Week 4 Summary Wollstonecraft and Jane Addams
Mary Wollstonecraft and Jane Addams were woman fighting for women’s rights, equality and equal education. Mary Wollstonecraft was “raised in the second half of the eighteenth century” (Gutek, 2013, pg 202). Mary was raised in a dysfunctional family, this was in results form an alcoholic father. “The effects of growing up in a violent household exerted a powerful formative influence in shaping Mary’s personality” (Gutek, 2013, pg. 204). She resented her older brother due to the fact he would inherit the families land all because he was male. “Mary learned to detest situations that seemed to resemble her childhood, in which she was powerless and controlled by a domineering person. Even though she
…show more content…
had accepted a few working positions that placed her in this submissive position, she always left and sought women’s rights and freedom. Wollstonecraft, was a revolutionary thinker and committed liberal, she believed in liberty for all persons, the power of reason, the necessity of change, and the possibilities of progress. As a liberal thinker she felt education would be a powerful instrument in creating a just society where all people, women as well as men, would have equal opportunities to define their own lives” (Gutek, 2013, pg. 202). “During the French Revolutions enthusiast were fighting for “Rights for Men”, she felt that this would be a great opportunity for “rights of man” to be generalized into human rights for all people, including women” (Gutek, 2013, pg. 203). She battled against the laws of a primary dominated male society. “As she struggled to achieve women’s rights in a politically revolutionary era, Wollstonecraft recognized that important socioeconomic changes were occurring.
Her life coincided with the beginning of the industrial revolution and the rise of the European bourgeois and English middle classes. Although the social and educational roles of the aristocratic and peasant women have long been established, the emerging positions of middle and working-class women were still being defined” (Gutek,2013, pg. 203). Wollstonecraft was recognized for being a great writer. She was able to use her writing to appeal for women’s rights and education. In a male dominated society in which fathers, husbands, and firstborn males, dominated daughters, wives and sisters, she wanted equality. She fought for “broader issues of social and educational reform” (Gutek, 2013, pg. 211). She too wanted national education, “her basic premise was that since women and men were cognitively and psychologically the same, boys and girls should have a similar rather then distinctive education. Her plan included the establishment of government sponsored coeducational day schools for the compulsory education of children from five to nine years of age. These schools were to be completely free and open to all children regardless of class. (Gutek, 2013, pg. 218)
Mary Wollstonecraft’s life was extraordinary. She broke the bonds of the limited expectations to which women, especially those of the middle class. Growing up in an
…show more content…
unstable home, gave her the will to turn to self-education of both sense and sensibility which led to fighting for all women’s rights and education. Wollstonecraft wasn’t the only women looking for change in our society. Jane Addams was another great educator and legend. She not only fought for education but fought for immigrant’s education She was thee multicultural educator of her time. Jane Addams was raised up in a time of transformation from a dominantly rural and agricultural society to an urban and industrial nation. She was raised in the Victorian era, the end of the nineteenth century. Women’s rights were still traditional, despite campaigns to win the rights for women to vote, little progress was occurring. Due to the transformation to an urban industry, Addams came up with a strategy to gain a sense of shared community. She wanted to embrace cultural diversity. (Gutek, 2013, pg. 331). With that being said, “Addams found Hull House and became a pioneer in social settlement work” (Gutek, 2013, pg.
331). “She realized that as a young woman, she could either conform to the expectations of others or define herself through her own choices” (Gutek, 2013, pg. 333). She completed a self-assessment and searched for a meaningful career, she was determined to work among the disadvantaged. “She provided services for college-educated, middle class young women and aiding, the urban poor, especially immigrants, in improving themselves and their situation in America. Creating the possibility of a useful career for young women satisfied her long personal search for a life of fulfillment” (Gutek, 2013, pg.
333). “Addams also developed a philosophy of education called “socialized education: which reflected her experience at Hull House as an educator of immigrants. This was a way of addressing society of multicultural and bringing together working-class immigrants with educated middle class reformers, she felt this was needed nationally” (Gutek, 2013, pg. 335). The education of immigrants, both adults and children were very important to Addams. She designed an education program to meet everyone’s needs. Addams encouraged public schools to appreciate the history, culture, and traditions of other countries. She wanted unity. Jane Addams life and work set us on a path of the possibilities of human and social improvement. Mary Wollstonecraft and Jane Addams were women of great knowledge and determination. They had strong beliefs in women rights and equality and they didn’t hesitate to go for what they wanted in life. These women went down in history, all because they had the courage to fight for what they believe in. Equality! References Gutek, G. L. (2013). Historical and philosophical foundations of education: A biographical introduction. New York: Pearson.
Why does Jane Addams think women should have the right to vote? Please summarize her argument in your own words.
"This is the very point I aim at. I do not wish [women] to have power over men; but over themselves" (Wollstonecraft 63). Wollstonecraft made this statement in response to Roseau dictating that if society "[Educated] women like men..." (Wollstonecraft 63), and women would resemble the male sex, and then carry less power over men. Instead of succumbing to men, Wollstonecraft stressed how education could elevate a women to reach equal statue in society. Following similar ideas to the Tao Te Ching and the Art of War, Wollstonecraft serves education as a tool of discipline to women who can use it to help elevate them in society. Wollstonecraft points out in her introduction that, "One cause to [the problem of women sacrificing their usefulness and strength to beauty attributes] to a false system of education..." (Wollstonecraft 6), and how a reformation and push for women to better educate themselves and look past what is currently there will help them reach higher status in society; therefore giving them their own independence. As Wollstonecraft dictates, "It follows then, I think, that from their infancy women should either be shut up like eastern princes, or educated in such a manner as to be able to think and act for themselves (Wollstonecraft
Born as a free woman in London, England Mary argued for education along with unjust laws for women that subjected them to a form of slavery. As the world around her at the time was facing a political breakthrough with the United States using idea’s formed by philosophers John Locke and Thomas Hobbes theories in the social contract, to break free from England, she hoped the French Revolution would create an era of equality and reason. Wollstonecraft places her opinion that the condition of adult women is caused by the neglect of education for girls. Most of the essay is based on her argument for education of
Wollstonecraft, Mary. “From A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.” Class handout.
