Q0505
“It is time to effect a revolution in female manners—time to restore…” — Mary Wollstonecraft (A Vindication of the Rights of…)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), Ch. 9. Theme: dignity.
English
It is time to effect a revolution in female manners—time to restore to them their lost dignity—and make them, as a part of the human species, labour by reforming themselves to reform the world.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), Ch. 9 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
Kantian and rights-based ethics make dignity central; other traditions speak of face, honor, or Buddha-nature. Politics asks how institutions honor or violate dignity. This passage enters that discussion through dignity, equality.
Concepts in this quote
- 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.). It is time to effect a revolution in female manners—time to restore to them their lost dignity—and make them, as a part of the human species, labour by reforming themselves to reform the world. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0505
MLA: Mary Wollstonecraft. “It is time to effect a revolution in….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0505.
Chicago: Mary Wollstonecraft. “It is time to effect a revolution in….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0505.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “It is time to effect a revolution in…”?
The passage is attributed to Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), Ch. 9. The archive attributes this English wording to A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), Ch. 9 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 dignity?
Kantian and rights-based ethics make dignity central; other traditions speak of face, honor, or Buddha-nature. Politics asks how institutions honor or violate dignity. This passage enters that discussion through dignity, equality.