Albeit You Foolish Men, by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, by Mary Wollstonecraft are both in defense of women, they are very different from one another. The issues in You Foolish Men are still happening in the twenty-first century. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz in the poem, You Foolish Men, suggests that men lay unnecessary guilt on women, when, in reality, men should be blaming themselves. Sor Juana supports her argument by explaining how men mistakenly blame women. The author’s purpose is to point out the ways men complain so that women are never capable of pleasing them. The author writes in a sarcastic tone for men to see how they mistreat women. Mary Wollstonecraft, in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, …show more content…
In A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Wollstonecraft writes more about women’s equality from the political side. Sor Juana writes about women’s equality more from the domestic side in You Foolish Men. Wollstonecraft focuses on issues such as education, claiming that the only reason a man might seem smarter than a woman is because the man has received a higher level of education than women. “Contending for the rights of woman, my main argument is built on this simple principle, that if she [is] not prepared by education to become the companion of man, she will stop the progress of knowledge and virtue; for truth must be common to all, or it will be inefficacious with respect to its general practice,” Wollstonecraft argues. Setting the tone for the poem as a whole, Sor Juana opens You Foolish Men with, “You foolish men who lay the guilt on women, not seeing you’re the cause of the very thing you blame.” Sor Juana writes in a sarcastic tone, criticizing men for the arrogant and foolish way they treat women. Suggesting that women are incapable of pleasing men, Sor Juana writes, “You fight their stubbornness, then, weightily, you say it was their lightness when it was your guile.” She goes on to say, “Why be outraged at the guilt that is of your own doing? Have them as you make them or make them that you will.” This suggests to men that they …show more content…
Life in the 1600s — the time period in which You Foolish Men was written — did not stray far from the traditions of women being inferior to men. Women relied on their husbands and fathers for nearly everything. Most girls in the 1600s only received a minimal education, whether it be at home or in an elementary school. While women were expected to do housework, wealthy women were somewhat exempt due to their prosperity. The 1700s — when A Vindication of the Rights of Woman was written — did not differ much from the 1600s. The 1700s is popular for the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the Constitution in 1787, but women were not involved in either aspect. Despite that many women had served as laundresses, cooks, or nurses as they followed their husbands in the army, it appeared that a females only place in politics was in the policy of republican motherhood — the concept that it was a mother’s job to raise her children with values representing the new form of
Mary Wollstonecraft’s famous book, Vindication of the Rights of Women, is “one of the earliest expressions of a feminist consciousness.” Wollstonecraft claims that women are upset mainly due to the fact that they are not receiving the education they deserve, and goes on to explain how women are notorious for being weak, and mentally unstable. She blames the education system for this since all the books are written by men, and they claim that women are barley humans and are treated as another species. She questions the eligibility of men to claim they are better than women. A useful education, in her opinion, is one that teaches students how to be strong and independent. Her directed audience is anyone who is unsure of the true definition and meaning of feminism. Wollstonecraft believes that all humans are capable of the same intelligence, no matter the gender. Her overall idea is that every individual, both male and female, deserve equality.
Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman addresses the causality between a lack of education and a lack of reasonability. She advocates for virtue through reason, rather than virtue over reason. Wollstonecraft argues that the minimal freedom of women has limited their view on life, and thusly, their potential intelligence. In fact, she stipulates “all the difference that I can discern, arises from the superior advantage of liberty, which enables the former [man] to see more of life.” Through this greater exposure to the world, Wollstonecraft argues that man holds greater capacity for the development of a thoughtful mind. She extends this reasoning when asserts that a female who attempts to grow her intellect is quickly quashed through deflection to a life of domestic rules and behavior. Wollstonecraft asserts, “if they have natural sagacity it is turned too soon on life and manners.” In summary, this piece of literature contends that women are shaped into subservient individuals who lack the capacity for original thought and discourse. This is portrayed in her comparison of women to a soldier. “[T]hey may well be disciplined machines, but they seldom contain men under
She was a mother, a moral and political philosopher, a writer, and a feminist. Mary Wollstonecraft was the ideal image of what represented the push towards modern feminism. Some may even consider her as the founding mother of modern feminism itself. Much of Wollstonecraft’s literature is influenced by her own life experiences. In 1785, Wollstonecraft took on an employment opportunity as a governess. While spending most of her time there, she had a moment of epiphany where she realized that she was not suited for domestic work. Soon after, she returned to London and became a translator and wrote for a well-known publisher and discovered her love of writing. Eventually, years later she was then able to publish her most notable work, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792). A Vindication of the Rights of Woman is still a very popular book which can be seen as a guide to becoming a better citizen and understanding feminism in a critical context. This essay will argue that Mary Wollstonecraft is still relevant to the feminist cause today as her views portrayed in her book A Vindication of the Rights of Woman are still relatable to many of the feminist issues that currently exist around the world. This essay will do so by comparing how her views in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman can still be used as guiding principles to tackle feminist matters.
