Maria or the Wrongs of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft Part 2

"Married when scarcely able to distinguish the nature of the engagement, I yet submitted to the rigid laws which enslave women, and obeyed the man whom I could no longer love. Whether the duties of the state are reciprocal, I mean not to discuss; but I can prove repeated infidelities which I overlooked or pardoned. Witnesses are not wanting to establish these facts. I at present maintain the child of a maid servant, sworn to him, and born after our marriage. I am ready to allow, that education and circumstances lead men to think and act with less delicacy, than the preservation of order in society demands from women; but surely I may without assumption declare, that, though I could excuse the birth, I could not the desertion of this unfortunate babe:—and, while I despised the man, it was not easy to venerate the husband. With proper restrictions however, I revere the institution which fraternizes the world. I exclaim against the laws which throw the whole weight of the yoke on the weaker shoulders, and force women, when they claim protector-ship as mothers, to sign a contract, which renders them dependent on the caprice of the tyrant, whom choice or necessity has appointed to reign over them. Various are the cases, in which a woman ought to separate herself from her husband; and mine, I may be allowed emphatically to insist, comes under the description of the most aggravated."

In this excerpt of Mary Wollstonecraft's "Maria or the Wrongs of Woman", she discusses her feelings towards patriarchal society blatantly in order to get her point across of how ridiculous it is that women are expected to be a certain way. In the beginning, she explains that even though she did not want a certain life for herself, she adhered to the societal standards and did what was expected of her. This seems to be a reoccurring theme throughout not only her novel, but every female work during this time (during present day as well). While she states this, Wollstonecraft explains how society ignores these facts to picture a more perfect society even though women and men are not equal. Society turns women into servants from the moment they marry, until they die. Whether that be in motherhood or just being a maiden. Wollstonecraft says women sign their life away, to a tyrant and a child. Once again, a reoccurring theme in novels, for example The Awakening. In conclusion, Mary Wollstonecraft is infuriated by the times and society. She wants more for women, and she states this by saying "a woman ought to separate herself from her husband; and mine, I may be allowed emphatically to insist, comes under the description of the most aggravated.".