While endeavouring to complete this long article, it became much more difficult while summer was still going on, and the sun was still shining through my blinds. Procrastination hit me hard; however, I became interested in Mary Wollstonecraft's article when I knew it had something to do with me, a women growing up in a tough society...where men seem to still be of the greater sex-where they are almost made a "God" to our society. It caught my attention from the very beginning when she said: "Women are told from their infancy, and taught by the example of their mothers, that a little knowledge of human weakness, justly termed cunning, softness of temper, outward obedience, and a scrupulous attention to a puerile kind of propriety, will obtain for them the protection of man; and should they be beautiful, every thing else is needless, for, at least, twenty years of their lives."
I felt like she almost detested this statement but at the same time supported it? Throughout this article I felt as if Wollstonecraft was there to protect women and their rights, but she did it in a very awkward way.
I did, however, agree with her argument to have men and women educated by the opinions/manners of the society that both of us live in. Why alter it due to who you are or where you've come from? Her opinion of "the most perfect education" coming for the exercise of one's own reason is completely correct in my opinion as well.
She calls herself arrogant, but I think she shows courage by writing such strong beliefs in such intelligent sentences. She has a unique way of writing where she uses big words to go off on tangents, where at times, I think she makes no sense at all. She pushes her point across with her statement of, "faithful expression of my feelings; of the clear result, which experience and reflection have led me to draw."
In my opinion, I feel as if Wollstonecraft focuses on how much women have been degraded rather than how to fix the inequality between the two genders. When she says, "...they do to-day what they did yesterday, merely because they did it yesterday..." seems like an understatement to me. Women have the right to gain total equality, and I feel like many women have enough education to stand up for what is right.
Without a doubt, there is an education in our society that is dedicated to creating a gentleman figure; however, I feel like there is an education not far behind that one, which teaches how to be a lady too. She believes acquiring manners before morals is a negative thing... but I for one think that obtaining either in your personality is a great thing- for either gender too!
It seemed to me that she put more focus on what she thought women could be rather than what they are. Even with the scrambled thoughts that I attained throughout this article, Wollstonecraft definitely had a slick, beautiful way with her words. She writes with such dignity and strength behind her beliefs; it's incredible! For some odd reason, the sentence explaining, "...obedience is the grand lesson which ought to be impressed with unrelenting rigour," caught my attention greatly-maybe because I thought it was as ridiculous as she did. She also speaks wise words throughout her article and creates unique comparisons, such as, soldiers vs. women, oblique sunbeams vs. a man's charm, or even stripped virtues vs. clothing humanity.
Even with the long stretch of what seemed to be a never ending article, it was solely to enforce her beliefs. Wollstonecraft had very mind-twisting thoughts. She not only seemed to contradict herself at times, but she also was spot on with my opinion at times too. "-But, whether she be loved or neglected, her first wish should be to make herself respectable...", what a fabulous sentence, which every girl/women/daughter/mother should follow. Clearly, she (Mary Wollstonecraft) may have some interesting ways of expressing herself, but nonetheless she is a very talented writer who wants to change our society now and forever to make it equal for the female sex.
I felt like she almost detested this statement but at the same time supported it? Throughout this article I felt as if Wollstonecraft was there to protect women and their rights, but she did it in a very awkward way.
I did, however, agree with her argument to have men and women educated by the opinions/manners of the society that both of us live in. Why alter it due to who you are or where you've come from? Her opinion of "the most perfect education" coming for the exercise of one's own reason is completely correct in my opinion as well.
She calls herself arrogant, but I think she shows courage by writing such strong beliefs in such intelligent sentences. She has a unique way of writing where she uses big words to go off on tangents, where at times, I think she makes no sense at all. She pushes her point across with her statement of, "faithful expression of my feelings; of the clear result, which experience and reflection have led me to draw."
In my opinion, I feel as if Wollstonecraft focuses on how much women have been degraded rather than how to fix the inequality between the two genders. When she says, "...they do to-day what they did yesterday, merely because they did it yesterday..." seems like an understatement to me. Women have the right to gain total equality, and I feel like many women have enough education to stand up for what is right.