Sor Juana’s poem “Foolish Men” highlights the hypocrisy of men through the use of a condescending tone and the revealing of hypocrisy as
Wollstonecraft argues that women lack the worthy object that “sufficient serious employment” (The Rights of Men and The Rights of Woman, 194) furnishes. Premise of Vindication, is that the duties of the female are influenced by their education. An example of this is the aspirations to become “The Angel in the House” (Kühl, 171),
When writing “A Vindication of the Rights of Men”, Wollstonecraft was a woman in a “man’s world”. Her voice was a lone female amongst the opinions and politics of men and she “went up against two of the
Everyone should be treated as equals. However, in Mary Wollstonecraft’s era, women did not have the same equal rights as men. It was a time period of sexism and double standards. In her work Vindication of the Rights of Women, she argues and defends for the equality of women. Wollstonecraft believed that everyone has the ability to reason and learn; therefore women should be able to receive the same amount of necessities involving proper education, support, attitude, respect, etc., that are needed in order to accomplish goals as any other person, in this case, men. As of today in the 21st century, Wollstonecraft would be disappointed due to the amount of disrespect society contributes on women, as well as some women who have no respect for their own self-worth. In order to improve, changes must start from within.
During the late eighteenth century women were not respected like men were respected. Women had to do the chores around the house
First, in the Vindication Of Women's rights, the author Mary Wollstonecraft mainly argued for equal rights in women's education. Wollstonecraft notes “ To pressure personal beauty, women glory; the limits and faculties are cramped with worse than Chinese bands, and the sedentary life
Firstly, Wollstonecraft argues that women lack the worthy object that “sufficient serious employment” (The Rights of Men and The Rights of Woman, 194) furnishes. Accordingly, the premise of Vindication, suggests the duties of the female, are influenced by
Women have been seen as help, taking care of their children, cleaning, cooking and being at men’s disposal. The theory that men are the one to carry the household and provide for his family has been apart of this oppression against women. As well as women’s only use to society is their beauty rather than their intelligence, physical abilities or what they can do to help our society. Wollstonecraft exclaimed, “Like the poor African slaves.. only to sweeten the cup of man? Is not this indirectly to deny woman reason?
Wollstonecraft is not advocating for physical equality because in terms of nature, men are built in a more superior manner. However, one’s mind was not built to be superior or inferior depending on one’s sex. Wollstonecraft states that men have caused women’s minds to be, “rendered weak and wretched” due to the stereotypes that became embedded in minds and cultures for hundreds of years.
The roles of women during the Romantic Era were truly difficult. Life was strikingly challenging for women in specific due to previous beliefs of what they should and should not be attempting. However, the Romantic Era was a turning point for women, and life was beginning to change in favor of them and the rights they deserved. “A Vindication of the Rights of Women”, written by Mary Wollstonecraft, explains how women should be equal to men. They deserved more rights, and shouldn’t have been looked down on.
As one of the earliest feminist writers, Mary Wollstonecraft faced a daunting audience of critics ready to dispel her cry for the rights of women. Her powerful argument calling for equality in a society dominated by men was strong, and her ideas withstood a lot of criticism to become one of the most important feminist texts. Her argument was simple and illustrates a solution to the inequality in society. The foundation of this argument is the idea of education and how independent thought is necessary to live a virtuous and moral life. In the present state of society, women are seen as inferior to men and held in a state of ignorance. The worst effect of this
“The conduct and manners of women, in fact, evidently prove that their minds are not in a healthy state; for, like the flowers which are planted in too rich a soil, strength and usefulness are sacrificed to beauty; and the flaunting leaves, after having pleased a fastidious eye, fade, disregarded on the stalk, long before the season when they ought to have arrived at maturity” (Wollstonecraft 7). This is a view in which several feminists abide with and can relate to; the idea that women have the wrong intentions and goals for their lives, that they are treated like children and are predestined to act like children, instead of adults. Although the Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft was written in 1972, this