Cameron 1

Brittni Cameron

ENL 2022

Romanticism Essay

2-17-12

The Power of Man

“A Vindication of the Rights of Women” by Mary Wollstonecraft

is a feminist text written during the Enlightenment period. Mary

Wollstonecraft argues her point of view through the use of rhetorical

strategies. Her use of compare and contrast, along with asking questions

and sarcasm aids to focus the attention on women as individualists.Mary

Wollstonecraft argues: “one cause of this barren blooming I attribute to a

false system of education, gathered from the books rather as women than

human affectionate wives and rational mothers” (171). Therefore, she is

implying that women are “taught” to be weak on purpose. She aims to

evoke a reaction that will cause women to stand up for their rights and

beliefs without being dependent on a man. The argument formulated by

Mary Wollstonecraft was significant because she was a women that had

Cameron 2

logic and reason which was not a common thing for women during this

era.

One would know that this text was written during the

Enlightenment period because a few obvious characteristics stand out.

Due to the fact that Mary Wollstonecraft was a writer during the

Enlightenment period she focuses on the individual. Throughout “A

Vindication of the Rights of Women” she references that women are

taught to be sensible, “The power of the women,” says some author, “is

her sensibility”; and men, not aware of the consequence, do all they can

to make this power swallow up every other” (192). By adding this quote

into her text, Mary Wollstonecraft proves the point that sensibility was

the preferred quality for a woman to obtain. According to her, men think

with reason while women act on emotion. While this might be true, she

takes on a more approachable tone to make her point seem of more

importance. The reason she takes on this position is because “in the

government of the physical world it is observable that the female in

point of strength is, in general, inferior to the male. This is the law of

nature; and it does not appear to be suspended or abrogated in favor of

Cameron 3

women” (171). Therefore, this is the product of circumstances of nature.

Not only are women inferior in the physical sense, but Mary

Wollstonecraft also points out why women are also trained to be inferior

in every department.

Her rhetoric strategy in telling how women are raised to act

superior to men is quite sarcastic. Her attitude is kind of aggressive as to

why women are the way they are, but also saying how ignorance does

not equal innocence. Mary Wollstonecraft argues that when someone is

trained to act sensible, emotional and weak, that tends to be how they

will act for the rest of their existence. The text points out that women’s

only goal in life is to seek the affection from their husbands. She

continues to demonstrate that seeking approval from someone that might

never actually be satisfied is a never ending battle. “Fragile in every

sense of the word, they are obliged to look up to man for every comfort”

(190).

Another example of “A Vindication of the Rights of Women”

being written during the Enlightenment period is that Mary

Wollstonecraft is portraying how men were comparing women to

Cameron 4

children. During the Enlightenment period authors wouldwrite about

people that have no importance in society. Like women at the time,

children were insignificant because many of them didn’t survive very

long after birth. As a result, no one would get attached to children.

“Children, I grant, should be innocent; but when the epithet is applied to

men, or women, it is but a civil term for weakness” (175). Therefore,

women when compared to child were deemed innocent. In reality,

women are nothing like children and they shouldn’t be portrayed as

such. If men educated women they could be their equal. “The women

who strengthens her body and exercises her mind will, by managing her

family and practicing various virtues, become the friend, and not the

humble dependent of her husband” (182).

One of the other rhetorical strategies Mary Wollstonecraft uses is

that she completely shuts off the opinions of her male superiors. She

appears to be very close minded and acts as if she knows everything

about women. This adds to her attitude towards Rousseau and Edmund

Burke. She makes it a point to encourage the audience to know that their

assumptions towards women are wrong. “I heard men argue against

Cameron 5

instructing the poor; “teach them to read, to write,” “and you take them

out of the station assigned them by nature” (191). Basically, the opinion

is stating that it’s sufficient to educate women, as long as they’re not

poor. “Educate women like men,” says Rousseau, “and the more they

resemble our sex the less power will they have over us” (191). Mary

Wollstonecraft’s logic here is to portray that men are keeping women on

the bottom purposely. Men are smart enough to know that women could

be capable of much more, yet know women are ignorant enough to let

them remain on top. According to her though “I do not wish them to

have power over men; but over themselves” (191), she is using her

reason to be knowledgeable of society’s ways over other women.

