Audiobook · read by volunteers
À Vindication of the Rights of Woman
Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797)
Read by Alex Foster, Kristen McQuillin, David Barnes, Carl Manchester, Kirsten Ferreri, Margaine, Denny Sayers (d. 2015), J. M. Smallheer, Betsie Bush, Samantha Hayes · 21 chapters · 9 h 46
About the book
In 1792 Mary Wollstonecraft published an argument that shocked many readers and encouraged others: that women are not naturally inferior to men, but only seem so because they are denied a proper education. She called for both men and women to be treated as rational beings, and she imagined a society built on reason and mutual respect rather than on dependence and flattery.
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman is one of the founding texts of feminist thought. It is passionate, direct and often very sharp about the habits of its time, and it ranges across education, marriage, manners and the nature of virtue. In twenty-one sections and almost ten hours, this recording presents a foundational work that is still read, cited and argued about, and that remains lively on the page and to the ear.
Introduction
Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797) was an English writer and thinker, best known for A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, published in 1792. She had earlier written a reply to Edmund Burke’s attack on the French Revolution, and she moved in radical intellectual circles in London. Her life was short and eventful, and she died shortly after the birth of her second daughter, Mary, who would later become the author of Frankenstein.
The central claim of the book is that women are not by nature inferior to men; they appear to be so only because they lack education. Wollstonecraft argues that both sexes should be regarded as rational beings and that society should be organised accordingly. She criticises the ideals of feminine behaviour promoted in the books of her time, which in her view made women weak and dependent, and she considers how education, marriage and public life might be reformed. The style is that of an essay in argument, with a strong moral and sometimes impatient tone.
The work is a landmark in the history of ideas, and later generations of campaigners for women’s rights have drawn on it. Readers will notice that some of her assumptions belong to her period, but her central call for education and respect has lasted.
The recording has 21 sections and lasts about ten hours. It is read by volunteers for LibriVox. Why listen today? It is worth hearing an argument at its source, rather than a summary, and Wollstonecraft’s voice is clear, determined and often surprisingly modern. The book is a good companion for anyone interested in the history of feminism, education or political thought.
Public domain
Mary Wollstonecraft died in 1797: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text