Mary Wollstonecraft's "A Vindication on the Rights of Woman"

Writing has changed hugely since the 18th century, but you never really realise it until you read something from that time period. Mary Wollstonecraft is an excellent example of how brilliant ideas of that time are more difficult to understand today due to the writing being muddled with manners, pleasantries, and above-average word choice that you don't find in current writing that is much more accessible to readers from all walks of life.

Wollstonecraft definitely has a voice. The manners and humility that progressively faded were distracting to the reader today, who is used to essays typically making their points more confidently. However, because of the language of this essay it was difficult to gather exactly the point she was making, but the reader I believe generally garnered the gist of it, that women were not as inferior as society and influencial philosophers like Rousseau generally believed them to be. I think Wollstonecraft believed women had more intelligence and virtues, but centuries-long prejudice and oppression kept them from reaching their intellectual potential.

Wollstonecraft is brave and revolutionary for writing about women's rights in her time. Though perhaps her greatest contribution of this essay is not the valid points she makes, but the very fact that she was this immense intellect and philosopher writing a hugely influential essay.

"I wish to speak the simple language of truth, and rather to address the head than the heart," claimed Wollstonecraft. She does this with grace and intelligence, and it lends even more to her credibility as she successfully attempts to prove with reason that women are not as inferior as believed in 18th century society. Almost all of the essay is well-mannered and respectful, only occasionally pointing out what is truly preposterous in the opinions of her opponents.

I believe Wollstonecraft would be proud of women's rights and equality today, as her prediction of women being the "friend...of man" is much closer to reality than in the 18th century. Even more proud she would be, I'm sure, of her role in feminism thanks to this influential essay.