Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Women

Pretend

To feign is too ...

Instill

To inculcate is to ...

The counter argument that Wollstonecraft uses to refute the assumption that improved education will make a woman too masculine is that masculinity is just a bugbear, which is a cause of fear. There shouldn't be much worry about women becoming too masculine, because they will still be dependent on men for their strength. Women won't gain "too much courage or fortitude" (14), but they will gain enough from improved education that will not make them "propagators of fools" (13). Women will be more than just an object of desire.

What counterargument does Wollstonecraft use to refute the assumption that improved education will make a woman too masculine?

The meaning behind Wollstonecraft wanting women to become "more masculine" is that she doesn't want us women to hide our talents and virtues, because they embody our human character. This raises "females in the scale of human being" (4). She doesn't necessarily want us to partake in hunting, shooting, or gaming, but rather do what we want to and what we are good—to show off our talents—which will make us more masculine.

What does Wollstonecraft mean by wanting women to become "more masculine"?j

Quick to disappear

What does evanescent mean?

A privilege

What does prerogative mean?

Women are weak and unfit for motherhood

What does the author say is a result of women striving only to be alluring objects?

To education women we will be solving 90% of the issues

What is Wollstonecraft's point?

A justification

What is a vindication?

Women should strive to be respectable and see pleasing others as a polish to their virtues

Which statement is a counterargument that Wollstonecraft offers to refute opposing viewpoints?

Mary Wollstonecraft

Who wrote "A Vindication of the Rights of Women" ?

She claims fondness will always fade

Why does Wollstonecraft tell women to be their husbands' friends?

Encouraged women to be frivolous (superficial)

Wollstonecraft says that the books that have been written for women's improvement have generally ...

Wollstonecraft states that there is a "great difference" between the sexes because unlike men, women are considered to be "weak" and "wretched". The conduct of women shows that they are not in a very "healthy state," but rather they are only pretty to the eye and are not mature (Wollstonecraft 1).

According to Wollstonecraft, why is there "a great difference" rather than equality between the sexes?

I think that Wollstonecraft would urge mothers to teach their children to follow their dreams. To do what your heart desires and never hold yourself back. You can do anything that you believe. Wollstonecraft wants mothers to show their children that they are capable of anything, not matter if they are a boy or a girl. They can do anything!

Consider Wollstonecraft's response to Dr. Gregory's ideas. What do you think she would urge mothers to teach their children so that boys and girls might enjoy a greater equality?

Wollstonecraft's counter argument is that being a women she does not agree with the claim that women are naturally inferior to men and this is her personal opinion, but it is inevitable. "The male pursues, the female yields—this is the law of nature; and it does not appear to be suspended or abrogated in favour of woman (Wollstonecraft 3)." She doesn't like it but it's an advantage that men have.

In the previous two sections (beginning with "Yet") what is Wollstonecraft's counterargument to the claim that woman are naturally inferior to men?

Cultivating her own understanding

The author says that a woman should fulfill her responsibility to herself through ...

Education

The author seems most concerned about prevailing attitudes in her time toward women's ...

Women are rational creatures capable of standing alone

Think about Wollstonecraft's early education. She most draws from this context when she claims that ...