Q0199
“I do not wish them to have power over men; but over…” — Mary Wollstonecraft (A Vindication of the Rights of…)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792). Theme: autonomy.
English
I do not wish them to have power over men; but over themselves.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) and files it under Feminist Philosophy. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797) was an English radical writer whose A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) founded modern liberal feminist argument. She wrote on education, the French Revolution, and travel, and mixed in Dissenting and Jacobin circles.
Interpretation
Wollstonecraft is answering the charge that her argument aims at domination. Her claim is that what she wants for women is not power over men but the self-command that would let them act from their own judgement. This depends on her prior argument that apparent female weakness is produced by education rather than nature. The sentence is doing two things: deflecting a misreading and restating the substance of her case.
Why it matters
The distinction is useful beyond its context: wanting authority over one's own life is a different claim from wanting authority over someone else's.
Concepts in this quote
- Autonomy
- Autonomy appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat autonomy as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
- Dignity
- Dignity names the worth that persons claim simply as persons—and the respect that worth demands.
- Equality
- Equality appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat equality as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Mary Wollstonecraft. (n.d.). I do not wish them to have power over men; but over themselves. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0199
MLA: Mary Wollstonecraft. “I do not wish them to have power….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0199.
Chicago: Mary Wollstonecraft. “I do not wish them to have power….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0199.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “I do not wish them to have power…”?
The passage is attributed to Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792). The archive attributes this English wording to A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) and files it under Feminist Philosophy. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Mary Wollstonecraft mean by autonomy?
Across 4 recurring voices here (notably Seneca and Mary Wollstonecraft), autonomy is framed through Stoicism and Feminist Philosophy. Some passages define autonomy; others warn how it fails; still others relocate it inside habit, community, or language. This passage enters that discussion through autonomy, dignity, equality.