A Woman’s Place
Women have experienced hardships since the beginning of time. Society has always placed certain standards upon women which, despite many attempts to remove them, will never go away. Many artists have found inspiration in such hardships and utilized them as their muse within their works. Writers, such as Mary Wollstonecraft and Jane Austen, often touched on the topic of women’s rights in an attempt to help bring light to the inequalities amongst men and women. However, despite their efforts, society still prevailed.
Often throughout history women have not typically been appreciated for all they are capable of. Society has a way of placing more importance and attention on the accomplishments of men. Qualities that make men desirable, in turn, make women far less so. Historically, the role of women has remained within a matriarchically centralized category. Women were expected to take care of the home, to care for the children, and to be subservient to their husbands.
In Mary Wollstonecraft’s work, A Vindication of the Rights of Women, she tries to inform her readers of the difficulties in a day in the life of a woman. She tells of the unfair standards placed upon women simply for their sex. During the 18th and 19th centuries, women were only as valuable as her capabilities as a wife and a mother. Qualities such as open-mindedness, intelligence, independence and even sexuality were not desirable when present in a woman. Such characteristics were considered to be masculine and were not attractive otherwise. Wollstonecraft wrote, “meanwhile, strength of body and mind are sacrificed to libertine notions of beauty, to the desire of establishing themselves, the only way women can used in this world – by marriage” (A Vindication of the Rights of Women). The sacrifices necessary to be made were extensive and persistent. Husbands often had no interest in discovering the knowledge and strength their wives held within themselves.
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In Victorian England, a woman was expected to relinquish any and all assets she may have rights to when entering into a marriage. The idea of giving up any real rights to owned property seems ludicrous; however, as Jane Austen said in one of her letters to her niece, “Single women have a dreadful propensity for being poor-which is one very strong argument in favor of matrimony.” A cure for the curse that was as woman’s poverty was marriage. If a woman married to a wealthy man with societal status, she gained an element of respect that was not given to single women. This was a normality in this time, and as such, women’s roles did not make any notable improvements.
“My own sex, I hope, will excuse me, if I treat them like rational creatures, instead of flattering their fascinating graces, and viewing them as if they were in a state of perpetual childhood, unable to stand alone.” This quote was from Mary’s work A Vindication of the Rights of Women. Mary Wollstonecraft wrote this work in an indirect attempt to spread a wave of feminism and to inspire women to stand for themselves; however, the feministic movement pushed forward at a much slower rate than expected. After any strides towards equality, women were granted the right to vote many years later and to this day strides are still made to change inequalities.
Wollstonecraft sparked a movement that would lead to great improvement within the lives of women. Women started to band together to better the lives of one another and take a stand for their liberties. Writers such as Austen used their creative abilities to provide an underhanded insight to those who may not have otherwise paid attention to the injustices around them. The role of women will always carry the same connotation of being the submissive caretakers, but thanks to writers such as Mary Wollstonecraft women have the courage to take a stance for themselves.
Reference List
- Wollstonecraft, Mary. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman with Strictures on ... www.earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/wollstonecraft1792.pdf.
- Austen, Jane. “In Jane Austen's Own Words: Advice to Fanny Knight About Love.” Login - Ashworth College, courses.ashworthcollege.edu/d2l/le/lessons/12046/topics/224624.
- Austen, Jane. “Pride and Prejudice.” Leviathan - Download Book - PDF EPUB - Freeditorial, freeditorial.com/en/books/pride-and-prejudice/readonline.
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