Wollstonecraft's Women

Though I'm sure a number of Wollstonecraft's deeply embedded arguments against the nature of women in society, and the influences of education, rationality, and politics, were lost on my initial reading of the text, I really enjoyed her consideration of antiquity as a foundation for common sentiments about women. She argues that Milton asserts that "women are formed for softness and sweet attractive grace", ultimately depriving them of character or souls. Later she discusses the influence of Moses's poetical story, and how often times men look to this biblical reference to prove that Eve, and therefore women, was borne straight from the rib of Adam (men). Furthermore, in chapter 2, Wollstonecraft considers a woman's predestined utility as an object cultivated to please men, as a catalyst for female infidelity. She argues that the allure of female charm will inevitably fade and they will be forced to look into oneself for a sense of comfort. Otherwise, they will be driven to please other men. This argument, of course, applies to those women who lack a sense of conviction or the knowledge/ability to self promote their moral, emotional, and rational selves.