Reflections on Inequality, Respect, and Love in the Political Writings of Mary Wollstonecraft

Abstract

Questioning the common assumption that the interest of Wollstonecraft’s thought focuses mainly on her discussion of women’s condition, this chapter explores two other central themes in Wollstonecraft’s writings—love and respect—and the role these play in shaping the relationships central to society. The first section begins with a survey of her pronouncements on inequality, while the second section traces the course of Wollstonecraft’s thoughts on love and respect, showing them to have been shaped by Edmund Burke’s observations on these subjects, but also Plato’s philosophy of love as outlined in his Symposium. The third section shows how Wollstonecraft’s philosophical meditations, from the perspective outlined in the previous sections, provide a strong basis from which to consider some of the difficulties attending our expectations of one another as lovers, parents, and citizens.

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