A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects
Assigned by 2 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1792
- Form
- Political theory
- Language
- English
- Length
- Medium · 280 pp120 to 300 pages
- Difficulty
- Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendA Vindication of the Rights of Woman and A Vindication of the Rights of MenOxford University Press (Oxford World's Classics), 2009Janet Todd's edition has both Vindications in one volume with an introduction and notes.
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Wollstonecraft argues that women appear frivolous and weak not by nature but because they are educated to be, and that a society which denies them reason and independence corrupts both sexes. She attacks Rousseau's Émile and the conduct books that teach girls to please, calls for national coeducational day schools, and argues that women can only be good wives, mothers and citizens if they are first rational beings. Written in six weeks in 1791-1792, it is the founding text of liberal feminism.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns A Vindication of the Rights of Woman 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.