Mary Wollstonecraft

Originally published in 1792, a passionate manifesto for women's rights stresses the need for the education of women, defines the female character, and applies the egalitarian principles of the era to women. Reprint.

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

A vindication of the rights of woman

Midori Kobayashi

Vintage Feminism- classic feminist texts in short formWITH AN INTRODUCTION BY ZOE WILLIAMS

Cerys

I found this very interesting. This could be considered one of the first pieces of feminist literature, created before the term feminism was even thought about. There are many elements of this that are antiquated and may be seen as offensive within the modern-day. However, we do have to take this as a historical document and read it in regards to the late 18th century. Mary Wollstonecraft was petitioning for the education of women so that women could have an equal footing with men in society. At this time the concept of the further education of women was coming to the forefront but was still classed as radical therefore it was a very important document for the time. An interesting read and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in feminist history.

Mary Wollstonecraft’s visionary treatise, originally published in 1792, was the first book to present women’s rights as an issue of universal human rights. Ideal for coursework and classroom study, this comprehensive edition of Wollstonecraft’s heartfelt feminist argument includes illuminating essays by leading scholars that highlight the author’s significant contributions to modern political philosophy, making a powerful case for her as one of the most substantive political thinkers of the Enlightenment era. No other scholarly work to date has examined as closely both the ideological moorings and the enduring legacy of Wollstonecraft’s groundbreaking and courageous discourse.

Alba M. C.

Rocío de la Hera

riya

Monicap

Wollstonecraft's passionate polemic on behalf of women's rights and education remains an essential text in the feminist canon.

Ned Summers 

Lindsy Rice

elisa

Hanako T

Daniela Kajanová 

Vindication of the Rights of Woman

edith w.

Stephanie Honour

'She is alive and active - we hear her voice and trace her influence even now' Virginia Woolf Writing in an age when the call for the rights of man had brought revolution to America and France, Mary Wollstonecraft produced her own declaration of female independence in 1792. Passionate and forthright, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman attacked the prevailing view of docile, decorative femininity, and instead laid out the principles of emancipation: an equal education for girls and boys, an end to prejudice, and for women to become defined by their profession, not their partner. Mary Wollstonecraft's work was received with a mixture of admiration and outrage - one critic called her 'a hyena in petticoats' - yet it established her as the mother of modern feminism.