Reviews

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft

vanessa1756's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

eve_ward's review against another edition

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1.0

I’m incredibly upset that I couldn’t like this one. As you can see, I decided to give this One Star, however, I’m sure it is an undeserving rating. This is probably an amazing book for some people but I just couldn’t with it. I almost always struggle a tad more with non-fiction compared to fiction and this was one of those times. In addition, this was written a long time ago so the English was a tad too...old. This was one of those where you have to read a sentence and then pause to try and understand it which, if I’m being completely frank, is a bit too much effort for me. I cannot remember a single point made in this, everything just passed straight through my head. This whole experience has been very unfortunate :’(

sofia_gb's review against another edition

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informative inspiring fast-paced

4.25

brenticus's review against another edition

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challenging informative slow-paced

3.0

This is a really interesting examination of the purpose of education and why it should be granted to women as well as men, from a time when that was uncommon. The approach it takes in that argument is very well put forth, arguing both that the virtues promoted through education, and through the specific educational paradigms that Wollstonecraft puts forth, help both men and women fit into their gender roles more easily. 

While I really like the way Wollstonecraft writes, and her philosophy is both strong and still relevant today, there are a lot of chapters that are kind of... eh. She'll examine some aspect of how women are being educated at the time, through some handbook or some such that someone has written, and proceed to tear it to pieces. It's kind of fun, in a way, but it gets repetitive and it doesn't add a lot to her argument outside of establishing that the current education of women is insufficient. 

This read is about half incredibly powerful arguments for education, applicable even beyond her core arguments, and about half tearing down obviously bad ideas. When it's good it's incredible, and when it's bad it's bad. 

efimerabonhomia's review against another edition

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3.0

Vindicación de los derechos de la mujer es el primer tratado y ensayo feminista de la historia, escrito en 1792 por la inglesa Mary Wollstonecraft, la autora sólo pretendía dar a entender cómo eran oprimidas las mujeres y cómo se debería liberar la opresión impuesta en ellas para reinar en la libertad de los géneros. En sus pocas páginas nos encontraremos con un ensayo denso que demuestra los conocimientos de la autora pero que se ve que intenta mostrar siempre una escritura más que resaltable para que la tuviesen en cuenta, lo que a veces hace que se pierda en su propia narración y una idea que empieza en un capítulo y termina con una conclusión clara, se hace densa en el nudo de cada proposición al darle vueltas y vueltas para acabar con el enunciado del capítulo como colofón.

Wollstonecraft se atreve a alzar la voz para pedir una educación igualitaria para las niñas y niños, cómo el poder político mancilla los pensamientos de la mujer y las anulan, por tanto crean una subordinación casi arbitraria de la mujer ante el hombre por el simple hecho de nacer siendo de un género. Además de añadir que las mujeres son educadas en la amabilidad y la debilidad del no pensamiento propio por no desagradar y ser desterradas de la vida. En cuanto a la vida matrimonial, Wollstonecraft osa añadir entre sus páginas que la mujer es concebida como un fruto de placer para el hombre y de obligaciones, no siendo la pareja compañeros sino que parece ser una relación de trabajo sin tener las mujeres una independencia económica en ningún momento y siendo este uno de los factores que las hace estar ligadas a relaciones matrimoniales abusivas en todo momento. Según la autora, las mujeres son débiles y tienen defectos gracias a cómo son tratadas en la sociedad y como su educación no es digna ni la misma que los hombres.

Este ensayo feminista ha sido para mí el más complicado de leer en mi vida, y eso se debe que aunque en muchas de las premisas de los capítulos que la autora presenta me sentía identificada y también a muchas mujeres que conozco, pero con el desarrollo de la idea venían las alabanzas al catolicismo, dado la época de la autora, la humildad de la mujer como algo negativo y muchos otros aspectos y desarrollos de ideas donde siento que tengo una opinión dispar con la autora, pero dado el año que se escribió entiendo esa diferencia de perspectiva y cultura.

coniwi's review against another edition

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informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.5

silverthane's review against another edition

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challenging reflective slow-paced

3.0

Written in 1792, it's borderline unreadable today. Full of very dense sentences, I read it as a historically important book. Great thinkers don't always equal great writers.
The core message is that women are entitled to education and fair treatment in society. 
I think Wollstonecraft was quite conservative (small c) in her thinking, being very keen to highlight perceived weaknesses in womens virtue & capabilities.
It was depressing to notice that in some cultures/communities women are still treated similarly poorly, but in most Western nations I think it's fair to say conditions for women have improved in 232 years.

hurricaneflora's review against another edition

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3.0

I don't doubt this was a groundbreaking book but about 80% of it went right over my head. Every so often Mary will say something I agree with and is still a spot on observation in 2024, but then it goes back to language I simply can't process. 

biancala's review against another edition

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challenging informative inspiring slow-paced