On July 19th and 20th of 1848 the first ever Women’s Rights Convention took place in Seneca Falls, New York. It wasn’t until seventy-two years later that women gained the right to vote through the efforts of women like Susan B. Anthony and Lucy Stone who traveled the country to organize protests and give lectures. Forty-four years later, employment discrimination based on gender was prohibited and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was created to enforce it. Finally, in 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor became the first woman to hold the title of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. These are just four of the many great things that women have accomplished throughout the years. Sadly, women were thought of as inferior for a much longer time, as demonstrated by Aristotle’s view.
Finding out that someone with Aristotle’s level of intelligence thought of women as “incomplete men” was very disappointing. Reading his thoughts about women’s role in reproduction was like pouring salt in a wound. It was surprising that he thought women had no part in reproduction other than “receiving and bringing forth the seed” that women get from men who supposedly provide all the characteristics the child will receive. It was not only disappointing, but also astonishing that someone that intelligent could also be so ignorant. This outlook is especially surprising because of his mentor, Plato, who believed women to have “exactly the same powers of reasoning as men, provided they get the same training.” In my opinion, Plato’s view on women the most admirable.
I thought the fact that most of the authority figures in the novel were men was disappointing. It was also irritating because women were expected to just stay home and take care of the house and kids and didn’t get a chance to express themselves. Its annoying that, for so many years, women were not able to openly share their opinions or be independent like women are today.
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