I read A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft to wrap up my reading year for 2023. This is a historical work published in 1792. I had been curious about it for a while, but finally got around to reading it because it would count for two categories in the reading challenge I did in 2023. In some ways, it is the beginning of feminist literature. Though her premise would have been radical then, it seems very reasonable now, even for people who would consider themselves conservative and not identify with feminism at all.
If you have not read it before, it might be worth reading for its historical significance. Here are some of the things I found interesting. To be clear, this is not a summary of her main points or a full review, just some things that caught my interest.
Wollstonecraft argued that there should not be different virtues for the two sexes. If there is one God and one code of morality, then what is noble and virtuous in a man should be noble and virtuous in a woman and vice versa. For example, if it is a good thing for a man to be courageous, it is not a good thing for a woman to be timid. A woman may be timider or more cautious naturally, but her desire should be to grow in the virtue of courage. Or, if it is a good thing for a woman to be modest (this is not just about clothing, but an attitude of humility), then this should be a virtue men also seek to cultivate.
This argument hits the idea of the double standard from a different angle. In Wollstonecraft's time, there was definitely more permissiveness for men to be sexually promiscuous while women were berated for the same vice. However, she exposes the double standard of praising certain virtues in some people while not valuing the same virtues in others. For Christians, this should bring to mind the many passages of Scripture that honor courage and industry in women and meekness and gentleness in men. All virtues are present in Christ, the sinless man, God with us. So whether man or woman, we all have the same model to emulate.
Though Wollstonecraft's line of thinking may sound alarm bells for some, that she may be leaning toward total equality and ignoring God-given differences, this is not the case. One of her points was that women should be educated not to make them "sexless" or to erase distinctions between sexes, but to make them better wives and mothers. If they are educated and virtuous, she argued, they will be better companions for their husbands, especially after youthful beauty has passed. These things will also enable them to better care for their children, as one of their primary responsibilities.
I have not deeply researched Wollstonecraft, so I am not 100% sure of her religious beliefs. From the ideas in this work, she seems to be at least a deist and even to express faith in the Christian God. She speaks highly of morality and marriage, yet in her personal life, she was mistress to two different men. Sadly, the first man left her and her daughter, driving her to the point of attempted suicide twice. Eventually, she married the second man, after finding out she was pregnant again. This daughter became Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein. On the surface, despite her strong intelligence, she seems to also have fallen prey to immoral men. She fell short of the moral standard she held (or her standard changed over time), perhaps too trusting that the men would be held to a moral standard to care for her without a marriage commitment. She suffered much tragedy as a result.
I watched The Help for the first time as I was finishing A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and realized the Southern white women in this fictional story exactly illustrate the kind of virtueless woman Wollenstonecraft was concerned about in her own time period. There is a huge emphasis on their physical beauty to make them pleasing to a husband (their distress that Skeeter doesn't have a husband/boyfriend, comments about a husband not wanting to come home to a cold sore, etc.). They spend an excessive amount of time and money on their appearances (though, I'm not gonna lie, I mostly watched the movie to look at their amazing fashion) while their characters are selfish, slanderous, and racist. They have more education than the help they hire, yet they are not using it and despite all the emphasis on their desire to be good wives, they are terrible mothers, completely ignorant of children. The hired help who serve them, though certainly more limited in education, generally are more noble women.
The education Wollstonecraft advocated for is truly important and it has made a huge difference for countless women in the generations since, as well as large scale societal change. That is something we can celebrate on this International Women's Day. I'm thankful for women like Wollstonecraft who helped pave the way for basic rights for women, including education and legal protection. However, education hasn't solved everything and education alone cannot transform the heart. Perhaps now her call to virtue should be heeded. More importantly, consider the standard of virtue to which she pointed, even if she fell short of it herself, as we all do.
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