1. The Enlightenment Period
Age of Enlightenment/Reason

2. Renaissance vs. Enlightenment
Similar world views
Renaissance = human artistic
Enlightenment = human intellectual
Where the Renaissance focused on the new use of reason, science, technology, the Enlightenment period continued this and grew upon these foci

3. The Age of reason
European politics, philosophy, science and communications were radically reoriented
Enlightenment thinkers in Britain, in France and throughout Europe
questioned traditional authority
embraced the notion that humanity could be improved through radical change.
Radical change

4. The Progression & Influence
The Enlightenment produced numerous:
books, essays, inventions, scientific discoveries, laws, wars and revolutions.
The Enlightenment ultimately gave way to 19th-century Romanticism.
A Teacher and his student

5. Early Enlightenment John Locke: Renee Descartes: Isaac Newton:
English philosopher, physician – published “Essay Concerning Human Understanding”
Isaac Newton:
English Physicist & Mathematician – published “Principia Mathematica
Renee Descartes:
French philosopher, mathematician, scientist,
What commonalities do you see with these gentlemen besides great hair?
Francis Bacon:
English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, orator, and author – Scientific Method

6. English Physicist & Mathematician – published “Principia Mathematica
Early Enlightenment
Human nature is changeable and knowledge is gained through accumulated experience rather than by accessing some sort of outside truth
Isaac Newton:
English Physicist & Mathematician – published “Principia Mathematica
John Locke:
English philosopher, physician – published “Essay Concerning Human Understanding”
Calculus and optical theories provide powerful metaphors to help measure change and illumination

7. Deists would say that the universe takes credit for this
High Enlightenment
Belief that everything in the universe could be explained and categorized
Religious (and anti-religious) innovation
Christians sought to realign with their faith
Deists argued that the universe seemed to determine its own course without God’s intervention
Deists would say that the universe takes credit for this

8. Late Enlightenment
French Revolution 1789: throw out old authorities to remake the society
Unfortunately this led to a bloody terror that a decade later led to the rise of Napoleon

9. Late Enlightenment Feminist Mary Wollstonecraft
English writer, philosopher & women’s rights advocate
Wollstonecraft is best known for A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)
she argues that women are not naturally inferior to men, but appear to be only because they lack education.

10. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)
Mary Wollstonecraft

11. Wollstonecraft’s Early Life
Born in London 1759
1of 7 children
Her father beat her mother
Wollstonecraft would lie outside her mother’s bedroom as a teenager to protect her
Wollstonecraft played a maternal role to her sisters

12. Wollstonecraft’s middle years
Had two female friends in her life; both women played major roles in helping Wollstonecraft to develop her feminist attitude
Wollstonecraft was extremely dissatisfied with the menial jobs that women could have; she started writing as a result.
Wollstonecraft had an affair with an artist Henry Fuseli, but when Fuseli’s wife found out, she forbid the continuation of a relationship.
Wollstonecraft as depicted in 1790

13. Wollstonecraft & Gilbert imlay & Depression
Wollstonecraft moved to France
After just writing Vindication (1792), she met Gilbert Imlay and fell in love
She had a child, Franny with Imlay
Imlay left Wollstonecraft after some time
Wollstonecraft fell into depression and attempted suicide twice
On the second attempt she was rescued from the Thames river, and she cursed the man who saved her
Gilbert Imlay

14. William Godwin
Later years
Wollstonecraft returned to England, and rekindled with old friends
She continued to write
She met William Godwin – fell in love and got married
Had one daughter (Mary) – died giving birth to her
Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein
Mary Shelley

15. The Vindication
Background to Mary Wollstencraft’s work

16. One of his mistresses, and later his wife
Occasion: 1792
Women were slowly gaining rights, and some men had major oppositions to this
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord wrote a report about the true role a woman should have
Fun Fact: Talleyrand was known as a womanizer – he has at least 4 illegitimate children
One of his mistresses, and later his wife

17. Talleyrand wrote:
This guy
When Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord presented his Rapport sur l'instruction publique [Report for Public Instruction](1791) to the National Assembly in France
Talleyrand wrote:
“Let us bring up women, not to aspire to advantages which the Constitution denies them, but to know and appreciate those which it guarantees them Men are destined to live on the stage of the world. A public education suits them: it early places before their eyes all the scenes of life: only the proportions are different. The paternal home is better for the education of women; they have less need to learn to deal with the interests of others, than to accustom themselves to a calm and secluded life.”
Thoughts?

18. Wollstonecraft's Response
Wollstonecraft was roused to respond.

19. Audience: Who do you think she intended to have read this?
Think about main audience
Think about secondary audiences
Think about time period

20. Audience
Women: Why? Why do you think Wollstonecraft would want women to read this?
Men: Why? Why do you think Wollstonecraft would want men to read this?
Politicians: Why? Why do you think Wollstonecraft would want politicians to read this?

21. Subject
What do you think she is talking about?

22. Subject
Women’s rights – especially with regard to education

23. Discuss possibilities – we will read to find this answer
Tone:
What tone do you think she might take?
Why do you think she will take this tone?
Discuss possibilities – we will read to find this answer

24. Purpose Why do you think she is writing?
Aside from obvious reasons of why she writing, think of other reasons she might be writing-
Let’s read to find out…

25. Reading for: Structure: How does she structure her argument?
Pay attention to:
Diction
Syntax
Voice
Language
Figurative language
Allusion
Pronouns
Conjunctions
Shifts
Structure: How does she structure her argument?
Style: What voice, language, and writing style does she use? How might this impact her argument?
Technique: What argumentative techniques does she use
How might these techniques appeal to her audiences?