Q0502
“Strengthen the female mind by enlarging it, and there will be an…” — Mary Wollstonecraft (A Vindication of the Rights of…)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), Ch. 3. Theme: reason.
English
Strengthen the female mind by enlarging it, and there will be an end to blind obedience.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), Ch. 3 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.
How to read this passage
Philosophers disagree about whether reason is the slave of the passions, the legislator of morality, or one tool among others. The quotations here keep that disagreement in play. This passage enters that discussion through reason, education, responsibility.
Concepts in this quote
- Reason
- Reason is the capacity to give and assess reasons—central to logic, science, ethics, and public argument.
- Education
- Education appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat education as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
- Responsibility
- Responsibility asks what we answer for—our choices, omissions, institutions, and the futures we help create.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Mary Wollstonecraft. (n.d.). Strengthen the female mind by enlarging it, and there will be an end to blind obedience. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0502
MLA: Mary Wollstonecraft. “Strengthen the female mind by enlarging it, and….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0502.
Chicago: Mary Wollstonecraft. “Strengthen the female mind by enlarging it, and….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0502.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “Strengthen the female mind by enlarging it, and…”?
The passage is attributed to Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), Ch. 3. The archive attributes this English wording to A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), Ch. 3 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 reason?
Philosophers disagree about whether reason is the slave of the passions, the legislator of morality, or one tool among others. The quotations here keep that disagreement in play. This passage enters that discussion through reason, education, responsibility.