A Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft

As a feminist, Wollstonecraft strongly raises her voice against patriarchal domination over females. She firmly holds her belief that mind does not know sex and answers the attacks charged by male writers.

For her, there are two processes of gaining ideas:

Habitual

Instantaneous

Habitual knowledge is private that is gained by household activities and based on emotions, sentimentality etc. whereas instantaneous ideas are public and acquired through education. It is based on intellect reason etc.

Females are provided with only habitual ideas that are connected with emotion so they lack judgment. But males get both ideas (emotion and intellect) and always remain ahead of females. Females are restricted from participating in political, social, and economic activities because of the lack of instantaneous ideas.

By birth females are not sentimental. The education system and gender role of society are constructed in such a way that makes hierarchy between male and female. The education system makes the psychology of women and confines her to be sentimental. Males always praise women for her beauty and compare her with rose, moon etc. This kind of domination keeps a woman aloof of intellect.

In her essay, Wollstonecraft makes females aware not to read any sentimental novel in which female character is presented as beautiful, passive and just an object of male. After reading such novels, females think that they should be delicate, shy, passive and beautiful for male. Such kinds of novels develop a wrong concept that, knowledgeable males are nothing in comparison to a brave rake.

So the female are affected by the misconception of only possessing false beauty but not intellect and fulfill the desires of male. They are not taught to make decision, to be bold, to do something better, to tackle the society etc.

Therefore, Wollstonecraft strongly opposes the reading of sentimental novel by females rather she encourages them to read something better.

She cites some statements and criticizes them.

Milton says ‘Women highest praise is to obey unargued’.

Pope says ‘Every woman is at heat a rake’.

Swift says ‘A passion for a scarlet coat’.

It is said that women’s intelligence is associated with the proper adjustment of their dress. Upon this, Wollstonecraft argues that is not their fault but the result of nonsense novels. Females are also intelligent but their intellectuality is suppressed by the bias attitude of patriarchal society which intentionally makes them weak, frail and inferior.