Mary Wollstonecraft and Her Response to “Emile” Written by Rousseau
Mary Wollstonecraft was an inspiration and an enormous impact in the women’s rights movement in the 19th and 20th centuries. She led and guided the way for countless feminists as her life progressed. By having such a strong, powerful voice on her opinion and views of the rights of women, she pioneered the fight for equality between man and woman. Mary Wollstonecraft wrote and published “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” in 1792 as a declaration of woman’s civil liberties to equality of education and to civil opportunities. She had written her assertion of equality in response to numerous works that focused on female conduct and women’s education that was written by men whom lived during the late 18th century. Enlightenment thinker Jean-Jacques Rousseau, composer of the famous “Emile”, is recognized to be the most well-known and significant influences that triggered Wollstonecraft to respond by constructing her periodical of justice. Mary’s creation of “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” was nearly direct criticism towards the beliefs of Rousseau, and she argues firm illustrating her will for freedom, equality and no limitations.
The great feminist Mary Wollstonecraft was born in Spitalfields, London in 1759. She was the second of the seven children of Edward John Wollstonecraft and Elizabeth Dixon to John. Mary endured a difficult childhood and often had to protect her mother from the drunken rage of her father. Her father had inherited a substantial amount of money from his father who was a master weaver, but he mismanaged his families’ finances critically. As a child, Mary’s intellect allowed her to see the “total subjection of a decent woman” (Nixon) and this knowledge stayed with her and heartened her future as the first feminist. At age nineteen, Mary became the companion to a Mrs. Dawson and lived in Bath for a short time. Mary returned home when she was informed of her mother 's illness and subsequent death. After her mother’s passing, she helped
The great feminist Mary Wollstonecraft was born in Spitalfields, London in 1759. She was the second of the seven children of Edward John Wollstonecraft and Elizabeth Dixon to John. Mary endured a difficult childhood and often had to protect her mother from the drunken rage of her father. Her father had inherited a substantial amount of money from his father who was a master weaver, but he mismanaged his families’ finances critically. As a child, Mary’s intellect allowed her to see the “total subjection of a decent woman” (Nixon) and this knowledge stayed with her and heartened her future as the first feminist. At age nineteen, Mary became the companion to a Mrs. Dawson and lived in Bath for a short time. Mary returned home when she was informed of her mother 's illness and subsequent death. After her mother’s passing, she helped
Cited: Ferguson, Moira and Janet Todd. Mary Wollstonecraft . Boston: Twayne-G.K. Hall, 1984. Johnson, Patricia Altenbernd. On Wollstonecraft. Wadsworth Philosophers Series. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2000. Kelly, G. (1995) Revolutionary Feminism: The Mind and Career of Mary Wollstonecraft, New York: St. Martin 's. Lindemann, Kate. "Mary Wollstonecraft." History of Women Philosophers. Vol. 3. Mary Ellen Waithe, ed. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic, 1991. Nixon, Edna. Mary Wollstonecraft: Her Life and Times. London: J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd., 1971 Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Emile, Or, On Education. 1st ed. 1-5. 1979. Wollstonecraft, Mary (1993) A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, London: Penguin. Full electronic text:http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/wollstonecraft/woman-contents.html.