" (Wollstonecraft, 272). Even though women value chastity, this is not a virtue society holds in high regard because "it is despised by men" (Wollstonecraft, 272) and men hold the power in society to suppress the will of women. Men have an inherited authority derived from their occupations such as politicians or businessmen in which they have more control over society than women. Also, the traditional belief in society favors men because men have historically always been in a position of power. Men hold the power to influence the thoughts of society because they keep women ignorant by withholding a formal education and the chance to think independently. To Wollstonecraft, education is important because it leads to independent thought and independence itself. Without education, women are ignorant and unable to fight their standing in society. Wollstonecraft refers to this situation as a "slavery which chains the very soul of women, keeping her under the bondage of ignorance." This line is important because it echoes the idea that women are forcefully denied the chance to better themselves through education. Also, the language Wollstonecraft uses, namely comparing women to slaves, shows Wollstonecraft's ideas about any form of slavery, not just involving women. Because the main subject of Wollstonecraft's argument is women's rights, she does not go into great detail concerning other forms of slavery and only uses references such as these to communicate her universal disagreement with slavery. The position men hold in society allows them to repress the education of women, and this is the source of inequality in society. If women were allowed to think independently the inequality would slowly disappear. Wollstonecraft greatly values education because it is necessary for a person to think independently. Without independent thought, Wollstonecraft further argues that a person cannot be a rational being or achieve reason. These end results of ...
