Monday, August 22, 2011
Sexual Character Discussed
Mary Wollenstonecraft's, "The Prevailing Opinion of a Sexual Chararcter Discussed" is written with a great amount of intelligence that was hard to understand at times. She proves her points by her intense thoughts and opinons. The fact that it was written so long ago, really made me realize that at that time men and women were very different. Women were treated more as children, to supply pleasure to the man. She explains through her writting how much respect was expected from a woman to a man. One line that really caught my attention was , " and if then women do not resign the arbitrary power of beauty-- they will prove that they have less mind than man." That sent the message that more beauty = less power and mind. I found that very interesting because I'm sure back then that could have been the case, but now in 2011 it really doesn't fit. Although I found a lot of difference between her opinions and mine there was some I found the same. I am very traditional when it comes to a marriage. I was raised with my mom having supper on the table around the same time every night, and the house being clean. Its a stretch to say that women are extremely inferior to males, but in some sense I believe that. I believe that women have certain responsibilites to their men, but Mary takes it a little furter then I could ever.
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The line that you bring up also caught my attention, but I found it to be far too generalized. I doubt it could ever be proven that there is in indirect relationship between beauty and intelligence/virtue. It's irrational to state that it's impossible for a women to be distinguished in society if she looks good. They're just not related. So what if a few highly distinguished women in the 18th century happened to be ugly. That doesn't prove anything.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I really don't think there is a direct relationship between beauty and intelligence. I guess it may have fit more back then, but at the same time, it just seems like a stretch. So overall...I'm just not convinced with their beliefs from Wollstonecraft's time.
ReplyDeleteI agree it was hard to understand, but yes you could tell how strongly she felt about this with her words. However, I do not agree with you on the traditional ways of marriage. I believe that both the husband and wife would have responsibilities to each other, but does not necessarily include the woman in the kitchen making the food.
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