Views of Sensibility in Vindication of the Rights of Men and the Rights of Woman - Essay Example

VIEWS OF SENSIBILITY IN Vindication of the Rights of Men and The Rights of Woman Name Course Professor Date In 1789, Richard Price in his sermon argued that the British people just like the French had the right to dethrone a bad King. Edmund Burke responded to these arguments through his text Reflections on the Revolution in France.1 He countered Richard’s logical arguments and proclaimed his support for the rights of inheriting concerning monarchy in Britain. All these arguments and counterarguments led to the birth of A Vindication of the Rights of Man, by Mary Wollstonecraft. Wollstonecraft was a woman who had views in many debates especially on gender and political issues. A Vindication of the Rights of Man was a letter written by Mary Wollstonecraft to Edmund Burke in response to his arguments about the French revolution2. This letter or pamphlet was the transition Wollstonecraft’s to the writing of radical political views. She talked about many political issues not only those related to the French revolution but also issues of slavery, hunting laws, and treatment of the poor. This letter allowed Wollstonecraft to come close to her male peers in the political literature scene including Tom Paine, William Godwin, and William Blake3. Association with these people went a long way in shaping Wollstonecraft's career as a feminist and political philosopher. The publishing of A Vindication of the Rights of Men was a stepping-stone into Wollstonecraft’s advocacy for equality regarding female and male rights through getting into an arena dominated by males and having her say. Anna Barbauld just as Mary Wollstonecraft was a woman that involved herself in public politics and women rights issues which were an environment dominated by males. Her literary career was distributed over many years of the British history. The Rights of a Woman by Anna Barbauld is a poem written in 1790 and responded to Mary Wollstonecraft’s, Vindication of the Rights of Woman.4 The poem takes a sarcastic tone since at first Barbauld seems to be encouraging women and fighting for their rights, which she is not. This poem contains many contradictions regarding women rights. The works of Anna Barbauld the poem The Rights of a Woman included were very important as they provided issues that allowed promotion of sensibility and enlightenment in Britain’s and world’s history. The Rights of a Woman and Vindication of the Rights of Man are two literature works that have some similarities and differences when it comes to issues of sensibility. Sensibility is defined as a feeling of empathy about issues, it also relates to being sensitive emotionally. There has been gender shift from female to male regarding sensibility as it was previously regarded as feminine quality. Nevertheless, by the end of the eighteenth-century men started becoming sensible to issues on politics and gender. This paper will, therefore, focus on the similarities and differences on sensibility regarding political and gender issues in The Rights of a Woman by Anna Barbauld and Vindication of the Rights of Man by Mary Wollstonecraft. It is important to note that Mary Wollstonecraft was important in breaking walls that undermined females in the male-dominated society of the eighteenth century. On the other hand, Barbauld treated issues of feminism and politics in a complex manner that led to the raising of more questions compared to answers. Barbauld's poem The Rights of a Woman which was a strong response to Wollstonecraft other work, Vindication of the Rights of Woman shows that she was an antifeminist. Yes, Barbauld presented issues of feminism but in a contrasting manner. For example, in the poem, she argues that women should employ sensibility in correlation with angel pureness, bright artillery, and soft melting tones to improve the character of men. On the same, she latter provides a warning to women to abandon ambitious thoughts because in mutual love there is a loss of separate rights. Barbauld is appearing to reinforce the patriarchal order and opposing ideas by Wollstonecraft that there should be the equal provision of education from both men and women and that providing and getting love should not be the only purpose in a woman’s life. Wollstonecraft in her pamphlet criticizes the women that use sensibility and not reason especially by believing that their purpose in life was only to please women. She says,  I have not yet learned to twist my periods, nor, in the equivocal idiom of politeness, to disguise my sentiments, and imply what I should be afraid to utter: [2] if, therefore, in the course of this epistle, I chance to express contempt, and even indignation, with some emphasis, I beseech you to believe that it is not a flight of fancy; for truth, in morals, has ever appeared to me the essence of the sublime; and, in taste, simplicity the only criterion of the beautiful. But I war not with an individual when I contend for the rights of men and the liberty of reason. You see I do not condescend to cull my words to avoid the invidious phrase, nor shall I be prevented from giving a manly definition of it, by the flimsy ridicule, which a lively fancy has interwoven with the present acceptation of the term. Reverencing the rights of humanity, I shall dare to assert them; not intimidated by the horselaugh that