The Subjection of Women
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1869
- Form
- Political theory
- Language
- English
- Length
- Short · 110 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Moderate2 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendThe Subjection of WomenHackett, 1988Susan Moller Okin's edition is inexpensive and has a good short introduction.
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Mill argues that the legal subordination of women to men is a survival of the law of force, the last relic of a world in which the strong simply ruled the weak, and that it should be replaced by perfect equality before the law. He attacks the claim that women's present character shows their nature, since that character has been produced by the very conditions under discussion, and insists that no one can know what women can do until the artificial barriers come down. He describes marriage as it then stood as a form of legal despotism, and argues that equality would benefit men as much as women.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns The Subjection of Women are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
