Bibliograph

Vindication of the rights of woman, with strictures on political and other subjects, Mary Wollstonecraft

Type

Label

Vindication of the rights of woman, with strictures on political and other subjects, Mary Wollstonecraft

Language

eng

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Vindication of the rights of woman

Medium

electronic resource

Nature of contents

dictionaries

Oclc number

1097116848

Responsibility statement

Mary Wollstonecraft

Series statement

Cambridge library collection. British & Irish history, 17th & 18th centuriesCambridge Social Sciences eBooks

Sub title

with strictures on political and other subjects

Summary

Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797) published A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in 1792. It was written in reaction to Rousseau's Emile (1762), which argued that the purpose of a girl's education was to make her useful to a man. Wollstonecraft offered a defence of woman's ability to reason, given appropriate education. She argued that the limited education given to women made them docile and empty-headed playthings whose supposed fragility and coquetry were constructions that damaged not only the individual but society as a whole. Her radical prescription was for girls to be educated alongside boys and to the same standard, so that they were not left dependent on marriage for financial security. The independence of mind displayed in this polemic has ensured its place as a foundational work in the canon of feminist thought. For more information on this author, see http://orlando.cambridge.org/public/svPeople?person_id=wollma--, Provided by publisher

Creator