Western Civ.-The Prevailing Opinion of a sexual character discussed

The Prevailing Opinion of A Sexual Character Discussed

Wollstonecraft 's Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792 ) should be regarded as a pioneer work in feminism for its advanced ideas . Her grasp of the essential problems of women and recommendations are far ahead of any eighteenth century thinker . In the second chapter of Vindication she attributes the roots of women 's degradation to her faulty education and the double standards of a patriarchal society . She blames the traditional upbringing as the main source of women 's bondage . She has also challenged the

wisdom of Milton , Rousseau and Dr .Gregory which encourage confinement and false notions of modesty ' and thereby stunt the unfoldment of their potential . She aggressively demands equal education for women for their all round growth and independence which is a modern concept . The chivalrous men whom she calls the sensualists are more harmful as they treat women as sex objects and worship them on the pedestal . She comes up with a bold remedy for this age-old conditioning , Strengthen the female mind by enlarging it , and there will be an end to blind obedience . Women have to struggle hard to break this chain as the dominating romantic males try to keep them in ignorance and treat them as slaves and playthings

For her originality , incisive analysis and courage to champion women 's causes , Wollstonecraft should be regarded the first architect of feminism , though the word `feminism ' was coined in 1895 , a century later . Like Simone de Beauvoir in Le Deuxieme Sexe (1949 ) she attacks the contemporary male society for treating women as object of beauty and charm - an apparently innocent shackle that retards her intellectual growth . She finds a parallel to women 's exploitation in the military life : soldiers are kept obedient and ignorant to serve the purpose of the state and like women they were only taught to and they only live to

It was a daunting task for Wollstonecraft to castigate intellectual giants of her age like Milton , Rousseau and Dr .Gregory for their male chauvinism which render women more artificial , weak . She believes that it is the lovers , whom she disparagingly calls sensualists ' and most dangerous enemy , who are responsible for women 's backwardness After criticizing Rousseau 's character Sophia as grossly unnatural she moves a step forward by attacking the foundation of her character . It was these male authorities who kept the women dependent and subservient to the superior ' male - alluring object of desire a sweeter companion to men . Even after two centuries , this romantic image ensures success at box office . Wollstonecraft even blasts the Bible and its prophet Moses for insinuating the idea that woman was created for man and therefore cannot have any independent existence of her own . The life of a single woman amounts to sin . She observes how man from the remotest antiquity , found it convenient to exert his strength to subjugate his companion

In her opinion the way to women 's emancipation lies in discarding the false refinement...