Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen
Seminar für Englische Philologie
PS II Literature: The (R)Evolution of Feminist Writing
WS 2002/03
Nadja Winter
04.04.2003

role of women′s education - Shaw vs Wollstonecraft

von: Nadja Winter

Table of Contents

Introduction page 3

Main Part

The story of Shaw’s “Pygmalion” and its plot page 4
“Pygmalion” and the way of education page 6
Shaw’s attitude towards women, female education and social problems page 7
Education in Great Britain in the 19th century page 8
Wollstonecraft’s “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” page 9
Wollstonecraft’s attitude towards women’s problems and the aspect page of education in the “Vindication” 10

Conclusion

Comparitive evaluation between “Pygmalion” and page“A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” 13

Bibliography page 15

Introduction

Even a hundred years ago, the word “education” would have been rarely mentioned in connection with “women”. Heated discussions addressed questions such as how far women should be educated, and what education would mean for them. Women’s traditional and conventional tasks were generally seen in housekeeping, giving birth to many children1, and to cater for the sexual needs of their husbands. This role model was based on the concept of the so-called one-sex model2, in which the female sex did not exist at all, as people only thought of one human sex, the male sex. In contrast to modernity′s formulation that men and women are "opposites", Thomas Laqueur proposed an early one-sex model in which women were seen as fundamentally the same, yet imperfect or failed, versions of men3. They were said to be inferior, weaker, and more passive than their male counterparts. The status of the female sex could be compared to that of a slave 4, because women were totally – economically and physically – dependent on their fathers, and, later on, their husbands. Men saw the progressive development of women, and the female self-esteem, as a major risk for their own status and the system of patriarchy, which had been established by men throughout the past centuries. “[…] They were afraid that their wives might, if their value were recognized, become unruly and claim to be the heads of the household […].”5 Partly due to the fact that “by law everything a woman possessed became the property of her husband when she married, [which had] the effect [that women had] to hand over [their] property to some person or persons [even] yet unborn before her marriage”6, this system forced women to be subjected not only to their husbands, but to all male family members. However, beginning with the period of Enlightenment in the late 18th century, the attitude towards the one-sex model gradually changed. More and more, people tried to distinguish between man and woman by referring to anatomic differences. The two-sex model started to emerge and claim a firm place in people’s minds, and the one-sex model was finally viewed as overcome. Yet, the declared differences between the two sexes did not manifest successfully. Hence, the one-sex model remained like a shadow looming over the gender issues. Nevertheless, the female sex gained power, and women began to claim their rights. One of the female defenders of women’s rights in the late 18th century was Mary Wollstonecraft, whose work and views will be discussed here, as well.

Economic problems changed people’s views about the female sex and, further more, about female education. This change occurred mainly in the middle class, in which people were dependent on an income of every individual family member7. However, women needed more and better education to be competitive with men and, most of all, to execute skilled labour.

“Pygmalion”, a drama written by George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), which published in 19128, picks out such problems as a central theme focusing on women’s education, their status in labour and in society. Although Shaw cannot be seen as an outright fighter for female rights, he tried to encourage people to change their archaic social and economic values. Education seemed to be a vital aspect for him to induce such changes. The story of “Pygmalion”, thus, creates imaginations in the reader’s mind about “what education really means”9 and, first and foremost, what it meant in the times of George Bernard Shaw. In comparison to Shaw’s approach, Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) established in her “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman”, published in 1792, comparable views on female education, but at the same time developed different ways to it and, in general, to womanhood. Moreover, Wollstonecraft elaborated on the general situation of women in her time in far more detail. She also emphasised, in addition to the educational problem, her opinion about the values of motherhood, sexuality, and marriage. It is, thus, important to clearly work out the difference between both authors, who did not only deviate in regard to their sex, and the time they lived in, but also had significantly different attitudes towards womanhood and the living standards of the various classes and their development.

Main Part

The story of Shaw’s “Pygmalion” and its plot:

[...]

1 Shaw, The Intelligent Woman’s Guide... 196

2 Soble, Laqueur: Sexual Anatomy, 1.

3 Laqueur, 98

4 Shaw, The Intelligent Woman’s Guide..., xx

5 Shaw, The Intelligent Woman’s Guide..., 197

6 Shaw, The Intelligent Woman’s Guide..., 197

7 Lawson & Silver, 341

8 Ziegésar, 5

9 Ziegésar, 59