you have raised, or waiting until time has wiped away the compassionate tears, which you have elaborately labored to excite.5 It is clear that Wollstonecraft is arguing against sensibility and supporting the use of reason just as men use, from the above extract from the letter. On the other hand, Barbauld supported sensibility, argued against human rights, and was sarcastic about the demand for equal rights from feminists. The limits that Barbauld showed in her feminism issues is also her poetics limits. The poem The Right of a Woman is a clear indication of Barbauld's acceptance to discourse concerning women especially concerning the traditional masculinity. Barbauld and Wollstonecraft, therefore, differ in the way women employed sensibility in their lives. Barbauld encouraged women to use sensibility in their lives while Wollstonecraft encouraged reason over sensibility. Women are known to be sensible and were taken advantage in the eighteenth century; this is what Wollstonecraft opposed and urged them to use reason as opposed to sensibility. Sensibility also differs between Wollstonecraft and Barbauld regarding inheritance and tradition. Wollstonecraft wrote, It is necessary emphatically to repeat that there are rights which men inherit at their birth, as rational creatures, who were raised above the brute creation by their improvable faculties; and that, in receiving these, not from their forefathers but, from God, the prescription can never undermine natural rights. A father may dissipate his property without his child having any right to complain;–but should he attempt to sell him for a slave, or fetter him with laws contrary to reason; nature, in enabling him to discern good from evil, teaches him to break the ignoble chain, and not to believe that bread becomes flesh, and wine blood, because his parents swallowed the Eucharist with this blind persuasion.6 She believes that following traditional issues would promote inhumanity aspects such as slavery and affect the progress that has already been made. The inheritance aspect of the tradition had led the people to be obsessed with wealth and belongings instead of fighting towards improving the lives of others. Besides, it also led to fighting between parents and children because parents expected more due homage for all the property the children receive, even though the younger children are often disenfranchised to maintain the inheritance of the eldest. Poverty and immorality were national level problems that affected mainly women because of the problems caused by familial tradition and inheritance. Barbauld on her side through the poem The Rights of Woman argued that women should accept all the traditions that were male dominated. Although she did not mention issues such as inheritance, by arguing that women should accept and cling to the traditional masculine discourse. She writes in stanza 7, “On this proud eminence secure to stay; subduing and subdued, thou soon shalt find Thy coldness soften, and thy pride gives way” 7(Barbauld, 1994). Overall, Wollstonecraft in her argument fails to mention government transition part of history. She does not provide alternative solutions that are needed for changes regarding inheritance and tradition. While all Wollstonecraft arguments showed that the rights of women were affected by tradition and inheritance, which included wife inheritance, Barbauld is seen to urge women to remain subdued and accepted the traditional masculine society. Traditional issues including inheritance and women being subdued bring out empathy in Wollstonecraft as she urges women to rise up I her letter. Barbauld, on the other hand, is not sensible to the issue of tradition as she urges women to remain under the shadow of men. In her poem, Barbauld is presented as sentimentally conservative while Wollstonecraft in her letter to Edmund is shown to be sentimentally radical. While the issue of male romantics was focusing on the changes in the sentimental being of the common man, Wollstonecraft was trying to develop a different ideology of feminine romanticism. This ideology was founded on her belief that women needed to have equal rights to men since they had the capability to naturally reason. The advocacy of women rights by Wollstonecraft was a major factor concerning women rights, and she was able to achieve this by being rational. Wollstonecraft arguments are centered on women and their roles as wives and mothers. She believes that because the education system is masculine and male-dominated, the women have been rendered useless and reduced to roles that undermine their rights. Barbauld in her poem The Rights of Woman is sentimentally conservative when talking about the roles of woman, and she seems to have accepted the roles of a woman to be that of wives and mothers. She urges women to abandon any taught of fighting for their rights and agree to be subdued. In stanza eight she says "Then, abandon each ambitious taught; Conquest or rule thy heart shall feebly move. In nature’s school, by her soft maxims taught that separate rights are lost in mutual love”8 (Barbauld, 1994). Barbauld is therefore shown as a conservative creature that did not conquer all the issues of women rights in an effective manner. The conservative nature by which Barbauld failed to commit to fighting women rights by using complex styles in her poem is ironic because she supported women to use sensibility while herself was not sensitive to their issues. Besides it is also ironical that Wollstonecraft is radically sentimental to women rights but supported women to employ reason and not being sentimental. At the same time, she also urged men to be men sentimental as some of their rights were naturally acquired. She wrote, “It is necessary emphatically to repeat, that there are rights which men inherit at their birth, as rational creatures, who were raised above the brute creation by their improvable faculties; and that, in receiving these, not from their forefathers but, from God, prescription can never undermine natural rights.” 