Mary Wollstonecraft Quotes

I do not wish women to have power over men, but over themselves.

The beginning is always today.

No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness.

If women be educated for dependence; that is, to act according to the will of another fallible being, and submit, right or wrong, to power, where are we to stop?

Taught from their 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.

Men and women must be educated, in a great degree, by the opinions and manners of the society they live in.

I do not think that women need to be educated in their special duties. Apply to them the same principles as are applied to men.

A little learning, indeed, may be a dangerous thing, but the want of learning is a calamity to any people.

Women ought to have representatives, instead of being arbitrarily governed without any direct share allowed them in the deliberations of government.

Actions are the only things that really prove where love lies.

No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness.

Women are degraded by the propensity to enjoy the present moment, and, at last, despise the freedom which they have not sufficient virtue to struggle to attain.

We do not connect the idea of antiquated prejudices naturally with what is venerable.

I love my man as my fellow; but his scepter, real, or usurped, extends not to me, unless the reason of an individual demands my homage; and even then, the submission is to reason, and not to man.

Mary Wollstonecraft Quotes part 2

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.

Virtue only can ensure happiness, and can only be attained by self-control and discipline.

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.

When a man tells me I can’t, I take pride in proving him wrong.

If women be educated for dependence; that is, to act according to the will of another fallible being, and submit, right or wrong, to power, where are we to stop?

It is justice, not charity, that is wanting in the world.

Women have seldom sufficient employment to silence their feelings; a round of little cares, or vain pursuits frittering away all strength of mind and organs, they become naturally only objects of sense.

A high rank in life, cannot soften the acuteness of sorrow, with which they feel themselves, separated for ever, from a man whom they cannot respect.

The thing I primarily aim at is to show that women are not by nature inferior to men.

The being cannot be termed rational or virtuous, who obeys any authority, but that of reason.

If women be educated for dependence; that is, to act according to the will of another fallible being, and submit, right or wrong, to power, where are we to stop?

I do earnestly wish to see the distinction of sex confounded in society, unless where love animates the behaviour.

The being cannot be termed rational or virtuous who obeys any authority, but that of reason.

We do not connect the idea of antiquated prejudices naturally with what is venerable.

No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness.

Men and women must be educated, in a great degree, by the opinions and manners of the society they live in.

If we revert to history, we shall find that the women who have distinguished themselves have neither been the most beautiful nor the most gentle of their sex.

I love my man as my fellow; but his scepter, real, or usurped, extends not to me, unless the reason of an individual demands my homage; and even then, the submission is to reason, and not to man.

To be a good mother, a woman does not need to forsake all other roles in life.

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, labor by reforming themselves to reform the world.

Till women are more rationally educated, the progress in human virtue and improvement in knowledge must receive continual checks.

No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness.

The divine right of husbands, like the divine right of kings, may, it is hoped, in this enlightened age, be contested without danger.

Women ought to have representatives, instead of being arbitrarily governed without any direct share allowed them in the deliberations of government.

First, I think it is an object of importance, that women should not be dependent either for their virtue or their happiness on any man.

The beginning is always today.

We need to reform society, not just women.

Virtue only can ensure happiness, and can only be attained by self-control and discipline.

Educate a woman in music and dance and she is ruined forever.

Man her virtue not thy reputation.

Women should not be degraded to sex slaves, but should be equal partners in all aspects of life.

The more I see of the world, the more I am convinced that the fate of any single individual depends on the strength of their character.

Women have seldom sufficient employment to silence their feelings; a round of little cares, or vain pursuits frittering away all strength of mind and organs, they become naturally only objects of sense.

To promote women’s rights is not a work of charity, it is fundamentally a work of justice.

The being cannot be termed rational or virtuous, who obeys any authority, but that of reason.

No man has a right to rule over another, unless by consent.