The verbatim title is mockery, as Barbauld did not advocate for women’s rights, or agree with Wollstonecraft’s ideas. On the surface, the first six stanzas seem to support women’s rights, but in an extremist way compared to Wollstonecraft. Barbauld exaggerates Wollstonecraft’s argument employing a “straw man” approach to more easily oppose it. Wollstonecraft did not want women to have power over men or to accept their place, which are the two points Barbaulds poem thrives on. The conclusion of her poem offers a shift in opinion, as she goes from satire-esque matriarchal supporter to denying any rights for women, revealing her true …show more content…
(Barbauld 48). Barbauld belives that oppression of women will overpower progressive women such as Wollstonecraft and they will lose asperiation and dignity until these notions become extinct (Barbauld 49) Barbauld preferred women to look to nature for justification of their world and the limitations of women. Women were to be soft, delicate and quiet and marriage was a forfeit of rights for all. Barbauld thought women were only fit to govern over their emotions “Resume thy native empire o’er the breast” (Barbauld 48) Respectively the heart resides underneath the breast and is the symbol of emotion. Thrughtout she uses female stereotypes and feminine words but gives them negative connotations. She clearlt did not want this matter to be discussed “Felt, not defined, and if debated lost; Like sacred mysteries, which withheld from fame, shunning discussion and revered the most” (Barbauld 49). She is shameful Wollstonecraft and over women are examining these allegedly un-debatable matters.
Where Wollstonecraft accomedated men in her work, Barbauld satireicly attacked in a way that would anger them. She separates the two genders by putting them at war with each other “Make Treacherous Man thy subject, not thy friend” (Barbauld 49). This poem appeals to neither men nor women, where men are surfcely the target, but the oppression of women is targeted much