9 Even though Wollstonecraft and Barbauld used different methods and had different ideas especially sentimentally, it is critical to note that they also shared some similarities in the way they address some of the issues of sentimentality in their literature. While they both did not show complete advocacy for separation of the rights of men and women, their arguments presented the wish for useful education for women and not only on issues such as dancing and needlework. This type of useless education was demeaning to women as it presented them as beauty objects used to please man rather than important members of the society. Although Barbauld presentation of women education seemed contradictory, what she aimed at was still in an improved educational system for women. Barbauld herself was a professional woman that was well educated on issues of classical languages and the wide field of literature. It was, therefore, funny that some of her statements that women needed to be excused from professionalism were contradictory. However, Barbauld wished for a proper education for the woman as expressed in not only The Rights of Woman but also her other literary poems including On Female Studies. In this prose, her arguments are complex but overall; Barbauld believes that women are capable of acquiring proper education and even states that it would be desirable for women to do so. Wollstonecraft on her part was a great advocate for women rights through the acquisition of proper education just like men. Wollstonecraft is seen to support the education of women in a sensible manner, as she believes that women if educated, can perform the duties that men perform even better. Wollstonecraft shows that women are natural creatures that can reason rationally and thus they should have same human rights as men. Having proven that it is natural that women can reason, Wollstonecraft believed that she had exhausted the issue of women rights and equality in the society. For her, the natural ability of women to reason should result to equal rights. She supported her ideology by explaining that if women would be educated like men, then they would possess the same qualities. Sensibility and education are related as viewed in the lenses of the two women through the aspect they felt empathy for women and believed that educational rights for women would change the world. In conclusion, matters sensibility were seen to differ between Wollstonecraft in her pamphlet Vindications of the Rights of Men and Anna Barbauld poem The Rights of Woman. Nevertheless, there existed some important similarities on the issue especially on matters of women rights through education. A Vindication of the Rights of Man was a letter written by Mary Wollstonecraft to Edmund Burke in response to his arguments about the French revolution. The letter was the transition Wollstonecraft's to the writing of radical political views. The Rights of a Woman by Anna Barbauld is a poem written in 1790 and responded to Mary Wollstonecraft’s, Vindication of the Rights of Woman. These two pieces of literature as stated before had both similarities and differences in the way they presented issue related to sentimentality. One major difference was the issue of education, while they both did not show complete advocacy for separation of the rights of men and women, their arguments presented the wish for useful education for women. However, some major differences included, Barbauld in her poem is presented as sentimentally conservative while Wollstonecraft in her letter to Edmund is shown to be sentimentally radical. Another difference is that Wollstonecraft believed that women should employ reason and natural thinking in their issues while Barbauld supported that women needed to employ sensibility and disregarded reason. Finally, the two women literature writers differed since Wollstonecraft arguments showed that the rights of women were affected by tradition and inheritance, which included wife inheritance, Barbauld is seen to urge women to remain subdued and accepted the traditional masculine society. Overall, the two pieces of work were a major contribution to the fight for women rights in a century that was dominated by males and when the voices of women were rarely heard. Barbauld was deemed as an antifeminist, but this was only because the way she presented her arguments on women rights was complex. Bibliography Barbauld, Anna Letitia. The Poems of Anna Letitia Barbauld. Ed. William McCarthy and Elizabeth Kraft. London: University of Georgia Press, 1994. Fennessy, R. R., 1963. Burke, Paine, and the Rights of Man: A Difference of Political Opinion. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. Wollstonecraft, Mary. A Vindication of the Rights of Men. NY: Cosimo, 2008. Print. Read More