Mary Wollstonecraft Influence

1419 Words3 Pages

Kristen Morris
December 7, 2015
British Literature
Professor Chamutal Noimann
Final Draft
Mary Wollstonecraft a Philosopher with Influence
The Romantic era was an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe at the end of the 18th century. This time period is said to be a reaction to the Age of Enlightenment’s drive to attain knowledge. During this era ideas about individual liberty (individual liberty is the liberty of those persons who are free from external restraint in the exercise of those rights which are considered to be outside the province of a government to control.) were flowing. The Romantic era was not beneficial for women. In response to the lack of equality for women, advocates for female equality …show more content…

Jean Jacques Rousseau was born in Geneva on June 28, 1712. Growing up Rousseau had a bit of tragic events happen during his adolescents. After the departure of his father Jean Jacques Rousseau was taken in by his uncle and sent to school in a nearby village with his cousin. In 1745 he met Therese Levasseur his soon to be wife and the mother of his five children that was ultimately left at an orphanage in Paris. Jean Jacques Rousseau became friends with Etienne Bonnot de Condillac and Denis Diderot working on miniscule articles for …show more content…

He also thought they were made to be better thinkers than women. According to Jean Jacques Rousseau men were only dependent on women because growing up in the Romantic period women were groomed to be desirable to mean. In other words from their young adolescents days until they are grown women are only given the basic education, taught how to be the perfect housewives, and taught how to care for their husbands and children. Rousseau classifies this role as the “natural role of a wife” and goes to tell Emile this is what Sophie’s life will become. He also goes on to tell Emile that Sophie will be an obedient passive wife never questioning her husband or anything he says or asks of her. Although Rousseau tends to speak highly of the cleverness possessed by women in Emile. It is hard to believe that he thinks women are clever because he believes men are more superior to a woman. Mary Wollstonecraft however believed that women were just as capable as men to attain anything they set their minds too. Mary believed that the difference between both male and female should not be used to justify patriarchy and class. Wollstonecraft believed that even though Rousseau was against women obtaining education many other philosophers supported Wollstonecraft’s belief that women had the right to obtain an unlimited amount of knowledge to their

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