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A disorderly kind of education - Coggle Diagram
A disorderly kind of education
A Vindication for the Rights of Woman
ch. II, 1792 by Mary Wollstonecraft
CULTURAL CONTEXT
towards the end of the Age of Enlightenment
during the
French Revolution
fight for the rights of
men
(
liberty, equality, fraternity)
what about the
rights of women?
women were not considered in public life
they were '
incapable
', compared to men:
meek, weak, and submissive
creatures of senses
their
education
was
negleted
they were prepared for
marriage
, not social life
could not contribute to society
Mary Wollstonecraft
pioneer and advocate for women's rights
she argued for
equal educational
opportunities
women are as capable as men
women's incapacity is not nature, it's culture
equality in
education
--> equality in
society
education is the foudation of society
STYLE: reflects her aim
the tone is:
critical
rational
polemical
persuasive
avoids emotional involement
focuses on antithesis
reason vs senses
education vs appearance
social usefulness vs superficial accomplishments
men vs women's education
elements
logical structure
analytical reasoning
didactic tone
social criticism
faith in education and reason
WOMEN'S STATE
disregard of order
without a logical order, there cannot be a proper education that hightens their reason and analytical capacities --> society educates women to become superficial
does not happen in men's education!
they act by
emulation
women are unable to purse new fields and
limit themselves
into doing what they are sure of
do not develop their own personality
women acquired a false sense of themselves through their prescribed social identity, in which they were taught to value beauty and practise the arts of femininity
in their education,
logic is negleted
while senses (emotion and feelings) are overly valued
cramping thier understandings and sharpening their senses
they do not pursue any one branch (...) necessary to give vigour to the faculties and clearness to the judgement
women are
denied rational development
→ treated as decorative beings rather than rational citizens
women's objective in society is
marriage
in the education of women, the cultivation of the understanding is always subordinate to the acquirement of some corporeal accomplishment
women were required to know how to dance, play an instrument, speak different languages (conversational purposes), have a proper posture and walk, draw and sing
neither of these things prepared them for life, instead they
took care of their appearence in society
but they did not have a choice,
marriage
was their
only mean of survival