1.1 INTRODUCTION
My first paper’s introduction
► Mary Wollstonecraft, a londoner:
After viewing this introductory video by the political thinker and Professor John Keane, highlighting the most important points of Mary Wollstonecraft‘s biography and her thoughts, this paper goes on.
First of all, I would like to say that this paper is an invitation to openly and critically reflect on the importance of education closely related in the 18th century with gender and sex issues; striving for the ideals of justice, respect for others and equality between sexes and social classes.
I have chosen Mary Wollstonecraft because last year I was surprised reading the introduction of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, written in 1792. It seemed to me so significant and clear that when this year I was offered the possibility of working an author to choose in my literature and Politics’s class, I thought it would be a good opportunity to inquire into this writer and, specially, in this book which could be applied in today’s world.
I have divided my work about Mary Wollstonecraft -S.XVIII (1759-1797) in seven pages, being the principal called “First Paper”. Inside “First Paper” you can find, firstly, this introduction. Then, I provide the reader a biography to know about her life and her family but it is closely related with the subject I am dealing with. Secondly, I couldn’t talk about her nor understand A vindication of the Rights of Woman without talking about the most important historical moments she lived. For this, I have created a page centered on the social and political turmoil she lived and how it influenced Wollstonecraft. Later, talking about the Enlightenment was required because the 18th century is well-known for it and as its proper title of my paper indicates that reason is fundamental.
Up to here, I have centered basically in everything which surrounded the theme of my paper from a political, cultural and social point of view, because there are a lot of information that a reader should know and I’m not going to fail to make the most of an opportunity. Then, in 1.5 A VINDICATION OF THE RIGHTS OF WOMAN, I straight down to business and I have divided it in three sections which talk about the most important subjects of this book. Firstly, an overview about some Enlightenment writers was necessary because Wollstonecraft rejected in her book their awful opinions they had about women. I have talked mainly in this section about Rousseau, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke because they were important philosophers during the well-known “Age of Reason” Wollstonecraft lived. Anyway, they were not the only one who throwed insolences against women. Others such as Milton (XVII century) or the islamic prophet Mahoma (VI century) did the same.
On the other hand, I talk about reason as her starting point in her argument because everyone has to develop it to be citizens in a society and it has to be devepoled trough education, so I have considered education “the mainstay of society” because the past, the present and the future of a society depends on it. I think that it is an attractive issue to the reader and it invites everybody to reflect on it because very few people are concerned abou how important a good educational project is; either at home or at school.
Afterwards, in my conclusion, you can enjoy reading a summary from the whole paper with justifications and with my personal experiences about it. In it I have collected all the information which I’ve provided previously and my own conclusions about this great book.
Finally, there is a Weblography of sites which I’ve visited to become rich about Mary Wollstonecraft.
If anybody wants, please put your personal impressions about this authoress to contrast or to support my information. Come on, say that you will!