Mary Wollstonecraft
In an age of radicalism during the French Revolution, Mary Wollstonecraft saw an opportunity to create a platform to share radical ideas of her own. Although her story starts in France, the introduction of her ideas quickly spread from Europe to the Western world, and stuck.
Different liberal movements had spread all throughout Europe, yet each one had originated from the same core belief: Enlightenment ideology. In short, the Enlightenment was a shift in how people believed the world should be organized. Instead of relying on traditional societal orders derived from ancient scriptures, people began gravitating more towards prioritizing human happiness. Consequently, this meant reordering society in a way that benefited people equally, rather than the traditional structure that intentionally harmed marginalized groups.
Such a new way of thinking was alluring, allowing it to be quickly adapted by people all around Europe. However, the people aligning with such ideologies were exclusively white men looking for equality with other white men. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was a perfect example of such exclusion, advocating for the idea that only “men are born and remain free and equal in rights.”
As men were advocating for their rights, and exclusively their rights, women were confined to their traditional gender roles as housewives. While they were subjected to lives of domestication, they had to simultaneously watch as they were excluded from the ideas of equal rights. Although many women chose to sit back and observe, Mary Wollstonecraft was different. Filled with fury and passion, she used the political turmoil to her advantage.
Wollstonecraft focused her fight for gender equality in the sector of education. She believed that if women were given the right to have equal education to men, it would benefit all of society— they would be educated enough to be independent and create platforms for their own thoughts. Wollstonecraft outwardly spoke out against male philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau who believed that educating women went against their “domestic duty”. Famously, Wollstonecraft wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman as a response to the aforementioned Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.
In this document, Wollstonecraft spoke about how the current educational system for women was intentionally teaching information that was unuseful, putting them at a disadvantage against men. She argued that if they were given equal opportunity to learn the same curriculums as men were, they would be able to succeed beyond their home duties.
Although Wollstonecraft received much backlash from this document and did not cause any immediate changes, Wollstonecraft gave women hope. She showed girls and women that they can speak out and that they can get the education they deserve, no matter what the rest of the world tells them. Because of her influence and the attention that her vindication made, future women were inspired to do the same, and speak out on gender equality issues.
Mary’s life story did not end in a happily ever after, yet her ideas lived past her lifetime and sparked real change.
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