A Vindication Of The Rights Of Women By Mary Wollstonecraft Analysis

Excerpt
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects was a work published in 1792 by the British writer Mary Wollstonecraft. The work encompasses some of the earliest ideas that were later incorporated by feminist philosophy (Powell). During the period of writing and publication of the work, political and educational theorists did not stand for the idea that women should be provided with the opportunity for education and self-development. In her work, the writer speaks in response to these views, with the counter argument that women should also be provided with the opportunities, especially in education, in order to fulfil their obligations and duties
In this excerpt, Wollstonecraft utilizes keywords such as father, family, mother, mankind, humanity and freedom. These words highlight the basic aspects that stand out from the social organization of our society. Through this approach, the reader is led to consider and ponder upon the role that each member is tasked with playing in order to sustain the structure of any given community. Another language device used by the writer is the use of rhetoric. The excerpt is populated by several rhetorical questions, which serve to highlight the logic underlying her argument and proposition. This is employed after the writer has established what the matter of contention is. For instance in the proposition of inclusion of both genders in moral matters, the following rhetoric is used, “Who made man the exclusive judge, if woman partake with him the gift of reason?” (Mary, 17). Additionally, her choice of words throughout the excerpt ensures that she does not use any form of a condescending approach. This ensures that she adheres to the norm of her time, which placed males on a higher societal setting than females. Therefore, her diction ensures that she does not come across as a person disregarding the status imposed on her due to
Wollstonecraft addresses the issue of limiting the exposure of women in the field of education. This is accomplished by unravelling the points in a chronological manner, building from the reader’s previous article, its weaknesses, the relevance of women and the benefits of opportunities for education and freedom. Throughout the excerpt, the writer exhibits and underlying claim that limitation of women is an injustice that should be acknowledged and rectified. This claim is supported by the logical argument that women play a vital role in the societal activities and developments. Therefore, limiting women limits any outcome derived from their input while empowering them helps improve the current situation making them “more attached to their duties and roles” (Mary,