Mary Wollstonecraft Flashcards
When did she live
1759-97
What other ideology is she strongly linked to
Feminism
What is her most important publication
A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792)
Why is she important for liberalism
Although gender was crucial to her work, her arguements were rooted in liberal individualism
How did she want to extend liberal ideas
Her primary aim was that the enlightenment’s optimistic analysis of human nature and its belief that we are guided by reason should apply to women. She argued that society and state implied that women were not rational and thus denied them individual freedom and formal equality. Women were rarely allowed land ownership and paid employment, and sacrificed what little individualism they had once they became wives. Once married a woman had little legal recourse against violence from her husband or recourse for divorce. Women also could not vote for who governed them - which Wollstonecraft pointed out was a blatant violation of the idea of govt by consent
Why did she think female liberation would benefit all of society
She argued that by fettering female individualism, nations such as England were limiting their stock of intelligence, wisdom and morality.
‘Such arrangements are not conditions where reason and progress may prosper’
How did she respond to the American and French Revolutions
She welcomed them. Her other major work ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Men’ (1790) attacked Burke’s critique of the French Revolution and his related defence of custom, history and aristocratic rule. She thus stressed her support for republican govt, formal equality and a constitution protecting individual rights. However, she restated that such formal equality must be accorded to all individuals, not just men. For this reason she applauded the French Revolution’s emphasis on ‘citizens’ and its apparent indifference to gender differences
How did she propose that gender inequality should be solved
She said that women themselves were complicit in their subjugation, generally desiring only marriage and motherhood. She said that for this to be corrected formal education should be made available to as many men and women as possible. Without such formal education, individuals could never develop their rational faculties, never realise their individual potential and never recognise the absurdity of liberal doctrines like the divine right of kings
