A Vindication of the Rights of Woman Slavery Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #7

Why do they expect virtue from a slave, from a being whom the constitution of civil society has rendered weak, if not vicious? (3.31)

Wollstonecraft can't imagine why men would expect women to be nice when they spend their entire lives enslaved. Everything about their training and upbringing pushes them toward viciousness and pure self-interest.

Quote #8

The master wished to have a meretricious slave to fondle, entirely dependent on his reason and bounty; he did not want a companion, whom he should be compelled to esteem. (5.117)

In many cases, men have no interest in having a companion for life when they get married. They're much more interested in having a pretty girl who is quiet and obedient. They never want to be challenged to become better people. They only want to keep doing what they've always done, whether it's moral or not.

Quote #9

Women then having necessarily some duty to fulfill, more noble than to adorn their passions, would not contentedly be the slaves of casual lust. (8.25)

If women were given a more respectable place in society, they would turn their attention to things that are nobler than looking pretty or gossiping about their friends. Unfortunately, society keeps pushing them to think only about their appearance and how to best be pleasing to men.