive father (Cucinello pp). For a number of years Wollstonecraft worked as a governess before deciding to make the unconventional career choice of becoming an editor and journalist (Cucinello pp). She wrote the "Thoughts on the Education of Daughters" in 1786 and in 1790 published "A Vindication of the Rights of Man" "as a response to the goals brought fourth by the French revolution" (Cucinello pp). But it was "Vindication of the Rights of Women" that propelled her to fame concerning feminist issues such as the "legal, economic and educational disabilities of women" (Cucinello pp). She believed in national education "where boys and girls, the rich and poor, should meet together. And to prevent any of the distinctions of vanity, they should be dressed alike, and all obliged to submit to the same discipline, or leave the school" (Wollstonecraft pp). Wollstonecraft believed that the equal rights applied to men should extend to women, that women had the right to an education, and that society could only progress when both sexes were equally educated (Cucinello pp). She urged women to let go of their old emotional stereotypes and view education as the means of achieving a place in society (Cucinello pp). She writes that woman is
"always represented as only created to see through a gross medium, and to take things on trust. But, dismissing these fanciful theories, and considering woman as a whole, let it be what it will, instead of a part of man, the inquiry is whether she has reason or not. If she...
Mary Wollstonecraft The Woman This section explains the timeline of Mary Wollstonecraft's life; understanding the choices, relationships, and events in her life helps one to understand her drive and focus in liberal feminism over the course of her short, 38-year life. Mary Wollstonecraft was born to an English family who moves repeatedly throughout the formative years of her life (birth through 9 years of age). During her 9th through 16th year, she made
Mary Wollstonecraft's Impact On American Society It may be difficult for some to phantom a world where the role of women was substantially different than it is today. In the twentieth century, women have made significant inroads into the world once dominated entirely by men but in the days of Mary Wollstonecraft the situation was remarkably different and the obstacles and barriers that Wollstonecraft and the other ladies who stood by
Mary Wollstonecraft "Freedom, even uncertain freedom, is dear; you know I am not born to tread the beaten track." -- Mary Wollstonecraft Mary Wollstonecraft was an outspoken political expressionist, essayist and feminist before anyone knew that there was such a thing. Her most famous work to date, A Vindication of the Rights of Women, made a radical claim that a society cannot progress unless its wives and mothers were not educated. Born
This communication with the outside world includes sections in the novel that clearly show she feels blame and guilt at her depression and how it has made her treat her "beautiful" poet, Woodville. She writes, "But now also I began to reap the fruits of my perfect solitude. I had become unfit for any intercourse, even with Woodville the most gentle and sympathizing creature that existed. I had become
Shelley's Frankenstien Mary Shelley and her Frankenstein Monster Mary Shelley is the author of the famous novel Frankenstein and was born in London, England the year of 1797 (Merriman, 2006). Shelley came from strong genes as both her mother (Mary Wollstonecraft) and father (William Godwin) were considered philosophers and enlightened thinkers (Merriman, 2006). Shelley is credited (believed) to have started the science fiction genre during this time period. As a writer, Shelley
Gender Relations in Frankenstein In tracing the historical etymology of the word "monster," the Oxford English Dictionary offers a primary definition of something to be stared at or marveled over (from the same root as "demonstrate") but notes the second-most common use of the word is biological: "an animal or plant deviating in one or more of its parts from the normal type; an animal afflicted with some congenital malformation; a
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