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A review by kmhst25
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft
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