memejaeger 's review for:

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Shelley

4.5

challenging informative inspiring medium-paced

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Often in Academia we come across the phrase “We stand on the shoulders of giants” and never has this phrase been more applicable than to the contents of this book. A few comments, one, this is exceptionally easy to read for an 18th century text, and is absent of the superfluous fluff many other contemporaries of hers loved and clung to. Two, the only thing keeping this from being a five star book is her rather strange and off putting views towards the continent of Africa and Asia. But, setting aside personal bigotry, her argument is foundational to the Femminist movement for a good reason. To loop back to the phrase at the start of the review, it’s astronomically impressive we’ve come from “maybe we should educate women the same as men so they can be better partners to each other” to challenging the whole foundation of patriarchy that has stood for thousands of years. And what’s kinda funny, even in the reactionary sections of feminism, so called “Tradwives” fall more in line with the argument of this Femminist text than anything penned by a man. All roads truly lead back to Mary, and this text. Final note, her admiration and scathing critique of Rousseau reminds me of Alexander Pope’s damning with faint praise. Truly, an excellent work.