Puchner, Martin. Mary Wollstonecraft. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 3rd Ed. Volume D. Ed. Martin Puchner. New York: Norton, 2013. 133. Print.
Setting up what might turn into a typical subject all through much women 's activist written work, Wollstonecraft directs her investigate on two fronts: from one viewpoint, she reprimands patriarchal society (as it would later be called) for the unreasonable way it restrains ladies ' rights, and also their chance for instruction, self-expression, and financial autonomy; while then again, she scrutinizes ladies for becoming tied up femininity which, in her perspective, transforms ladies into unimportant "spaniels" and 'toys '. Wollstonecraft 's answer was better instruction for young ladies, not the allowing of equivalent rights. So in this sense, one may say women 's liberation starts not with Wollstonecraft yet rather with the different Women 's Suffrage developments that sprang up in the mid
Indisputably, Mary Wollstonecraft was one of the most influential figures of Enlightenment, also considered the ‘first feminist’. It is certain that her works and writing has influenced the lives of many women and altered the outlook of some societies on women, evolving rights of women a great deal from what they used to be in her time. It is clear that Wollstonecraft’s arguments and writing will remain applicable and relevant to societies for many years to come, as although there has been progression, there has not been a complete resolution. Once women receive so easily the freedom, rights and opportunities that men inherently possess, may we be able to say that Wollstonecraft has succeeded in vindicating the rights of women entirely.
In the essay, Wollstonecraft is a woman in the 1700s, who currently experiencing inequality due gender that she was born into. During this era, women do not have many rights as a citizen, nor as a human being. Women are expected to perform household duties, such as cooking, cleaning, raising children, and being completely submissive to their husband. However, one woman had a different opinion of what a woman is capable of doing, and her name is Mary Wollstonecraft. Mary believed that woman should be treated equally as men, in the manner of education, respect, and status.
A change in feminism is shown between Wollstonecraft’s essay and Young’s essay. As women first demanded rights, they were coming out of complete dependence on men. Wollstonecraft and other activists fought for the basic right of education for women. As women gained liberty, they began to oppress themselves in the Third Wave of feminism. Wollstonecraft focused on the basic rights of women in her paper, saying “They must be permitted to turn to the fountain of light, and not forced to shape their course by the twinkling of a mere satellite” (Wollstonecraft 5). Here Wollstonecraft is saying that women need to be given the opportunity to get a good education, not just be taught by what their husbands tell them, so they could be their better selves.
Mary Wollstonecraft was as revolutionary in her writings as Thomas Paine. They were both very effective writers and conveyed the messages of their ideas quite well even though both only had only the most basic education. Wollstonecraft was a woman writing about women's rights at a time when these rights were simply non-existent and this made her different from Paine because she was breaking new ground, thus making her unique. Throughout her lifetime, Wollstonecraft wrote about the misconception that women did not need an education, but were only meant to be submissive to man. Women were treated like a decoration that had no real function except to amuse and beguile. Wollstonecraft was the true leader in women's rights, advocating a partnership in relationships and marriage rather than a dictatorship. She was firm in her conviction that education would give women the ability to take a more active role in life itself.
Mary Wollstonecraft lived with a violet and abusive father which led her to taking care of her mom and sister at an early age. Fanny Blood played an important role in her life to opening her to new ideas of how she actually sees things. Mary opened a school with her sister Eliza and their friend Fanny Blood. Back then for them being a teacher made them earn a living during that time, this made her determined to not rely on men again. Mary felt as if having a job where she gets paid for doing something that back then was considered respected than she wouldn’t need a man to be giving her money. She wasn’t only a women’s right activist but she was a scholar, educator and journalist which led her to writing books about women’s rights.
Wollstonecraft, Mary. “A Vindication of the Rights of Women with Structures on Political and Moral
In Mary Wollstonecraft’s The Wrongs of Woman, or Maria and Mary Robinson’s The Natural Daughter, women are subject to many hardships economically, simply because they are women. Women are not given sufficient opportunity, as men are, to pursue a living. Even if she is a woman of taste and morals, she may be treated as though she is a criminal and given no means to protect herself.
Women today are still viewed as naturally inferior to men, despite the considerable progress done to close this gap. Females have made a huge difference in their standing from 200 years ago. Whether anyone is sexist or not, females have made considerable progress from where they started, but there is still a long journey ahead. Mary Wollstonecraft was an advocate of women 's rights, a philosopher, and an English writer. One of Wollstonecraft’s best works was “A Vindication of the Rights of Women” (1792). In her writing, she talks about how both men and women should be treated equal, and reasoning could create a social order between the two. In chapter nine of this novel, called “Of the Pernicious Effects Which Arise from the Unnatural Distinctions Established in Society,”
Mary Wollstonecraft was a self-educated, radical philosopher who wrote about liberation, and empowering women. She had a powerful voice on her views of the rights of women to get good education and career opportunities. She pioneered the debate for women’s rights inspiring many of the 19th and the 20th century’s writers and philosophers to fight for women’s rights, as well. She did not only criticize men for not giving women their rights, she also put a blame on women for being voiceless and subservient. Her life and, the surrounding events of her time, accompanied by the strong will of her, had surely affected the way she chose to live her life, and to form her own philosophies.