A review by izzatiidrus
The Subjection of Women by John Stuart Mill
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Published in 1869, this is an essay by John Stuart Mill, a political economist. I recognized the name from studying economics (he was known for utilitarianism) but I did not know he was an advocate for women's rights until I saw this book at the bookstore.
Admittedly, this book was one of the hardest reads for me this year because of the use of old English and the subject matter concerning the legal and social matters in England back in the 1800s. That being said though, what I could actually discern from reading this was pretty mind-blowing to me. For example, a woman had no rights of the children she birthed, because they all belonged to the husband. Should the husband die, the children could be taken away from her unless he wrote a will to give his rights to her at the event of his death. Yet it was both a law and custom that every woman should marry and bear children.
The essay talks about gender inequality and how it affects marriage, occupation, society, women and men. His arguments are pretty interesting and very colourful - he maintains that a wife is worse than a slave (back in 1800s England) and anything that says a wife/husband should be subordinate to the other in a marriage is a "relic of primitive barbarism".
Mill actually mentioned Mary Wollstonecraft's (the mother of Mary Shelley, Frankenstein's author) A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, which I bought at the same time I did this one. I can't wait to read it even though I do fear that there might be even more language barriers for me, since that one was written even earlier than this one.
Admittedly, this book was one of the hardest reads for me this year because of the use of old English and the subject matter concerning the legal and social matters in England back in the 1800s. That being said though, what I could actually discern from reading this was pretty mind-blowing to me. For example, a woman had no rights of the children she birthed, because they all belonged to the husband. Should the husband die, the children could be taken away from her unless he wrote a will to give his rights to her at the event of his death. Yet it was both a law and custom that every woman should marry and bear children.
The essay talks about gender inequality and how it affects marriage, occupation, society, women and men. His arguments are pretty interesting and very colourful - he maintains that a wife is worse than a slave (back in 1800s England) and anything that says a wife/husband should be subordinate to the other in a marriage is a "relic of primitive barbarism".
Mill actually mentioned Mary Wollstonecraft's (the mother of Mary Shelley, Frankenstein's author) A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, which I bought at the same time I did this one. I can't wait to read it even though I do fear that there might be even more language barriers for me, since that one was written even earlier than this one.