Carpe Diem Represents a State Essay

After learning that her sister had returned and was embraced with such a celebration, she felt anger and resentment. She could not understand why her sister was getting so much glory when it was the oldest sister that had done everything that her parents wanted her to do and had never received such a celebration. She was very upset with her sister.

The oldest daughter approached her parents and told them how she felt. They in return replied, "We have always had you near. You have brought joy to us everyday. Your sister was gone. We did not know where she was, and we are very happy to have her with us again. We have her here and we have to celebrate her arrival so that she may not be compelled to once again leave."

4.)

The eighteenth century was a time of repression for women. Women were not allowed to do anything more than become wives, maids, and mothers. They were not allowed to receive any sort of education nor were they allowed to be treated equally to men. They were seen as inferior beings. The writings, "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman," "To the Ladies," and "The Education of Women" all show this concern for women to be treated as equals to men. However, as a resounding theme, these writings bring forth the fault that men have in this particular issue. If women had the right to an education, they would no longer be seen as being inferior to men. According to all three authors, it is because of men that women have to be subordinate, uneducated, and seen as inferior individuals. All these writings were ahead of their time in their expressing concern for women and each have an individual way in which to make their point-of-view known.

"A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" takes on a social and political outlook on the rights that women are lacking. The writer states that women are often looked down upon when they act too "masculine" when in fact, they are acting in an educated fashion. If women were to have access to an education, they would indeed not be seen as being too masculine and not feminine enough, but they would be seen as equals to men, "...I should think, wish with me, that they may every day grow more and more masculine." "The Education of Women" also takes on this standpoint and goes further on to say that in educating women and putting them on the same level as men, women would actually be taken seriously, "...we denied women the advantages of education, for fear they should vie with the men in their improvements..." Education is the key to the advancement of females, and in order to bring justice to their gender, they must know how to correctly articulate themselves and know about the world around them.

Although education is emphasized as being the solution to women's problems of being seen as inferior to men, it is the men that keep them down. They do so in a fashion that does not allow women to succeed at whatever they are doing and actually hold them back by putting onto them predetermined roles. Women are immediately seen as slaves, as is put in "To the Ladies." Once they are handed over in marriage, their lives are practically over for they are not allowed to speak their own thoughts, "Like Mutes she Signs alone must make, / and never any Freedom take." Religious implications are addressed in the way that marriage was handled during this specific time period. This view on the power of marriage contrasts the way that the author of "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" writes. She states that marriage should be a place that middle class women can stand side by side with their men, however, that is not the case. Women in this position also fall into the trap of their stereotypical roles.

In the end, women are equal to men. However, because of the time period that these stories take place, they are not granted the same opportunities and therefore fall short because of this. Philosophical implications for this era indicate that the soul is what differentiates humans from animals because a soul can be educated; it can be molded to make humans who they will become.….....