Mary Wollstonecraft was born on 27 April 1759 in the United Kingdom in the European continent. She was an English writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. She was the champion of women's rights and demanded their rights fearlessly. She described her beliefs in " A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" in 1792 and this is considered a classic of feminism literature.
She argued for the rights and liberties of women's rights. She expressed her stern voice where she talked about how the male community regarded females as the seconded sex. She was very disappointed with the way the women were treated in society. She expressed her deep anguish regarding those people who felt that females must not be given full freedom in their life.
Some of her notable work are as follows.
1.“Letters Written During a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark”
2.“Maria; or, The Wrongs of Woman”
3.“A Vindication of the Rights of Woman”
Her subjects of the study were mainly women and equality. She became a novelist best known as the author of Frankenstein (1818).
She is regarded as a prominent figure among the female personalities in the world. Work done by her has left a profound impact on her influencers. She champions the liberation and education of women. She had dedicated her whole life to the freedom of women. She took her last breath on 10 September 1797 at the age of 38 in Somers Town, London, in England.
Below are some of the famous Mary Wollstonecraft Quotes.
No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks.
Mary Wollstonecraft explains through this quote that a man never wants to become evil. He never wants to follow the wrong path, but he chooses evil ways because of happiness. To gain instant happiness, a person dreads the wrong path, which takes him nowhere in life.
Make women rational creatures, and free citizens, and they will quickly become good wives; - that is, if men do not neglect the duties of husbands and fathers.
Mary Wollstonecraft focuses on woman empowerment. She says that a woman is capable of doing many things. She must be free. She must be given complete liberty to enjoy her rights. She has the right to choose whatever she wants in her life, and only then can she prosper and move ahead in life.
The divine right of husbands, like the divine right of kings, may, it is hoped, in this enlightened age, be contested without danger.
She says that women also have equal status over men. A woman is capable of doing many things. The men think that they have all the liberty to do whatever they want, and due to this notion in their mind, they regard the female as the second sex and do not give them their due advantage. They think that women do not have any rights and they can do whatever they want. The men must understand that women also have equal rights just like men, and they must be given respect in society.
The beginning is always today. Mary Wollstonecraft says that we can do huge tasks by being in the present.
A new beginning can be started if we are full of determination and have hope in our hearts.
Men and women must be educated, in a great degree, by the opinions and manners of the society they live in.
She says that both men and women must be educated so that they can grow properly in life. By getting them educated, we can make them independent in life. By educating them, we can shape their opinions and views. Also, there will be the inculcation of good manners and etiquette in their life.
Virtue can only flourish among equals.
Mary Wollstonecraft talks about the importance of behaviour showing and high moral standards in society. She says that manners and etiquettes form an essential part of life. If good manners are inculcated into the younger kids and the people, we can flourish in this world and make it a happy place to live.
Continue reading some more Mary Wollstonecraft Quotes...
Strengthen the female mind by enlarging it, and there will be an end to blind obedience.
Females are the pillar of strength. They have immense power in them. The females need to be trained properly, and they must be nourished thoroughly so that she can make proper decisions concerning situations present in her life. By enlarging her scope of the area, she will become a better human being and stand up for her rights. She will demand her rights, and this will protect her in society. She will get respect and will not remain secondary.
Children, I grant, should be innocent; but when the epithet is applied to men or women, it is but a civil term for weakness.
Mary Wollstonecraft stresses the need to teach good manners to children. However, she explains that manners and etiquettes become meaningless in terms of men and women because they do not obey such things in their day-to-day life.
Slavery to monarchs and ministers, which the world will be long freeing itself from, and whose deadly grasp stops the progress of the human mind, is not yet abolished.
Mary Wollstonecraft says that slavery is the worst form of human-created violence. She says that every person present on this planet is a slave in one form or the other. He is not free. Slavery stops him from progressing in life. The roots of slavery must not destroy the life of the people. And so, it must be instantly abolished so that nobody is exploited.
Taught from infancy that beauty is woman's sceptre, the mind shapes itself to the body, and roaming round its gilt cage, only seeks to adorn its prison.
She says that a woman is always surrounded by the beauty concept. She says that women regard beauty as an essential part of their life. So to maintain their beauty, she tries to do various things so that he can become beautiful. The so-called beauty concept surrounds the whole of life.
Some more Mary Wollstonecraft Quotes...
I love my man as my fellow; but his sceptreptreal, or usurped, extends not to me unless the reason of an individual demand my homage; and even then the submission is to reason, and not to man.
She says that she loves her husband just like a friend. She treats her husband as a friendly one with whom she likes to enjoy every aspect of life.
It is justice, not charity, that is wanting in the world.
Justice is the need of the hour. The world needs justice and not charity. Justice is required by every individual present on this planet. Every individual has a right to justice, and he must be given justice so that he does not suffer anymore.
Women are systematically degraded by receiving the trivial attentions which men think it manly to pay to the sex, when, in fact, men are insultingly supporting their superiority.
Mary Wollstonecraft talks about women issues here. She has discussed that women have been subjected to oppression from times immemorial.
Women have suffered a lot because they have been treated very poorly by the male community. The ill-treatment done by the males has left women backwards in society.
The being cannot be termed rational or virtuous, who obeys any authority, but that of reason.
Moral values form an essential part of life. They guide us and help us to go through tough times. Decorum can be maintained in society by following these rules and regulations. These can show the path to society as to how to behave in a group of people.
If women are educated for dependence; that is, to act according to the will of another fallible being, and submit, right or wrong, to power, where are we to stop?
Mary Wollstonecraft talks about women empowerment. She is a good advocate of women's issues. She tells us that the woman must be educated so that they can become independent in life. Women also have an equal share in society and must be strengthened so that they can fulfil their aims in life.
It is time to effect a revolution in female manners - time to restore to them their lost dignity. It is time to separate unchangeable morals from local manners.
Female power must be strengthened in the world. A revolution must take place where all the women of the world must come together and demand their dignity. Women must rise, and they must come forward so that they can restore their rights and bring change in the world order.
Few more Mary Wollstonecraft Quotes...
Surely something resides in this heart that is not perishable - and life is more than a dream.
Mary Wollstonecraft talks about ambition here. She regards the goals in life as the spirit which leads a person in life.
Women ought to have representatives, instead of being arbitrarily governed without any direct share allowed them in the deliberations of government.
She says that the woman must represent the government. Females must rise to power. Women leaders especially must govern society so that they can bring positive change among the people. Only women can bring awareness to society.
Learn from me, if not by my precepts, then by my example, how dangerous is the pursuit of knowledge and how much happier is that man who believes his native town to be the world than he who aspires to be greater than his nature will allow.
She divides herself as the best example so that people can follow her. She represents herself as the leader of women's rights. She describes herself as a powerful woman who has aspired and became successful.
Independence I have long considered as the grand blessing of life, the basis of every virtue; and independence I will ever secure by contracting my wants, though I were to live on a barren heath.
Mary Wollstonecraft regards independence as an essential right of a human being. She explains that being independent is the greatest blessing of life bestowed upon a human being. By being independent, one can enjoy their life entirely.