Without a doubt, there is an education in our society that is dedicated to creating a gentleman figure; however, I feel like there is an education not far behind that one, which teaches how to be a lady too. She believes acquiring manners before morals is a negative thing... but I for one think that obtaining either in your personality is a great thing- for either gender too!
It seemed to me that she put more focus on what she thought women could be rather than what they are. Even with the scrambled thoughts that I attained throughout this article, Wollstonecraft definitely had a slick, beautiful way with her words. She writes with such dignity and strength behind her beliefs; it's incredible! For some odd reason, the sentence explaining, "...obedience is the grand lesson which ought to be impressed with unrelenting rigour," caught my attention greatly-maybe because I thought it was as ridiculous as she did. She also speaks wise words throughout her article and creates unique comparisons, such as, soldiers vs. women, oblique sunbeams vs. a man's charm, or even stripped virtues vs. clothing humanity.
Even with the long stretch of what seemed to be a never ending article, it was solely to enforce her beliefs. Wollstonecraft had very mind-twisting thoughts. She not only seemed to contradict herself at times, but she also was spot on with my opinion at times too. "-But, whether she be loved or neglected, her first wish should be to make herself respectable...", what a fabulous sentence, which every girl/women/daughter/mother should follow. Clearly, she (Mary Wollstonecraft) may have some interesting ways of expressing herself, but nonetheless she is a very talented writer who wants to change our society now and forever to make it equal for the female sex.
Hi Eva! Great response! I found myself frequently agreeing with your statements! This essay was challenging for me too. Wollstonecraft’s writing style was sometimes perplexing, but the topic was interesting, because it pertained to women, as you said. Being a female in the 21st century, my lifestyle is certainly different than one in the 18th century. I do agree with you that women today are growing up in a tough society! I would hope that men and women are seen as equals, but you pointed out that sometimes that is not the case. Some people still view a man as a “God” in our society.
ReplyDeleteWollstonecraft seemingly grew up in a tough time period. When reading this essay at times, I would get angry at the way women were treated. It just didn’t seem fair! I strongly disliked the statement that women were only to be simple, submissive, soft, and beautiful, too. You are right; women and men both need to use their own brains, knowledge, and reason to create a perfect education. I don’t think that Wollstonecraft is arrogant at all, either! She portrays herself as a strong, courageous female. Her passionate opinions and experiences led her to write a great, maybe sometimes confusing, but intelligent essay!
I cannot agree with you more! I totally think that women should have the right to gain equality with men. Women shouldn’t be degraded or be considered as inferior. Your statement about education in society for both women and men was interesting! I hadn’t looked at it like that! Women really are taught to be lady-like, just as men are taught to be gentlemen. Manners and morals are both important for both genders, as you pointed out!
Wollstonecraft’s essay was confusing, long, yet wise and passionate. I am glad that she stood up for herself and her gender during a tough time for females. Looking back on the essay, I found myself agreeing with her more than disagreeing. How do you think that Wollstonecraft would feel about equality between the genders today (over 300 years later)? Do you think she would be pleased or skeptical?
I do think that Wollstonecraft is a great and talented writer too! Not many people could have said what she wrote with such conviction. I, too, respect her desire to attain equality for both genders in our ever-changing society!
Good points, Eva. This is a pretty tough essay; I'm glad you took the effort to give it a thoughtful read.
ReplyDeleteAs you enter the final week of summer freedom, you might want to look ahead a bit to the first weeks of AP Composition. During the first few days of class, you will take an oral quiz on your vocabulary words. You will also turn in your summer work so I can give you credit for your off-season efforts. Finally, the first major assignment you will write will be based on the non-fiction book you read over the summer.
So, take some time to relax, enjoy some moments with friends, and soak in the last few minutes of summer. After that, the real fun begins!
See you soon.
Hi Eva,
ReplyDeleteI agree that this article was very long and hard to get through with the last couple days of summer seeming more important than any AP composition work. Once I finally finished this article I really was amazed at how unfair everything was back then. Though the author at times was hard to follow, the points she did make clear sat uncomfortable with me. For myself, if I had been living back in the 1700s, I would not have taken any of that. To be honest, I think the women back then really should've stood up for themselves much more than they ever did. Though the paper was long, it was clear that Wollstonecraft had a lot to get down on paper!