As an individual of whose family is predominately female, the subject of woman’s rights is one that is of great importance to me. Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women is a great example of women testing the boundaries of enlightenment. Pushing the agenda of women’s rights through logic and reason, thus validating their arguments in eyes of men.
Women have been the scapegoat of men for hundreds of years. This has been deep-rooted in society, dating back to biblical times. Eve was to blame for the fall of man, as the devil had enticed her to eat the apple. Which lead to the banishment of Adam and Eve from paradise. Wollstonecraft has observed the nature of society during her time and has seen that nothing has changed, and that men seem to further oppress women into submission.
Her tone in the pieces seems somewhat provocative for it’s time. In my opinion, her efforts are important and this is a commendable piece of literature. She treats men in a dismissive way, exposing to the reader the true nature of men in that time period. Men, in her opinion, are nothing but children acting as adults and are chauvinistic tyrants with a desire to rule over females, encouraging them to conform and to get in line and obey with out question.
She urges women to be individuals, free thinkers and to break free of the mold that men have built for them. This piece comes at a time of enlightenment, encouraging society to question societal norms and to break rules that have been set in order to further the human race. Wollstonecraft was a pioneer for women of her time, using logic to break down the walls of expectations for women.
