The time period of the French Revolution (1787-1799) granted many supporters and protesters, including literary ones such as Thomas Paine, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Edmund Burke. Thomas Paine and his The Rights of Man responded to the revolution by advocating a need for democracy and republicanism: a government that would be more just and substantially supportive of the people. However, conservative Edmund Burke did not agree with the events. In Reflections on the Revolution in France, Mr. Burke considerably advises the need for a monarchy; society needs a certain hierarchy to guide order. Mary Wollstonecraft, another romantic writer of the time, found that Burke’s reasoning in Reflections on the Revolution in France was inadequate and contradictory.
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Within “Society is a Contract”, Burke repeatedly suggests that without a monarchy, or any sort of social hierarchy, “nature is disobeyed” (4). Wollstonecraft indicates that Burke’s “pampered sensibility” (6) has not exposed him to the conditions in which the French commoners live in. Living in the upper class has “inflame[d] his imagination” (Wollstonecraft 7); Burke believes the lesser classes should not fight for better positions and respect the fact that nature “hold[s] all ... each in their appointed place”(Burke 4). Burke additionally claims that the prejudices the commoners face should be cherished because it teaches “a steady course of wisdom and virtue”(Burke, 3). The feelings of contempt and all other feelings resulted from such prejudices are “false and spurious and tend to corrupt [their] minds” (3) since they are only there to guide those people in the right direction. In reality Burke and all other rich persons, want to “persuade themselves and others that it is most natural” (Wollstonecraft 30) that the proletariat have to stay poor, so that they can continue to be rich. Wollstonecraft also critiques Burke’s writing style; his elusive diction confuses the reader so that they are distracted from the problems a monarchy creates. “Words are heaped on words” (Wollstonecraft 51) to divert the readers from the contradictions within his writing and Burke “sacrifice[s] [his] sincerity” (Wollstonecraft 51) to favor the higher social classes and their interests. Burke overall is biased in his argument, and therefore cannot vouch for the lower classes needing and benefitting from a
Within “Society is a Contract”, Burke repeatedly suggests that without a monarchy, or any sort of social hierarchy, “nature is disobeyed” (4). Wollstonecraft indicates that Burke’s “pampered sensibility” (6) has not exposed him to the conditions in which the French commoners live in. Living in the upper class has “inflame[d] his imagination” (Wollstonecraft 7); Burke believes the lesser classes should not fight for better positions and respect the fact that nature “hold[s] all ... each in their appointed place”(Burke 4). Burke additionally claims that the prejudices the commoners face should be cherished because it teaches “a steady course of wisdom and virtue”(Burke, 3). The feelings of contempt and all other feelings resulted from such prejudices are “false and spurious and tend to corrupt [their] minds” (3) since they are only there to guide those people in the right direction. In reality Burke and all other rich persons, want to “persuade themselves and others that it is most natural” (Wollstonecraft 30) that the proletariat have to stay poor, so that they can continue to be rich. Wollstonecraft also critiques Burke’s writing style; his elusive diction confuses the reader so that they are distracted from the problems a monarchy creates. “Words are heaped on words” (Wollstonecraft 51) to divert the readers from the contradictions within his writing and Burke “sacrifice[s] [his] sincerity” (Wollstonecraft 51) to favor the higher social classes and their interests. Burke overall is biased in his argument, and therefore cannot vouch for the lower classes needing and benefitting from a