Mary Wollstonecraft

Founder of modern feminist philosophy — reason and rights for women.

EnlightenmentEnlightenmentEnglish1759–1797 CE◦ London (England)18th century CE

Overview

An English writer and philosopher, Wollstonecraft turned Enlightenment principles of reason and rights against the subordination of women. In A Vindication of the Rights of Woman she argued that women appear inferior only because they are denied education, and that they possess the same rational and moral capacities as men. She called for women's education, economic independence, and civic inclusion. A pioneering advocate of human rights who also answered Burke on the French Revolution, she founded modern feminist thought.

What they supported — and why

Women possess reason equally

SupportedWomen are not naturally inferior to men; they appear so only because they are denied education and kept dependent.

WhyReason and virtue are human, not male; give women the same education and their equal rational and moral capacity will show.

Virtue is the same for both sexes

SupportedThere is one standard of virtue and reason for all human beings, not a separate, lesser 'feminine' virtue of charm and obedience.

WhyIf virtue is grounded in reason, and women reason, then morality cannot rightly demand different, weaker virtues of them.

Education, independence, and rights for women

SupportedWomen should be educated, economically independent, and included as citizens.

WhyOnly rational, independent women can be true moral agents, good partners and mothers, and full members of society.

Causes championed

The equality and education of women
Universal human rights
Reason against prejudice and custom

Issues wrestled with

Are women naturally inferior, or made so by society?
Is virtue the same for men and women?
What do justice and reason require for women?

Hurdles faced

Ridicule and scandal in a deeply patriarchal age
Personal hardship and an early death at 38 (days after giving birth to Mary Shelley)

Works & books

2 catalogued. Status shows how much survives to today.

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Survives

c. 1792 CE

The founding work of modern feminist philosophy.

A Vindication of the Rights of Men

Survives

Her reply to Edmund Burke defending the French Revolution and human rights.

Read the texts free

10 of Mary Wollstonecraft’s works are free to read in full — public-domain English editions on Project Gutenberg, matched from Gutenberg’s own catalogue.

A vindication of the rights of men, in a letter to the Right Honourable Edmund Burke; occasioned by his Reflections on the Revolution in FranceRead here →A Vindication of the Rights of WomanRead here →An historical and moral view of the origin and progress of the French Revolution; and the effect it has produced in EuropeRead here →Letters Written During a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and DenmarkRead here →Maria; Or, The Wrongs of WomanRead here →MaryRead here →Original stories from real lifeRead here →Posthumous Works of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of WomanRead here →The Love Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft to Gilbert ImlayRead here →Thoughts on the Education of DaughtersRead here →

Every edition online — Open Library catalogues 195 works & editions, 15 of them free to read in full.

Open LibraryBrowse every edition & scan →Project GutenbergAll free ebooks →

The influence network

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Influenced by

Influenced

In their words

“I do not wish women to have power over men, but over themselves.”
— A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Legacy

She founded modern feminist philosophy, extending the Enlightenment's own principles of reason and rights to women.

Follow their questions

This thinker is a stop on these paths through philosophy.

What is a just society? →