The 'man-hater'

This is summary on the ideas of Mary Wollstonecraft (after having read Chapter One and with special attention to Chapter Four of ‘A Vindication of the rights of Women').

Wollstonecraft was born in 1759 and died in 1797; she was an English writer of great influence and clearly a feminist. Her best known work is probably ‘The Vindication of the Rights of Woman’, it is her key ideas within this book that are most interesting to discuss during this seminar paper. As an overview, Wollstonecraft feels that woman are not inferior to men but only appear so because of differences in education and lifestyle, she says that woman are often left with nothing substantial with which to occupy their minds. She says that it is against ‘romantic wavering feelings, that I wish to guard the female heart by exercising the understanding: for these paradisiacal reveries are oftener the effects of idleness than of a lively fancy’ (Wollstonecraft 1972, p. 171).

Wollstonecraft begins her argument by admitting that a ‘woman is naturally weak’ (Wollstonecraft 1972, p 142). What Wollstonecraft chooses to focus on however is the idea that women are made weaker still by the society in which they live. Women are not allowed to make their own formative decisions; they have to believe and trust in the judgement of others and hope for the best. Wollstonecraft writes that women are ‘represented as only created to see through a gross medium and to take things on trust’ (Wollstonecraft 1972, p.143). This idea seems to irritate Wollstonecraft as she endeavours to think in a fresh and organic way, she wants people to begin ‘dismissing’ what she calls ‘fanciful theories’, and urges people to start ‘considering women as a whole’ (Wollstonecraft 1972,p.143). This is in direct relation to Wollstonecraft’s questioning why men are given ‘first mode of existence’ (Wollstonecraft 1972, p. 154), whilst women are ‘fragile in every sense of the word, they are obliged to look up to man for every comfort’ (Wollstonecraft, p.155).

A very prominent idea in Wollstonecraft’s work is the etiquette and respect shown from man to woman. Wollstonecraft sees these flourishes as something insulting ‘so ludicrous … the ceremonies appear to me … when I see a man start with eager and serious solicitude to lift a handkerchief or shut a door, when the lady could have done it herself had she only moved a pace or two’ (Wollstonecraft 1972, p 148). Wollstonecraft also feels that women are dressed up in their finery only to be mocked ‘they are treated like queens only to be deluded by hollow respect’ (Wollstonecraft 1972, p. 147). This idea ties up with another one of her points; dress. Women would rise and dress for breakfast only to then consider what to wear for the afternoon and then how to impress in the evening. Wollstonecraft feels that woman’s thoughts are constantly around themselves causing extreme vanity and growth of a superficial character. Wollstonecraft discusses an exact obsession with dress, not only in the wearing but also in the act of sewing clothes and paying attention to needle work. Here Wollstonecraft explains that a poor woman sews to responsibly clothe her family or to earn a living, but wealthy woman who only sew so that they may dress even better than they otherwise could are the ones who ‘dress merely for the sake of dressing’ (Wollstonecraft 197, p. 173).

Wollstonecraft appears to be passionate about the idea that women are considered to have no sense of logic or reason, they are never contradicted in public therefore unable to discuss and debate issues, this makes all social endeavour as far as a woman is concerned, very pretentious (‘women, commonly called ladies, are not to be contradicted, in company’ (Wollstonecraft 1972, p. 150). Women are also not allowed to do any physical or strenuous work, they are not allowed to exercise, and their muscles grow weak and soft (see page 155).

Sexuality is discussed, in particular an interesting idea that pleasure for men is merely a sideline in comparison to their careers but that for woman, pleasure is absolutely everything, in her exact words ‘pleasure is considered merely a relaxation, whilst women seek for pleasure as the main purpose for existence’ (Wollstonecraft 1972, p.152), however Wollstonecraft also writes that, a woman ‘was not created merely to be the solace of man, and the sexual should not destroy the human character’ (Wollstonecraft 1972, p. 143- 144).

The education and lifestyle of women entails that they constantly spend time together giving them no time to use their intellect or consider their own passions individually; they are therefore abandoned to focus solely on their sentiments and have to be politically correct. Novels, music and poetry are their educational focuses which encourage their characters to form into something foolish (see page 154). Wollstonecraft believes that ‘gardening, experimental philosophy, and literature would afford them subject to think of and matter for conversation that in some degree would exercise their understandings’ (Wollstonecraft 1972, p. 173). Essentially women do not have enough to do; this causes romantic fantasies which are unhealthy. Poor woman however, work, sustain and manage their families and are therefore hugely occupied and Wollstonecraft mentions in her writing how they act ‘heroically’ (Wollstonecraft 1972, p. 174).

On page 156 Wollstonecraft quotes the philosopher Rousseau, who is clearly someone who influenced her, here she seems to agree with his ideas but elsewhere their thinking does differ, he did for example, have some ideas about woman that were contrary to her feminist ideals.

The idea than men work and strive and then are worthy reap rewards of pleasure, women are in the unhealthy place of receiving pleasures without having earned them (see page 158). If a father dies his son would receive the inheritance, and the sister would live in the household at the kind generosity of her brother, However when the brother came to marry there would be a new mistress of the house and the sister would be made to feel like an intruder upon their new found happiness (see page 159).

With regards to religion, Wollstonecraft questions how women can believe that God created human beings with man above women; she asks God if a woman can ‘consent to be occupied merely to please him – merely to adorn the earth – when her soul is capable of rising to Thee?’(Wollstonecraft 1972, p.162).

In conclusion Wollstonecraft is known as the first major feminist, early 20th century writers call her a ‘man-hater’ (Wollstonecraft 1972, p. 2). The fact that she grew up in a male dominated society could have shaped her ideas, she did refuse things such as earl marriage. Her writings suggest an aggravation towards class, she herself was born into a big family that did encounter poverty, yet Wollstonecraft was grateful that she did not have to adhere to an upbringing that middle class girls has to, which she felt brought ‘infirmity’ in later life. Upon leaving home and pursuing her own life she always endeavoured to look after and influence her siblings, for example she saved a sister from early marriage. She liked simple things, like fresh air. Wollstonecraft paints a picture of the ideal family unit where children or eductaed by an intelligent and knowldegable mother instead of being sent away to school. It is a pity, perhaps that she lived her own privae life so differently to her written and published ideals. Some say that she was hypocritcal in the love affairs she had, others see these acts as proof of her being a victim to the society in which she had to live.