Compare and Contrasting the Views of Wollstonecraft and Austen

Chiara Travisano
Ms. Balaschak
English 11
Block 6
Wollstonecraft and Austen The struggle for women to gain equality has been an ongoing issue for centuries. Although in the 18th century, the status of women in society was not as a widespread issue. However, some important women writers who did express their opinion on this topic were Mary Wollstonecraft and Jane Austen. These writers agreed on what the status of woman should be in society, although they both showed it in different ways. In Wollstonecraft’s, “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman,” she bluntly explains how women cut themselves short in almost every aspect of life just because of common convention. While Austen in her novel, Pride and Prejudice, portrays her view that women should and have the ability to have a voice, through the way she presents her characters. The characters in Austen’s novel embody the points of Wollstonecraft’s argument. Wollstonecraft is infuriated by the lack of depth her sex represents. She explains that women are seen as nothing more than a pretty face, and all they aspire for in life is marriage. They have no voice or thought for themselves, rather they abide by the “books of instruction, written by men of genius” (Wollstonecraft 1). Meaning that, women believe they are inferior than men just because men told them they are so. The character Austen creates that personifies these features the best is Mrs. Bennet. Throughout the novel she is described as the ditzy, nagging, overemotional, and annoying mother of the Bennet girls. She spends all of her days on the hunt for men that her daughters can marry off to. For example, when Jane gets sick at the Bingley estate, Mrs. Bennet pushes for her to stay there as long as possible, even when she no longer needs to be, in hope that Bingley will fall in love with Jane. Every time Mrs. Bennet opens her mouth she seems to embarrass herself as well as her family. She constantly changes her view of the men in the book (Mr. Collins, Wickham, Bingley, and Darcy) on the basis of if they will become son-in-laws. The lack of complexity of Mrs. Bennet character shows completely represents Wollestonecraft’s view. Austen even describes her as a “woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper." (Austen 24) By the derogatory characteristics of Mrs.Bennet, it’s obvious that Austen doesn’t believe that women should live in this manner. So which class suffers from this stereotype the most? Wollstonecraft believes its “…the middle class because they appear to be in the most natural state. The seeds of false refinement, immortality, and vanity have ever been shed by the great,” (Wollstonecraft 2). They represent weak, idiotic, fake people, who strive to be high up in society. The middle class women are upper class wannabes, therefore they feel like they need to try extra hard to seem elegant. They are empty people that don’t have a thought in their mind beside marriage. They believe they cannot stand-alone because they are weak dainty creatures that need the affection of a man to continue on in life. The character Lydia in Austen’s novel is a prime candidate of this description. She spends her days running around with the soldiers stationed in her area; She cannot resist but love the attention she receives from these men. When she is not when them, she is gossiping about them with her sisters. In the end, she ends up marrying the Wickham (the most scummy character in the book), without realizing the strain she put on her family. Yet she is as happy as could be just because she is married. There is always a deviation from the norm. Wollstonecraft frankly expresses the way in which she acts towards her readers. She articulates that she isn’t going to fabricate her beliefs and “dazzle by the elegance of my language” to get her arguments across (Wollstonecraft 1). She rather persuades the reader by the power of her views. Sugarcoating her ideas would never reach the heart of her readers. Her forward nature shows that she is a strong believer in the power women can and should have, but she thinks women choose not to reach their full potential. Austen takes a different route to persuade her female readers from breaking away from their sphere. The main character in Austen’s novel, Elizabeth, personifies everything Wollstonecraft believes in. Elizabeth is portrayed as the most intelligent and quick-witted woman in the whole novel. She is not afraid to speak her mind to anyone no matter what sex or class they are. She doesn’t try to ”dazzle” by putting on a fake act, rather she follows where her heart and mind lead her. She is bluntly honest to everyone she encounters just like Wollstonecraft. Elizabeth’s wit and charm are what make her stand out from all the other senseless girls; these qualities are what make Darcy fall in love with her. By showing her readers men will still love you even if you have a mind for your self, Austen hopes to persuade women to branch out. Wollstonecraft and Austen have very similar views on the rights of women. While Wollstonecraft explains her views in grave detail, without frill and fabrication, Austen shows her views through the characters she makes up. It is obvious that Elizabeth Austen’s favorite character; once, she even said that she wouldn’t know what to do with herself if people criticized Elizabeth, since she was so connected to that character. Both of these writers hope to spread their similar ideas through their literature. If they saw where woman kind was today, they would have something to proud of.

Works Cited
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. New York: Signet Classic, 1813.
Wollstonecraft, Mary. “Introduction.” A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. 1792. Web. 14 May 2013. (http://en.wikisource.org).

Cited: Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. New York: Signet Classic, 1813. Wollstonecraft, Mary. “Introduction.” A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. 1792. Web. 14 May 2013. (http://en.wikisource.org).