After first reading Daniel Defoe's work, “On the Education of Women,” many would immediately assume this essay to be of high value giving its attempt to not only criticize the status quo, but to also encourage women's education as a “must” in order to actually become a “civilized and Christian country.” However, it seems necessary to point out a few of the aspects that make this text an anti-feminist one. Even if providing women with education appeared to be a well-intended act, the truth is Daniel Defoe only managed to reinforce the already mistaken and preconceived ideas about women, their intelligence, and their role within society. To begin with, this premise is a rather clear example of how sex can become a marketed commodity. As discussed in class already, certain hegemonic groups conveniently consider and turn human beings into subjects of commodification by assigning economic value to something that was not considered tradable previously. In this specific text, Defoe suggests that just as men are willing to “breed up” a good horse because they recognize its potential value, they can also take the time to and make the effort of educating women so that “they may be profitable in their conversation” and become pleasant, eloquent companions for their men. Anyway, one wonders what those men would do if suddenly their horse stopped functioning to their benefit, if it broke one of its legs, for example. You kill it most of the times, but hey, it is the industrial revolution! As well, Defoe’s essay is a blunt manifestation of essentialist ideas about the sex. That is, it refers to women as having a “natural wit” which they must learn how to manage. Otherwise, a “well-breed” and “well-taught” woman, “furnished with the additional accomplishment of knowledge” might just end up as this impertinent, whimsical, termagant and lunatic little pet with nothing promising to offer to others (a really cute pet, of course.) In a rather patronizing tone, Defoe wonders how women are “conversable at all, since they are only beholding to natural parts.” In other words, let us do women a favor. Let us take advantage of their wild, yet malleable nature. It is already strange enough to see them handle themselves with such grace (given that they are naturally unable to do much), but there has to be something more we can do; let us train them a little further and perhaps we will make good use of what comes out. One more rather ironic aspect to be discussed is that referring specifically to the kind of education Defoe suggests be given to women. This education consists of “music and dancing” (to better entertain their masters), languages (to be able to follow directions in multiple languages), the graces of speech and conversation (to be able to pretend they are part of a conversation), and history books (to be able to form a rational (male), justifiable (male) opinion on whatever is being discussed in the conversation they pretend to be a part of). Regardless of the perspective from which Daniel Defoe’s work is analyzed, it can be seen that all it does is to promote the idea that women are house-broken pieces of furniture whose main and only purpose in life is to entertain and serve whatever purposes men consider necessary and/or profitable. Yes, back in the Age of Reason you could not really ask for a less sexist perspective on life. However, it seemed necessary to demystify such apparently well-intended proposal.
Very well done and to the point and thank you for this short article on a book that I thought I knew from school many years ago. You proved that you can't just know a book by its cover and you actually have to read and digested. So to Defoe had alter your motives when writing The Education of Women and perhaps more sexist that I realized. I will say one thing as having been apparent and no being a grandparent I have raised girls and been part of the life of the girls of other family members and encourage them strongly to set out an academic circles and do the best they could with regard to school in advance as far as they could and I stood by to help financially but the strangest thing is happen to most of them. I mean if you've been a parent you to may have spent thousands of dollars preening some aspiring middle-class child to become a great scientist or write books and philosophy and so most of them would start out that way and fake me for all of my interest and our families and have great grades and then suddenly meet some guy and fall in love. I'm not kidding this is happen so often and it is discourage me so greatly that I'm not certain I'm going to give a dime toward the next young lady no matter how much potential she has until she's really got the guy thing in a place that's manageable with regard to all this training and education. I really say this with the love of the father who experienced this with his daughter who began on this quest that Defoe suggests to be educated to be profitable in their conversations or whatever reason. And just when I thought she might eventually be headed to a PhD someday and stand on a podium and say those immortal words "I have my father to thank for this" she found Mr. Right and even I'll admit he was a good catch I got married and had children and is very happy even without titles. I have grandchildren I have my daughter's love I don't have any school bills to pay for selected deal to me. What I do have is a daughter who enjoys engaging along conversations with her father just like she did as a child. The education of my daughter too was a well intended act and even without a bunch of letters after her name if it resulted in stimulating company with her as I go into my old age it was worth it all. I think Defoe was really suggesting as most people would assume that the education of a woman would lead to some kind of professional title or academic degree or naming some college building after her but perhaps it helps her to be a good citizen and a mother who can homeschool and a critical analyst of trends in her community and one that knows her faith to be a leader in her circle of friends. And if that woman is educated and happy she's got it over most of us. How many of us men have all those things and hate our jobs and our cynical about what's happened to our careers and are too ill to spend the money that we have. Like a good daughter she is now educating her daughters and I'm a step behind her with my pocketbook ready to pay for the hardware that comes with education and if I'm lucky these girls will meet men fall in love stop all their training and adore their grandfather. If I knew education could lead to this I would have started this a long time ago; that's my girls!
