9 h 40 minAudiobook6 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the weakness women are blamed for is something they are taught?
In A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Mary Wollstonecraft asks why women are denied the education that helps people think for themselves. Her argument, published in 1792, challenges a society that rewards women for beauty and obedience, then treats their dependence as proof that they cannot reason.
Wollstonecraft takes on Jean-Jacques Rousseau and writers who teach girls to please rather than judge. She examines flattery, feeling, reputation, marriage, and motherhood. The stakes reach beyond the classroom: how can women practise virtue or fulfil their duties if they never learn to use their own minds?
What you’ll discover
- Reason belongs to everyone Follow her central claim that women need reason, not training in obedience.
- The cost of pleasing See why Rousseau’s Sophie becomes a target in her challenge to unequal education.
- Beyond beauty and praise Explore how constant flattery narrows a girl’s world and leaves her mind neglected.
- Independent minds at home Consider her case that marriage and motherhood call for judgment, not helpless dependence.
- A different kind of school Discover her proposal for a national system where boys and girls learn together.
Who will love it
For readers who love political thought, the history of education and the roots of feminism, and for anyone who wants to hear Wollstonecraft's original case for women's reason and equality.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Reason is the same in both sexes
- Rousseau's ideal woman is a trained servant
- Flattery and beauty keep women small
- Ignorance does not make women virtuous
- True modesty comes from a trained mind
- Feeling without judgment leads to folly
- Better wives and mothers need independent minds
- Schools should teach boys and girls together
- How the book was received and how it lasted
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 6 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
Défense des droits de la femme
by Mary Wollstonecraft · 1792
Mary Wollstonecraft takes on the education that teaches women to please rather than think, with equality at stake.
Challenging5–10 hours to readfrançais
Excellent
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
She wrote it in a matter of weeks, and she wrote it angry. In 1792 the English writer Mary Wollstonecraft published A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in London.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Reason is the same in both sexes
Wollstonecraft begins with human nature. Reason separates people from animals and lets us practise virtue. If women have minds, they share this gift with men. So one standard of virtue must bind both, and no softer morality can be made for women alone.
She does not ask for favours. She asks that women be treated as rational creatures who can grow, judge and choose. Virtue borrowed from a father or husband, she says, is not virtue at all.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 6 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1792
- Language
- français
- Reading time
- 6 h 15 min
- Level
- Challenging
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Défense des droits de la femme
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is A Vindication of the Rights of Woman about?
It argues that women are rational beings who deserve the same education and moral standards as men. Wollstonecraft claims that the weakness of women comes from how they are raised, and she proposes shared schooling and fairer marriage.
When was A Vindication of the Rights of Woman written?
It was written and published in 1792, in the years after the French Revolution began. Wollstonecraft wrote it quickly, partly as a reply to Talleyrand's plan for French education, which offered girls a lesser schooling.
Why does Wollstonecraft criticize Rousseau?
In his book Emile, Rousseau says girls should be raised to please and obey men. Wollstonecraft replies that this training makes women weak and cunning, and that all people should be taught to reason and judge for themselves.
The author
Mary Wollstonecraft
1759–1797 · English feminist writer and philosopher
Mary Wollstonecraft was an English writer born in London in 1759. She lived in England, Ireland and France. She wrote Mary: A Fiction (1788), A Vindication of the Rights of Men (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792). She died in London in 1797.
More by Mary Wollstonecraft
All 5 booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
