Book contents
- Mary Wollstonecraft in Context
- Mary Wollstonecraft in Context
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Notes on Contributors
- Preface
- Frontispiece
- Chronology
- Part I Life and Works
- Part II Critical Fortunes
- Part III Historical and Cultural Contexts
- The French Revolution Debate
- The Rights of Woman Debate
- Chapter 13 Jacobin Reformers
- Chapter 14 Liberal Reformers
- Chapter 15 Conservative Reformers
- Philosophical Frameworks
- Legal and Social Culture
- Literature
- Suggested Further Reading
- Index
Chapter 15 - Conservative Reformers
from The Rights of Woman Debate
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 January 2020
- Mary Wollstonecraft in Context
- Mary Wollstonecraft in Context
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Notes on Contributors
- Preface
- Frontispiece
- Chronology
- Part I Life and Works
- Part II Critical Fortunes
- Part III Historical and Cultural Contexts
- The French Revolution Debate
- The Rights of Woman Debate
- Chapter 13 Jacobin Reformers
- Chapter 14 Liberal Reformers
- Chapter 15 Conservative Reformers
- Philosophical Frameworks
- Legal and Social Culture
- Literature
- Suggested Further Reading
- Index
Summary
The response among British writers to the French Revolution and the debate about the rights of the individual was restricted neither to political and philosophical tracts nor to men. Women writers from all political persuasions used a range of educational, polemical, and fictional works to debate a female’s rights – social, political, economic, and legal. Although the debate did not extend to enfranchisement, the call for a decent education, improved legal status, and economic independence was revolutionary enough. Given the disruption that would result from greater rights for women, questions of an appropriate education and suitable expectations about life generally all became matters of public concern.
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- Mary Wollstonecraft in Context , pp. 127 - 136Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020