Vindication of the Madwomen in the Attic

What fascinates me, and bear with me because I am also a Sociology major with a concentration in gender, is that while Wollenstonecraft advocates for the education of women, so that they can develop a sense of self and virtues equatable to men's, yet she clearly states that she views women as the inferior sex: "A degree of physical superiority cannot, therefore, be denied--and it is a noble perogative!"  Although she desires equal education for the advancement of women, she takes a Miltonian stance that sheltering women from all that is evil will not help them develop true virtue because she will not be able to distinguish what is true from what is not; she will be blind as just as helpless as if she were uneducated.  In addition, Wollenstonecraft seems to view the beauty of women and their clothing as a handicap that marks them as frail and frivolous, and distracts them from important matters--other than pleasing men who will support them, of course.  In response to the notion that women behave frivolously, I would like to point out that in addition to the lack of education and incentive to be independent, Gilbert and Gubar say in their commentary of Victorian women's education and mannerisms, Mad Woman in the Attic, that women appear frivolous because they lack a language of their own to adequately express their sentiments.  Language, literature, and history have been dominated by men and do not adequately fulfill a woman's needs for understanding a situation or concept.  All education is written for men, making it increasingly difficult for women to access education and see such virtuous ideas in a woman's perspective.