Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of...

In A Vindication of the Rights of Women, Mary Wollstonecraft uses both her experience and observations as a rhetorical device in an attempt to educate women about the necessity of having both a strong mind and body. Throughout A Vindication of the Rights of Women, Wollstonecraft emphasizes the importance of these virtues by responding to other author’s ideas on the subject and using their words as evidence of how the patriarchal society views women and their ‘roles’ as citizens of society. Wollstonecraft, in her pragmatic treatise, critiques women and their behavior in an attempt to affect change in how women are perceived and in how women perceive themselves. Mary Wollstonecraft discusses the body and minds of both of†¦show more content†¦(43) She questions why women follow Rousseau’s ideas of child-rearing when they should be making an effort to empower their daughters by allowing them to socialize more and with both sexes and get more physical activity, thus increasing the strength of their minds and bodies instead of being â€Å"condemned to sit for hours†¦listening to†¦idle chat†¦ [a] lifeless doll† (45). Wollstonecraft observes that from infancy, girls are given dolls to play with while boys are encouraged to play with toys and games that encourage physical activity and mental agility, but if left alone, perhaps â€Å"accidentally been allowed to run wild† (47), the girls would be just as inclined to play actively as the boys, only interested in â€Å"the doll... [if]†¦confinement allows her no alternative† (47). This goes against Rousseau’s ideas that girls have a n atural â€Å"’fondness’† (45) from birth â€Å"’for dolls, dressing and talking’† (45) and â€Å"are naturally attentive to their persons† (46). Wollstonecraft refutes Rousseau’s ideas as â€Å"ridiculous†¦ [and]†¦below contempt† (46) as they do not support her own observations and feelings that see different attitudes in girls whose â€Å"spirits have not been dampened by inactivity, or innocence tainted by false shame† (47). Women, being unexpected to and not allowed to â€Å"exert any manual strength† (63) areShow MoreRelated Mary Wollstonecrafts A Vindication of the Rights of Women and Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl3226 Words   |  13 Pages Mary Wollstonecrafts A Vindication of the Rights of Women and Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Although Mary Wollstonecraft and Harriet Jacobs lived almost 300 years apart from one another, the basic undercurrent of both of their work is the same. 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This theme can be prominently found in the Romantic period in Anna Letitia Barbauld’s â€Å" The Rights of Woman† and Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of Woman’s Rights. Anna Letitia Barbauld came from a background of dissenters, which made her face many challenges by being religiously oppressed; never theless, that never interfered with her writing as she was the voice for the voiceless. Even though Mary Wollstonecraft