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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
medium-paced
okay i didn't read the whole thing, i read the abbreviated version in the norton anthology that i'm using to study. but i feel like i get the jist AND i never WILL read the whole thing (unless i have to teach the whole thing or something) so i might as well mark it as read here and write a short "review" of what i did read. i REALLY liked a lot of her very feminist points-- especially considering that she was very sarcastic which is quite funny because of WHEN she was writing, before sarcasm was truly hip-- but then she said some crazy things i disagreed with. sometimes she was all like, i know this is going to sound crazy, but-- and would say something crazy and then justify it. that was okay. but then other times, she didn't preface at all and i was like, whoa mary, whoa. you can't just SAY that. she was before her times, though, for sure, with her view on women and education, and i really liked the points she made about how rich people are just fucked as women (were at the time because women weren't being educated because they were women, and rich people weren't being properly educated because they were spoiled brats--), that was interesting for sure, and for that.... 3.7 stars. i'll round up to four, mary, just because.
challenging
slow-paced
"I very much doubt whether any knowledge can be attained without labour and sorrow [...]"
There was much labour and sorrow in getting through this book. Mary Wollstonecraft really enjoys just airing out her opinions and feelings. I felt at times that not only was she repeating herself but she sometimes contradicted herself.
I felt like there was a few bits that are still relevant today ("The whole system of British politics [...] contriving taxes which grind the poor to pamper the rich [...]") but then there were more bits that seemed completely strange to me (e.g. her views on neglected wives making better mothers and her ridiculous opinions about modesty)
At times it felt like MW didn't even like women unless they fit in her very strict criteria. Oh, and all the religious talk, jesus christ!
Definitely a struggle to get through and I wouldn't call it an essential read.
"Would men but generously snap our chains, and be content with rational fellowship instead of slavish obedience, they would find us more observant daughters, more affectionate sisters, more faithful wives, more reasonable mothers - in a word, better citizens. We should then love them with true affection, because we should learn to respect ourselves [...]"
There was much labour and sorrow in getting through this book. Mary Wollstonecraft really enjoys just airing out her opinions and feelings. I felt at times that not only was she repeating herself but she sometimes contradicted herself.
I felt like there was a few bits that are still relevant today ("The whole system of British politics [...] contriving taxes which grind the poor to pamper the rich [...]") but then there were more bits that seemed completely strange to me (e.g. her views on neglected wives making better mothers and her ridiculous opinions about modesty)
At times it felt like MW didn't even like women unless they fit in her very strict criteria. Oh, and all the religious talk, jesus christ!
Definitely a struggle to get through and I wouldn't call it an essential read.
"Would men but generously snap our chains, and be content with rational fellowship instead of slavish obedience, they would find us more observant daughters, more affectionate sisters, more faithful wives, more reasonable mothers - in a word, better citizens. We should then love them with true affection, because we should learn to respect ourselves [...]"
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Please if you’re going to or have read Frankenstein this is a must read!
reflective
slow-paced
FUCKING FINALLY GOD
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (Oxford Edition) is actually a compilation of three missives - A Vindication of the Rights of Man; A Vindication of the Rights of Woman; and A Philosophical and Moral History of the Revolution in France. They are of... varying pleasure to read.
MAN is a retort to hateful conservative Edmund Burke, written in fits and starts as she was making ends meet and sending pages to a friendly publisher as she wrote them. Tho only 60 pages, there are no chapter or paragraph breaks. The whole thing reads like an overly wordy Twitter callout of which (to non-academics, anyway) you never saw the original offensive post - tho I'll admit Oxford Editions does a valiant job at contextualizing.
WOMAN is Wollstonecraft's magnum opus, in which she actually does hit on quite a few solid thesis statements... which she unfortunately spoils by being an 18th century figure who believes atheism is bad and also sex. Hilariously, there's also an entire chapter dedicated to the evils of horoscopes.
HISTORY is possibly the most interesting one, as it is some fascinating primary source material, certainly of note for researchers who want to study/teach historical bias.
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (Oxford Edition) is actually a compilation of three missives - A Vindication of the Rights of Man; A Vindication of the Rights of Woman; and A Philosophical and Moral History of the Revolution in France. They are of... varying pleasure to read.
MAN is a retort to hateful conservative Edmund Burke, written in fits and starts as she was making ends meet and sending pages to a friendly publisher as she wrote them. Tho only 60 pages, there are no chapter or paragraph breaks. The whole thing reads like an overly wordy Twitter callout of which (to non-academics, anyway) you never saw the original offensive post - tho I'll admit Oxford Editions does a valiant job at contextualizing.
WOMAN is Wollstonecraft's magnum opus, in which she actually does hit on quite a few solid thesis statements... which she unfortunately spoils by being an 18th century figure who believes atheism is bad and also sex. Hilariously, there's also an entire chapter dedicated to the evils of horoscopes.
HISTORY is possibly the most interesting one, as it is some fascinating primary source material, certainly of note for researchers who want to study/teach historical bias.
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
slow-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced