A Vindication of the Rights of Woman · Chapter
Chapter VI explained
Wollstonecraft argues that women's education and social conditioning lead them to prefer rakes over virtuous men, because they are taught to value superficial qualities and to live for love and pleasure.
What happens
Wollstonecraft argues that women's education and social conditioning lead them to prefer rakes over virtuous men, because they are taught to value superficial qualities and to live for love and pleasure. She contends that if women were rationally educated, they would seek friendship and virtue in marriage rather than passion, and would not be blamed for their attachment to rakes, which is a natural consequence of their upbringing.
Themes in this chapter
Women's Education and Reason
Wollstonecraft argues that lack of rational education leads women to prefer rakes and superficial qualities.
False Femininity and Sensuality
Critique of women being taught to live for love and pleasure, and the resulting attachment to rakes.
Marriage and Domestic Life
Discussion of how marriage should be based on friendship and virtue, not passion, and the consequences of choosing a rake.
Characters to notice
- Mary Wollstonecraft
Author and narrator, arguing for women's rational education and critiquing their social conditioning.
- Alexander Pope
Quoted for his summary that 'every woman is at heart a rake,' which Wollstonecraft critiques.
- Dryden
Quoted for a couplet describing the imbalance in love between men and women.
Key passages
“till women are led to exercise their understandings, they should not be satirized for their attachment to rakes; nor even for being rakes at heart, when it appears to be the inevitable consequence of their education.”
Women should not be mocked for liking rakes or being rakes themselves, because their education makes it unavoidable.
Wollstonecraft defends women's choices as a result of their upbringing.
“Were women more rationally educated, could they take a more comprehensive view of things, they would be contented to love but once in their lives; and after marriage calmly let passion subside into friendship.”
If women were properly educated, they would love only once and let passion turn into friendship after marriage.
Advocates for rational education leading to stable marriages.
“It seems a little absurd to expect women to be more reasonable than men in their likings, and still to deny them the uncontroled use of reason.”
It is unreasonable to expect women to be more rational than men while denying them the full use of reason.
Highlights the double standard in expectations of women's rationality.