“I may be allowed to infer that reason is absolutely necessary to

enable a woman to perform any duty properly, and I must again repeat,

that sensibility is not reason” (192). Reason was one of the most

significant strategies Mary Wollstonecraft used to argue her point

throughout the text. According to her, if girls were taught from the

beginning that anything is possible, they would be deemed rational.

However, if women were rational that would mean they would receive

Cameron 6

the same type of education as men. She blames the lack of education on

that fact and because of parenting. “Girls who have been this weakly

educated, are often cruelly left by their parents without any provision;

and, of course are dependent on, not only the reason, but the bounty of

their brothers” (193). For her, such circumstances only complication

matters more because then the “sister” becomes a burden to the brother’s

new wife. Remember, a woman’s only goal in life is to obtain the

affection of her husband, yet if his sister is in the way, she must also

compete for his attention. Therefore, if women were just educated

properly there wouldnt be such a dependence on a man in the first place,

resulting in no heavy burden.

Throughout the text Mary Wollstonecraft argues that education

would change everything about women for the better. She portrays her

frustration from beginning to end about the educationial system. To

make her final rebuttal she says “with respect to women, when they

receive a careful education, they are either made fine ladies, brimful of

sensibility, and teeming with capricious fancies; or mere notable women.

Her strategy here is to describe women that have been educated, as

Cameron 7

having all the qualities a man would want in a woman. By proposing the

image of the ideal women, a man might be persuaded to follow suit. In

addition, her technique is persuading women into thinking that they want

to be educated so that they can be perfect candidates for the affection of

their future husband. She exemplifies this by pointing out “for the wages

due to her are the caresses of her husband” (194).

Overall, it seems that more than anything Mary Wollstonecraft was

just striving for equality. The ability to reason was so important to the

Enlightenment, and Mary Wollstonecraft was aware that reason wasn’t

just for men, but could also be found in women. She knew that she was

capable of being rational and logical and so could other women, if just

given the chance. Reason was something that at the time was only taught

to men, women just weren’t told that they were also rational human

beings. They were repeatedly told that they were only emotional, and

started to believe that was the truth. Her argument inferred how reason

and sensibility is not the same thing, but was often confused.

Towards the end of her argument, Mary Wollstonecraft is one last

time trying to convince the audience by asking rhetorical questions.

Cameron 8

“Gracious Creator of the whole human race! Hast thou created such a

being as women, who can trace thy wisdom in thy works, and feel that

thou alone art by thy nature exalted above her,--- for no better purpose?

Can she believe that she was only made to submit to man, her equal, a

being, who, like her, was send into the world to acquire virtue?” (195).

In this quote, alone, she is using God to conclude her argument into a

text that could better relate to the everyday woman. The mention of

religion is meant to cause persuasion because she is evoking the

audience to question whether or not God would really want a woman to

submit to a man. Therefore, she mentions the word equal again to tie it

all together. As a result, asking these questions is meant to suffice as a

distraction and create doubt in oneself.

“If they be moral beings, let them have a chance to become

intelligent; and let love to man be only a part of that glowing flame of

universal love, which, after encircling humanity, mounts in grateful

incense to God,” (195), concludes her argument. During the whole text,

this is the one quote that actually sounds like she is pleading with man.

Mary Wollstonecraft, used her own devices to manipulate and/or

Cameron 9

persuade man/woman to see things the way she had, but it seems like it

took all of that to get her to put her guard down. She made point after

point, and then basically is leaving it in mans hands. Her argument in

itself was so successful with her writing alone; she proved that a woman

can obtain just as much reason or logic as any man, if not more.

Work Cited

Wollstonecraft, Mary. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 8th ed. Vol. 2. Greenblatt,

Stephen, and M. H. Abrams. New York: Norton, 2006. 170-195. Print.