What an interesting essay! I had mixed feelings at some points in the essay, but one could really tell that Mary Wollstonecraft was extremely passionate about what she was saying. I was split down the middle on if I truly agreed or disagreed with this essay. There are a couple of spots that I can argue both sides, so I will analyze both to be fair.
From a woman's point of view.
When I write from this point of view, one saying comes to mind. Well behaved women don't make history. I feel that this may sum up what Wollstonecraft was trying to get across to the male population. Now a days, women sometimes take for granted how much freedom we have because these very loud and rambunctious women already stood up for our rights. This line from the essay is a perfect example, "How grossly do they insult us who thus advise us only to render ourselves gentle, domestic brutes!" (Wollstonecraft 1). Wollstonecraft has realized that men seem to keep us in a state of "childhood" because men thought us to be inferior, and to be honest, I would be furious too. Wollstonecraft explains that to be a women is almost a curse, and there is nothing we can do about it. I am glad that women like this realized this inequality early and helped reshape our society so women, like myself, can live with the same opportunities that men have.
From a male's point of view.
This essay can be a little maddening if you don't have the right mind set. The one thing I didn't enjoy about this essay was that Wollstonecraft almost completely tore apart the male population and belittle their very existence. "Husbands, as well as their helpmates, are often only overgrown children" (Wollstonecraft 4). How insulting?! I realize that maybe some men act like this, but there are far more dignified and noble men to outnumber that slim percentage. I couldn't get over the fact that Wollstonecraft continued to point figures at the male population, and maybe she had the right to, but she didn't have to be so harsh in my opinion. The most important thing to keep in mind when reading this essay is what time period it was written in. I once heard someone explaining to someone else that men thought it was the gentlemen thing to do to keep women out of politics and government because it would mean that women wouldn't have to bear that burden. Men took it over so women wouldn't have to.
Overall I enjoyed the essay, but I would have liked to hear both sides of the argument instead of just one.
