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andread's review against another edition
5.0
Cualquiera que me conozca sabrá que, desde hace apenas unos años, vivo enamorada de Mary Wollstonecraft. La pasión por su hija, Mary Shelley, me llevó a ella y a una maravillosa biografía que me dio pie a conocerla, entre un mar de páginas y a siglos de distancia, a fondo. Leer su Vindicación parecía el próximo paso, pero en la época en la que Mary y yo nos conocimos, yo tenía poco presupuesto para libros y solo pude conseguir una versión en inglés de segunda mano. La fortuna y el movimiento feminista en España, han traído a las bibliotecas de Castilla La Mancha la estantería violeta y, con ella, a Mary Wollstonecraft. Cuando vi el libro lo cogí de inmediato, necesitaba leer a Mary en español para poder entenderla mejor. La versión que yo he leído está editada por Bebi Fernández y, aunque estéticamente es preciosa, a mi gusto (que ni conozco a la editora ni tengo interés en sus comentarios) se hace muy pesada visualmente con tanta frasecita. Sin embargo, la traducción de Marta Lois González es una delicia. Es un texto, pese a la intención de Mary de hacerlo sencillo, pesado para las mentes actuales. Y, sin embargo, me he enganchado a sus páginas con mucha facilidad y me lo he bebido en unos pocos ratos. La visión de Mary del mundo no dicta mucho de las visiones que tenemos ahora y, aunque en algo hemos avanzado, deja una sensación agridulce el acabar uno de los textos pioneros en el feminismo sabiendo que muchos de los problemas que denuncia, seguimos teniéndolos. Sin embargo, he disfrutado tanto leyéndolo que me ha dejado el pecho lleno de calidez. Me ha acercado a Mary y casi parecía que estuviese a mi lado sentada en cada lectura, esperando a saber qué opinaba. Ay, Mary, ojalá supieras, pese a la marginalidad a la que te relegaron, lo mucho que has hecho.
sccrethistory's review against another edition
4.0
En verdad he aprendido mucho, bastante necesario e interesante
kmhst25's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
2.25
I had higher hopes for a foundational feminist text. A Vindication of the Rights of Women contains some interesting concepts and illuminating insights into life in the 1700s, but it's highly scattered and sometimes undermines its own arguments.
Ultimately, Wollstonecraft wrote the book to refute the ideas of male philosophers arguing against the education of women. Therefore, we spend a lot of time learning about those philosophers' opinions, which are repulsive (looking at you, Rousseau). That sets the foundation for the author's own ideas about the education of women, which start out strong but give way to tangents and complaints about women in general. (Wollstonecraft seems to have only known the silliest, laziest women of the time.)
If you're interested in the work, I would recommend reading a summary or a series of excerpts, as opposed to the whole thing.
If you're interested in early feminist works in general, I would strongly recommend Charlotte Perkins Gilman (admittedly, much less early than Wollstonecraft, but still far removed from today). If you're looking for early feminist fiction, her Herland trilogy is excellent; if you're seeking non-fiction arguments about women's rights and the education of women, her essays in The Forerunner are superb.
Ultimately, Wollstonecraft wrote the book to refute the ideas of male philosophers arguing against the education of women. Therefore, we spend a lot of time learning about those philosophers' opinions, which are repulsive (looking at you, Rousseau). That sets the foundation for the author's own ideas about the education of women, which start out strong but give way to tangents and complaints about women in general. (Wollstonecraft seems to have only known the silliest, laziest women of the time.)
If you're interested in the work, I would recommend reading a summary or a series of excerpts, as opposed to the whole thing.
If you're interested in early feminist works in general, I would strongly recommend Charlotte Perkins Gilman (admittedly, much less early than Wollstonecraft, but still far removed from today). If you're looking for early feminist fiction, her Herland trilogy is excellent; if you're seeking non-fiction arguments about women's rights and the education of women, her essays in The Forerunner are superb.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
jessmbark's review against another edition
This work is best explored in an academic context. Without that, or anyone to discuss this with in person, I find more contemporary and intersectional feminist works much more engaging. This is a seminal work, so I feel bad for not finishing it, but I also feel like I am sloughing through it for no real reason other than to say "I read this."
is_book_loring's review against another edition
4.0
It was passionate, bold, written with the force of clear rationality and sharp observation. Mary Wollstonecraft proposed a series of arguments to the importance and right of equal education for women as rational creatures with civic duties, urging a revolution in female manner that will lead to moral improvement of all mankind.
"Make them free, and they will quickly become wise and virtuous, as men become more so; for the improvement must be mutual, or the justice which one half of the human race are obliged to submit to, retorting on their oppressors, the virtue of man will be worm-eaten by the insect whom he keeps under his feet."
"Make them free, and they will quickly become wise and virtuous, as men become more so; for the improvement must be mutual, or the justice which one half of the human race are obliged to submit to, retorting on their oppressors, the virtue of man will be worm-eaten by the insect whom he keeps under his feet."