A Vindication Of The Rights Of Woman
Across the various texts of Mary Wollstonecraft, Anna Letitia Barbauld and William Blake, the argument of feminism comes in three different forms. Wollstonecraft, one of the first feminist writers makes an excellent case in her A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Barbauld in her poem “Rights of Woman” uses irony to express her views on feminism. Blake, lastly, in his poem “The Little Girl Lost” writes in terms of both Wollstonecraft and Barbauld to help explain the various cases of feminism that are presented. In A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Wollstonecraft uses this essay as a platform to help explain the oppression of her underprivileged sex. In 1792, the time when her essay was written, women held no rights politically.
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She is poking fun at a woman’s ability to have rights by portraying women as a “holy” figure ruling an empire. “Resume thy native empire o’er the breast” (Barbauld 48). Here, Barbauld is declaring that a woman’s right to rule would be based on her feelings, or her heart, which is located under her breast. She is making an argument that a woman can rule over man, but it is not in the same sense that a man would. A man rules a woman by using oppression, which leads to a woman’s obedience. This is not how a woman would rule, however. She would instead rule based on her feelings. This could either be a positive or negative, but Barbauld is using this idea in a negative connotation, meaning that women are not fit to rule. She also states, “Like sacred mysteries, which withheld from fame, / Shunning discussion, are revered the most” (Barbauld 49). This directly counters Wollstonecraft’s view of speaking out and debating the issues of women’s rights. Barbauld is instead arguing with the standard view of the time that women are better beings when they are not seen or heard, and making any argument against this is not tolerable. When she does talk of a woman being in charge, she says, “Make treacherous Man thy subject, not thy friend; / Thou mayst command, but never canst be free” (Barbauld 49). She is warning women to always watch their back if they do obtain power, for men will always try to betray them. Barbauld then shifts her views again. Starting with a “but” in the seventh stanza, she explains again that women are pure and innocent of mankind that they are not fit to rule, but instead are made to be “subdued.” She ends with, “Then, then, abandon each ambitious thought, / Conquest or rule they heart shall feebly move,” (Barbauld 49). A woman’s heart will not be full with power; therefore
She is poking fun at a woman’s ability to have rights by portraying women as a “holy” figure ruling an empire. “Resume thy native empire o’er the breast” (Barbauld 48). Here, Barbauld is declaring that a woman’s right to rule would be based on her feelings, or her heart, which is located under her breast. She is making an argument that a woman can rule over man, but it is not in the same sense that a man would. A man rules a woman by using oppression, which leads to a woman’s obedience. This is not how a woman would rule, however. She would instead rule based on her feelings. This could either be a positive or negative, but Barbauld is using this idea in a negative connotation, meaning that women are not fit to rule. She also states, “Like sacred mysteries, which withheld from fame, / Shunning discussion, are revered the most” (Barbauld 49). This directly counters Wollstonecraft’s view of speaking out and debating the issues of women’s rights. Barbauld is instead arguing with the standard view of the time that women are better beings when they are not seen or heard, and making any argument against this is not tolerable. When she does talk of a woman being in charge, she says, “Make treacherous Man thy subject, not thy friend; / Thou mayst command, but never canst be free” (Barbauld 49). She is warning women to always watch their back if they do obtain power, for men will always try to betray them. Barbauld then shifts her views again. Starting with a “but” in the seventh stanza, she explains again that women are pure and innocent of mankind that they are not fit to rule, but instead are made to be “subdued.” She ends with, “Then, then, abandon each ambitious thought, / Conquest or rule they heart shall feebly move,” (Barbauld 49). A woman’s heart will not be full with power; therefore