A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Mary Wollstonecraft examines education and dependence through an argument that women must be treated as reasoning beings.

Read the book Contents

Length: 13 chapters
Reading time: About 5 hr 34 min
Words: 79,449

About the book

Wollstonecraft starts with first principles: reason, virtue and the duties people owe one another. From there she questions customs that reward women for pleasing others while denying them the education and independence needed to exercise their own judgment.

This is an argumentative book, moving through objections, examples and challenges to accepted authorities. Its force comes from refusing to separate private conduct from public arrangements: habits formed in education, marriage and family life become questions about the character of society itself.

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This edition

Text from Standard Ebooks, who proofread and typeset it and dedicate their edition to the public domain. Mary Wollstonecraft died more than 70 years ago, so the work is out of copyright in the UK. Includes the original to m. talleyrand perigord, late bishop of autun, introduction.