Key Thinker- Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-97) Flashcards
Who is Mary Wollstonecraft and, what is her most important work?
Mary Wollstonecraft was an eighteenth-century thinker who developed classical liberal ideas. Her most important work is A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), which remains a classic of political thought and is closely associated with feminist ideology.
What was Wollstonecraft’s primary claim about the Enlightenment’s view of human nature?
She argued that the Enlightenment’s optimistic view of human nature, guided by reason, should apply to all human beings, both male and female.
How did Wollstonecraft view the status of women in eighteenth-century England?
She believed that society and the state implied that women were not rational, which led to their denial of individual freedom and formal equality.
What were some specific ways in which women were denied freedom and equality according to Wollstonecraft?
Women were rarely allowed to own land or secure remunerative employment, had little legal protection against violence from their spouses, no access to divorce, and could not vote for those who governed them.
What did Wollstonecraft argue was the broader impact of restricting female individualism?
She argued that by limiting female individualism, nations like England were reducing their stock of intelligence, wisdom, and morality, hindering reason and progress.
How did Wollstonecraft view the relationship between women’s liberty and the Enlightenment?
She believed that denying liberty to women left society vulnerable to doctrines that threatened the spirit of the Enlightenment.
What revolutions did Wollstonecraft support, and why?
Wollstonecraft supported the American Revolution of 1776 and the French Revolution of 1789 because they emphasized republican government, formal equality, and the constitutional defense of individual rights.
What did Wollstonecraft emphasise about formal equality?
She emphasized that formal equality must be extended to all individuals, not just men, and praised the French Revolution’s focus on citizenship and its indifference to gender differences.
What did Wollstonecraft concede about women’s role in their own subjugation?
She conceded that women were often complicit in their subjugation, generally desiring only marriage and motherhood.
What did Wollstonecraft argue was necessary to correct women’s subjugation?
She argued that formal education should be made available to as many women (and men) as possible to develop their rational faculties, realize their individual potential, and recognize the absurdity of illiberal principles.
