Mary Wollstonecraft: A Vindication Of The Rights Of Woman

Mary Wollstonecraft, often known as the “founding mother of feminism,” was a writer known for her works pertaining to women’s rights. Her beliefs and book, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, were seen as controversial and bold because it was written during a time where women were limited in their freedoms and rights. Due to her personal experiences feeling subservient to males in her role as a woman and observations of how society viewed women, Wollstonecraft advocated for various educational reforms to improve the overall status of women in society. Wollstonecraft’s works still pertain to arguments that today’s feminists are stressing: equal opportunities for women, especially in education and the workplace. Mary Wollstonecraft noticed …show more content…
Mary saw that married women carried this burden because of her personal experiences (Encyclopedia Britannica). Mary noticed that women were being taught to fulfill the role of a housewife, which limited them from achieving higher career positions. From her mother and father to her own experiences, injustice and inequality were granted towards the majority of women during her time. She was unable to make immediate change regarding the status and attitude and perception towards women because of the opposing de facto and de jure attitudes (Encyclopedia Britannica). While there have been improvements for women today, there are still improvements that can be made regarding the limitations women experience in terms of societal roles and achievements. De jure restrictions, which are official laws, are not so much of a problem. Instead, it is the de facto, which are the overall attitudes and perceptions in society. De facto restrictions, the attitudes of the majority of people in society, are the reason why women are not viewed equally. Thus, feminists are working to counter those de facto beliefs and foster a society that holds no preconceived beliefs of women in subordinate roles compared to