Mary wollstonecraft was an 18th century english writer, philosopher, and advocate of women’s rights. She is best known for her book a vindication of the rights of woman, which is considered a foundational work of feminist philosophy. Mary wollstonecraft quotes still have relevance today, and she is often referred to as the “Mother of feminism”.
Her work has been studied and discussed by scholars around the world, and her quotes are often used to inspire and motivate modern day feminists. In this blog, we will take a look at some of the most famous mary wollstonecraft quotes and discuss the importance of her work.
Mary Wollstonecraft Quotes About Gender And Equality
💼 “Women ought to have representatives, instead of being arbitrarily governed without any direct share allowed them in the deliberations of government.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “Make women rational creatures, and free citizens, and they will quickly become good wives; – that is, if men do not neglect the duties of husbands and fathers.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “Women are systematically degraded by receiving the trivial attentions which men think it manly to pay to their sex, when, in fact, men are insultingly supporting their own superiority.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “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.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “It is time to effect a revolution in female manners – time to restore to them their lost dignity – and make them, as a part of the human species, labour by reforming themselves to reform the world. It is time to separate unchangeable morals from local manners.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “I do not wish them [women] to have power over men, but over themselves.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “It is vain to expect virtue from women till they are in some degree independent of men.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
“Strengthen the female mind by enlarging it, and there will be an end to blind obedience.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “The divine right of husbands, like the divine right of kings, may, it is hoped, in this enlightened age, be contested without danger.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “Taught from infancy that beauty is woman’s sceptre, the mind shapes itself to the body, and roaming round its gilt cage, only seeks to adorn its prison.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft Quotes About Evil And Happiness
💼 “Children, I grant, should be innocent; but when the epithet is applied to men or women, it is but a civil term for weakness.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “They may be convenient slaves, but slavery will have its constant effect, degrading the master and the abject dependent.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “The being who patiently endures injustice, and silently bears insults, will soon become unjust, or unable to discern right from wrong.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “From the respect paid to property flow, as from a poisoned fountain, most of the evils and vices which render this world such a dreary scene to the contemplative mind.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “And having no fear of the devil before my eyes, I venture to call this a suggestion of reason, instead of resting my weakness on the broad shoulders of the first seducer of my frail sex.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “Errors are often useful, but it is commonly to remedy other errors.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “Every political good carried to the extreme must be productive of evil.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “All the sacred rights of humanity are violated by insisting on blind obedience.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “Solitude and reflection are necessary to give to wishes the force of passions.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
“No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft Quotes About Values And Virtue
💼 “Only that education deserves emphatically to be termed cultivation of the mind which teaches young people how to begin to think.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “It appears necessary to go back to first principles in search of the most simple truths, and to dispute with some prevailing prejudice every inch of ground.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “Let their faculties have room to unfold, and their virtues to gain strength, and then determine where the whole sex must stand in the intellectual scale.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “True sensibility, the sensibility which is the auxiliary of virtue, and the soul of genius, is in society so occupied with the feelings of others, as scarcely to regard its own sensations.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “Independence I have long considered as the grand blessing of life, the basis of every virtue; and independence I will ever secure by contracting my wants, though I were to live on a barren heath.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “Virtue can only flourish among equals.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “It is justice, not charity, that is wanting in the world.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “But what a weak barrier is truth when it stands in the way of a hypothesis!” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
“Simplicity and sincerity generally go hand in hand, as both proceed from a love of truth.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “Those who are bold enough to advance before the age they live in…must learn to brave censure.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft Quotes About Knowledge And Hope
💼 “Surely something resides in this heart that is not perishable – and life is more than a dream.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “Like the flowers that are planted in too rich a soil, strength and usefulness are sacrificed to beauty.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “My dreams were all my own; I accounted for them to nobody; they were my refuge when annoyed – my dearest pleasure when free.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “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.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “Into this error men have, probably, been led by viewing education in a false light; not considering it as the first step to form a being advancing gradually towards perfection, but only as a preparation for life.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “The beginning is always today.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “A little patience and all will be over.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “The mind will ever be unstable that has only prejudices to rest on.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “Only by the jostlings of equality can we form a just opinion of ourselves.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “I earnestly wish to point out in what true dignity and human happiness consists.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft Quotes About Love And Friendship
💼 “I like to see your eyes praise me and, during such recitals, there are interruptions, not ungrateful to the heart, when the honey that drops from the lips is not merely words.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “To speak disrespectfully of love is, I know, high treason against sentiment and fine feelings; but I wish to speak the simple language of truth, and rather to address the head than the heart.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “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.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “Love, the common passion, in which chance and sensation take place of choice and reason, is in some degree, felt by the mass of mankind; for it is not necessary to speak, at present, of the emotions that rise above or sink below love.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “Love from its very nature must be transitory. To seek for a secret that would render it constant would be as wild a search as for the philosopher’s stone or the grand panacea: and the discovery would be equally useless, or rather pernicious to mankind. The most holy band of society is friendship.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “My husband – my king.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “I never wanted but your heart–that gone, you have nothing more to give.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “Parental affection is, perhaps, the blindest modification of perverse self-love.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
💼 “It is far better to be often deceived than never to trust; to be disappointed in love, than never to love.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
“Friendship is a serious affection; the most sublime of all affections, because it is founded on principle, and cemented by time.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft
Final Thoughts
Mary wollstonecraft was a trailblazer in the early feminist movement and her quotes continue to inspire generations of women today. Her words demonstrate the power of courage and determination in the face of adversity. She believed in the power of education and the importance of equality for all people, regardless of gender.