Very well done and to the point and thank you for this short article on a book that I thought I knew from school many years ago. You proved that you can't just know a book by its cover and you actually have to read and digested. So to Defoe had alter your motives when writing The Education of Women and perhaps more sexist that I realized. I will say one thing as having been apparent and no being a grandparent I have raised girls and been part of the life of the girls of other family members and encourage them strongly to set out an academic circles and do the best they could with regard to school in advance as far as they could and I stood by to help financially but the strangest thing is happen to most of them. I mean if you've been a parent you to may have spent thousands of dollars preening some aspiring middle-class child to become a great scientist or write books and philosophy and so most of them would start out that way and fake me for all of my interest and our families and have great grades and then suddenly meet some guy and fall in love. I'm not kidding this is happen so often and it is discourage me so greatly that I'm not certain I'm going to give a dime toward the next young lady no matter how much potential she has until she's really got the guy thing in a place that's manageable with regard to all this training and education. I really say this with the love of the father who experienced this with his daughter who began on this quest that Defoe suggests to be educated to be profitable in their conversations or whatever reason. And just when I thought she might eventually be headed to a PhD someday and stand on a podium and say those immortal words "I have my father to thank for this" she found Mr. Right and even I'll admit he was a good catch I got married and had children and is very happy even without titles. I have grandchildren I have my daughter's love I don't have any school bills to pay for selected deal to me. What I do have is a daughter who enjoys engaging along conversations with her father just like she did as a child. The education of my daughter too was a well intended act and even without a bunch of letters after her name if it resulted in stimulating company with her as I go into my old age it was worth it all. I think Defoe was really suggesting as most people would assume that the education of a woman would lead to some kind of professional title or academic degree or naming some college building after her but perhaps it helps her to be a good citizen and a mother who can homeschool and a critical analyst of trends in her community and one that knows her faith to be a leader in her circle of friends. And if that woman is educated and happy she's got it over most of us. How many of us men have all those things and hate our jobs and our cynical about what's happened to our careers and are too ill to spend the money that we have. Like a good daughter she is now educating her daughters and I'm a step behind her with my pocketbook ready to pay for the hardware that comes with education and if I'm lucky these girls will meet men fall in love stop all their training and adore their grandfather. If I knew education could lead to this I would have started this a long time ago; that's my girls!
After first reading Daniel Defoe's work, “On the Education of Women,” many would immediately assume this essay to be of high value giving its attempt to not only criticize the status quo, but to also encourage women's education as a “must” in order to actually become a “civilized and Christian country.” However, it seems necessary to point out a few of the aspects that make this text an anti-feminist one. Even if providing women with education appeared to be a well-intended act, the truth is Daniel Defoe only managed to reinforce the already mistaken and preconceived ideas about women, their intelligence, and their role within society.
ResponderEliminarTo begin with, this premise is a rather clear example of how sex can become a marketed commodity. As discussed in class already, certain hegemonic groups conveniently consider and turn human beings into subjects of commodification by assigning economic value to something that was not considered tradable previously. In this specific text, Defoe suggests that just as men are willing to “breed up” a good horse because they recognize its potential value, they can also take the time to and make the effort of educating women so that “they may be profitable in their conversation” and become pleasant, eloquent companions for their men. Anyway, one wonders what those men would do if suddenly their horse stopped functioning to their benefit, if it broke one of its legs, for example. You kill it most of the times, but hey, it is the industrial revolution!
As well, Defoe’s essay is a blunt manifestation of essentialist ideas about the sex. That is, it refers to women as having a “natural wit” which they must learn how to manage. Otherwise, a “well-breed” and “well-taught” woman, “furnished with the additional accomplishment of knowledge” might just end up as this impertinent, whimsical, termagant and lunatic little pet with nothing promising to offer to others (a really cute pet, of course.) In a rather patronizing tone, Defoe wonders how women are “conversable at all, since they are only beholding to natural parts.” In other words, let us do women a favor. Let us take advantage of their wild, yet malleable nature. It is already strange enough to see them handle themselves with such grace (given that they are naturally unable to do much), but there has to be something more we can do; let us train them a little further and perhaps we will make good use of what comes out.
One more rather ironic aspect to be discussed is that referring specifically to the kind of education Defoe suggests be given to women. This education consists of “music and dancing” (to better entertain their masters), languages (to be able to follow directions in multiple languages), the graces of speech and conversation (to be able to pretend they are part of a conversation), and history books (to be able to form a rational (male), justifiable (male) opinion on whatever is being discussed in the conversation they pretend to be a part of).
Regardless of the perspective from which Daniel Defoe’s work is analyzed, it can be seen that all it does is to promote the idea that women are house-broken pieces of furniture whose main and only purpose in life is to entertain and serve whatever purposes men consider necessary and/or profitable. Yes, back in the Age of Reason you could not really ask for a less sexist perspective on life. However, it seemed necessary to demystify such apparently well-intended proposal.
