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Mary Wollstonecraft

Mary Wollstonecraft Quotes

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Famous Mary Wollstonecraft Quotes

“What, but the rapacity of the only men who exercised their reason, the priests, secured such vast property to the church, when a man gave his perishable substance to save himself from the dark torments of purgatory.”

MenReasonChurchDarkPropertySubstancePriestsTormentSecuredPurgatory
Book:Wollstonecraft: A Vindication of the Rights of Men and a Vindication of the Rights of Woman and Hints
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“...men endeavor to sink us still lower, merely to render us alluring objects for a moment; and women, intoxicated by the adoration which men, under the influence of their senses, pay them, do not seek to obtain a durable interest in their hearts, or to become the friends of the fellow creatures who find amusement in their society.”

MenHeartStillsMomentsInterestPayInfluenceObjectsCreaturesFellowsSensesEndeavorWomens RightsAmusementAdorationIntoxicatedAlluring
Book:A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
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“Friendship and domestic happiness are continually praised; yet how little is there of either in the world, because it requires more cultivation of mind to keep awake affection, even in our own hearts, than the common run of people suppose.”

PeopleWorldMindHeartLittlesRunningCommonAffectionAwakeCultivation
Book:Letters Written during a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark
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“It appears to me impossible that I should cease to exist, or that this active, restless spirit, equally alive to joy and sorrow, should only be organised dust - ready to fly abroad the moment the spring snaps, or the spark goes out, which kept it together. Surely something resides in this heart that is not perishable - and life is more than a dream.”

ShouldHeartMomentsDreamTogetherLife IsJoySpiritAliveImpossibleReadySorrowSpringActiveCeaseDustSparksRestlessSnapsOrganisedJoys And SorrowsRestless Spirit
Book:Letters from Scandinavia
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“I earnestly wish to point out in what true dignity and human happiness consists. I wish to persuade women to endeavor to acquire strength, both of mind and body, and to convince them that the soft phrases, susceptibility of heart, delicacy of sentiment, and refinement of taste, are almost synonymous with epithets of weakness, and that those beings are only the objects of pity, and that kind of love which has been termed its sister, will soon become objects of contempt.”

MindHumansHeartKindHas BeensBodyWishObjectsTasteWeaknessDignityPityPhrasesAcquireConvinceSentimentsEndeavorContemptWomens RightsNormMind And BodyRefinementDelicacyKinds Of LoveHuman HappinessVindicationEpithetSusceptibility
Book:Mary, A Fiction and The Wrongs of Woman, or Maria
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“Weakness may excite tenderness, and gratify the arrogant pride of man; but the lordly caresses of a protector will not gratify a noble mind that pants for, and deserves to be respected. Fondness is a poor substitute for friendship.”

MenMindMayPoorPrideWeaknessDeserveNobleSubstitutesPantsArrogantTendernessProtectorCaressFondness
Book:A Vindication of the Rights of Men; A Vindication of the Rights of Woman; An Historical and Moral View of the French Revolution
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“The highest branch of solitary amusement is reading; but even in the choice of books the fancy is first employed; for in reading, the heart is touched, till its feelings are examined by the understanding, and the ripening of reason regulate the imagination. This is the work of years, and the most important of all employments.”

YearsFirstsHeartImportantBookReasonFeelingsChoicesReadingUnderstandingImaginationHighestEmploymentFancyBranchesTouchedSolitaryEmployedAmusementRipening
Author:Mary Wollstonecraft
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“For any kind of reading I think better than leaving a blank still a blank, because the mind must receive a degree of enlargement and obtain a little strength by a slight exertion of its thinking powers; besides, even the productions that are only addressed to the imagination, raise the reader a little above the gross gratification of appetites, to which the mind has not given a shade of delicacy.”

ThinkingMindKindLittlesStillsReadingGivenImaginationReaderDegreesRaisesLeavingProductionsShadeAppetiteBlankGrossGratificationExertionDelicacyEnlargement
Book:Vindication of the Rights of Women
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“Make them free, and they will quickly become wise and virtous, as men become more so; for the improvement must be mutual, or the injustice which one half of the human race are obliged to submit to, retorting on their oppressors, the virtue of men will be worm-eaten by the insect whom he keeps under his feet”

MenHumansRaceHalfVirtueWiseFeetInjusticeImprovementHuman RaceMutualSubmitWormsInsectsObligedOppressorsOne Half
Book:A Vindication of the Rights of Women & a Vindication of the Rights of Men
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“But women are very differently situated with respect to eachother - for they are all rivals (...) Is it then surprising that when the sole ambition of woman centres in beauty, and interest gives vanity additional force, perpetual rivalships should ensue? They are all running the same race, and would rise above the virtue of morals, if they did not view each other with a suspicious and even envious eye.”

IfsGivingShouldEyeRunningForceInterestViewsRaceMoralVirtueAmbitionVanitySurprisingPerpetualSoleCentreRivalsSuspiciousRise AboveEnvious
Author:Mary Wollstonecraft
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“To be a good mother, a woman must have sense, and that independence of mind which few women possess who are taught to depend entirely on their husbands. Meek wives are, in general, foolish mothers; wanting their children to love them best, and take their part, in secret, against the father, who is held up as a scarecrow.”

MindChildrenMotherFatherParentSecretWifeTaughtDependsHusbandIndependenceFoolishMeekSingle ParentGood MotherVindicationScarecrow
Book:A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
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“I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves.”

MenLifeWishWomenFeminismEqualMen And WomenEmpowermentIndependentFeministEqualityGenderWomen EmpowermentWomens RightsStrong WomenEmpoweredEqual RightsEmpowering WomenMen WomenGender EqualityViolence Against WomenFamous WomenIndependent WomenEmpowered WomenInspirational WomenGreat WomenWomen PowerBeing A Strong WomanWomen RightsWomen EqualityVindicationI Am WomanPower StruggleStrong Independent WomenWomen RightBeing Independent WomanEquality Of ManPower ManProud WomanBetter WomanWomen And StrengthEqual Power
Author:Mary Wollstonecraft
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“The power of generalizing ideas, of drawing comprehensive conclusions from individual observations, is the only acquirement, for an immortal being, that really deserves the name of knowledge.”

IdeasNamesIndividualIntellectualDeserveIntelligenceDrawingConclusionObservationImmortalComprehensiveDrawing Conclusions
Book:A vindication of the rights of woman: with strictures on political and moral subjects
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“My own sex, I hope, will excuse me, if I treat them like rational creatures, instead of flattering their fascinating graces, and viewing them as if they were in a state of perpetual childhood, unable to stand alone.”

IfsMenStatesSexMy OwnGraceFeminismChildhoodStrengthCreaturesTreatsExcuseRationalFascinatingPerpetualFlatteringStand AloneExcuse MeVindication
Book:A vindication of the rights of woman: with strictures on political and moral subjects
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