Mary Wollstonecraft’s quote about Empowerment of women

“Strengthen the female mind by enlarging it, and there will be an end to blind obedience.”

—Mary Wollstonecraft

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Know Source and Context of this Quote :

Mary Wollstonecraft’s quote about Empowerment of Women

Mary-Wollstonecraft’s-quote-about-Empowerment-of-Women

“নারীর মনকে প্রসারিত করে শক্তিশালী করুন, তাহলে অন্ধ আনুগত্যের অবসান হবে।”

The quote “Strengthen the female mind by enlarging it, and there will be an end to blind obedience.” is another powerful line from *Mary Wollstonecraft’s ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Woman’ (1792).

Exact Source:
- Chapter 2 (Titled “The Prevailing Opinion of a Sexual Character Discussed”), where Wollstonecraft critiques how women’s education fosters dependence and superficiality.

Modern Edition References:
1. Oxford World’s Classics (2008, ed. Janet Todd) → p. 27
2. Norton Critical Edition (2009, ed. Deidre Lynch) → p. 17

3. Modern Editions (e.g., Oxford World's Classics, p. 29)

Original 1792 Text:

“Strengthen the female mind by enlarging it, and there will be an end to blind obedience; but, as blind obedience is ever sought for by power, tyrants and sensualists are in the right when they endeavour to keep women in the dark, because the former only want slaves, and the latter a plaything.”

Full Context (Paraphrased):
Wollstonecraft argues that if women’s intellects were nurtured through rigorous education (rather than just social graces), they would no longer submit to arbitrary authority or frivolous desires. The quote encapsulates her call for reason over subservience.

Wollstonecraft argues that denying women education keeps them subservient to men (as "slaves" or "playthings"). Enlightenment through learning, she insists, would dismantle oppressive power structures.  

This line directly challenges Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s view (in ‘Émile’) that women should be educated for male pleasure—a key debate in Enlightenment feminism!

Fun Fact: This line directly challenges Jean-Jacques Rousseau's view (in *Émile*, 1762) that women should be educated only to please men. Wollstonecraft fires back: *"If women are by nature inferior to men, their virtues must be the same in quality, if not in degree."* (Ch. 2).