Central Ideas in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
Question 3 • GA-Literature and Composition I
Read the excerpt from A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.Consider, Sir, dispassionately, these observations—for a glimpse of this truth seemed to open before you when you observed, 'that to see one half of the human race excluded by the other from all participation of government, was a political phænomenon that, according to abstract principles, it was impossible to explain.' If so, on what does your constitution rest? If the abstract rights of man will bear discussion and explanation, those of woman, by a parity of reasoning, will not shrink from the same test.
Answer
A
If men exclude women from government, then there are fewer voters.
B
If people want government to be fair, they should adopt a constitution.
C
If men discuss politics, then women should participate in the conversation.
D
If the Constitution supports men’s rights, it should support women’s rights, too.
Explanation
Wollstonecraft argues that if the abstract rights of men can be discussed and defended, women’s rights should face the same test. This is an argument for equal treatment: a constitution that recognizes men’s rights should recognize women’s rights as well. Choice D expresses that point; the passage is not mainly about the number of voters or simply including women in political conversation.
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