A review by zazine
Solitude of Self by Elizabeth Cady Stanton

informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.0

 

I’ve always considered myself a feminist, but never really took the time to study the feminist political movement. I know its history is complicated and controversial, and that makes it a tough subject to approach. I mean, where do you even start? 

So, I started with Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s speech Solitude of Self. It’s written 40 years after her first women’s rights convention and her more famous Declaration of sentiments speech, but still 30 years before women got the right to vote – early first wave feminism. 

What I found was both obvious – women are people too – and still surprising. There’s no blame on the system, legislators, or men, as I would’ve expected. The main idea is that in our hardest moments we can rely only on ourselves, and we all need education and equal rights so we can achieve safety and happiness. She makes a point to say that every person has a birthright to be equally prepared for these challenging moments – regardless of gender, race, religion, or wealth. It baffles me that this was such a controversial idea at the time – that all humans have value and deserve the same rights. 

What did women in the late 19th century ask for? Access to complete education, the right to own property, political equality, financial credit and being paid for their work, a voice in legislation and the right to choose a jury of their peers. It seems basic, looking at it now, but Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the women at her side (Lucretia Mott and Susan B. Anthony to name a few) started the biggest shift in modern society asking for these rights. 

At the end of the book there’s a short history of Stanton’s life and there we learn more about her involvement in the abolitionist movement and her work with the National American Women Suffrage Association. 

What’s amazing to me is that she never thought that women’s right to vote would happen in her lifetime, and still she dedicated her life to this mission. She wrote in her journal: “I never forget we are sowing winter wheat, which the coming spring will see sprout, and other hands than ours will reap and enjoy”.