Very well done and to the point and thank you for this short article on a book that I thought I knew from school many years ago. You proved that you can't just know a book by its cover and you actually have to read and digested. So to Defoe had alter your motives when writing The Education of Women and perhaps more sexist that I realized. I will say one thing as having been apparent and no being a grandparent I have raised girls and been part of the life of the girls of other family members and encourage them strongly to set out an academic circles and do the best they could with regard to school in advance as far as they could and I stood by to help financially but the strangest thing is happen to most of them. I mean if you've been a parent you to may have spent thousands of dollars preening some aspiring middle-class child to become a great scientist or write books and philosophy and so most of them would start out that way and fake me for all of my interest and our families and have great grades and then suddenly meet some guy and fall in love. I'm not kidding this is happen so often and it is discourage me so greatly that I'm not certain I'm going to give a dime toward the next young lady no matter how much potential she has until she's really got the guy thing in a place that's manageable with regard to all this training and education. I really say this with the love of the father who experienced this with his daughter who began on this quest that Defoe suggests to be educated to be profitable in their conversations or whatever reason. And just when I thought she might eventually be headed to a PhD someday and stand on a podium and say those immortal words "I have my father to thank for this" she found Mr. Right and even I'll admit he was a good catch I got married and had children and is very happy even without titles. I have grandchildren I have my daughter's love I don't have any school bills to pay for selected deal to me. What I do have is a daughter who enjoys engaging along conversations with her father just like she did as a child. The education of my daughter too was a well intended act and even without a bunch of letters after her name if it resulted in stimulating company with her as I go into my old age it was worth it all. I think Defoe was really suggesting as most people would assume that the education of a woman would lead to some kind of professional title or academic degree or naming some college building after her but perhaps it helps her to be a good citizen and a mother who can homeschool and a critical analyst of trends in her community and one that knows her faith to be a leader in her circle of friends. And if that woman is educated and happy she's got it over most of us. How many of us men have all those things and hate our jobs and our cynical about what's happened to our careers and are too ill to spend the money that we have. Like a good daughter she is now educating her daughters and I'm a step behind her with my pocketbook ready to pay for the hardware that comes with education and if I'm lucky these girls will meet men fall in love stop all their training and adore their grandfather. If I knew education could lead to this I would have started this a long time ago; that's my girls!
ResponderEliminarVery well done and to the point and thank you for this short article on a book that I thought I knew from school many years ago. You proved that you can't just know a book by its cover and you actually have to read and digested. So to Defoe had alter your motives when writing The Education of Women and perhaps more sexist that I realized. I will say one thing as having been apparent and no being a grandparent I have raised girls and been part of the life of the girls of other family members and encourage them strongly to set out an academic circles and do the best they could with regard to school in advance as far as they could and I stood by to help financially but the strangest thing is happen to most of them. I mean if you've been a parent you to may have spent thousands of dollars preening some aspiring middle-class child to become a great scientist or write books and philosophy and so most of them would start out that way and fake me for all of my interest and our families and have great grades and then suddenly meet some guy and fall in love. I'm not kidding this is happen so often and it is discourage me so greatly that I'm not certain I'm going to give a dime toward the next young lady no matter how much potential she has until she's really got the guy thing in a place that's manageable with regard to all this training and education. I really say this with the love of the father who experienced this with his daughter who began on this quest that Defoe suggests to be educated to be profitable in their conversations or whatever reason. And just when I thought she might eventually be headed to a PhD someday and stand on a podium and say those immortal words "I have my father to thank for this" she found Mr. Right and even I'll admit he was a good catch I got married and had children and is very happy even without titles. I have grandchildren I have my daughter's love I don't have any school bills to pay for selected deal to me. What I do have is a daughter who enjoys engaging along conversations with her father just like she did as a child. The education of my daughter too was a well intended act and even without a bunch of letters after her name if it resulted in stimulating company with her as I go into my old age it was worth it all. I think Defoe was really suggesting as most people would assume that the education of a woman would lead to some kind of professional title or academic degree or naming some college building after her but perhaps it helps her to be a good citizen and a mother who can homeschool and a critical analyst of trends in her community and one that knows her faith to be a leader in her circle of friends. And if that woman is educated and happy she's got it over most of us. How many of us men have all those things and hate our jobs and our cynical about what's happened to our careers and are too ill to spend the money that we have. Like a good daughter she is now educating her daughters and I'm a step behind her with my pocketbook ready to pay for the hardware that comes with education and if I'm lucky these girls will meet men fall in love stop all their training and adore their grandfather. If I knew education could lead to this I would have started this a long time ago; that's my girls!
ResponderEliminar