Answer:
. Wollstonecraft explains that “Women are told from their infancy, and taught by the example of their mothers, that a little knowledge of human weakness, justly termed cunning, softness of temper, OUTWARD obedience, and a scrupulous attention to a puerile kind of propriety, will obtain for them the protection of man; and should they be beautiful, every thing else is needless, for at least twenty years of their lives” (84). This statement points to the process of socialization that teaches girls to cultivate an identity of calculating childishness and fragility. What are the effects of molding girls in this way when it comes to marriage and motherhood (67, 95, 100, 119); obedience (84, 91, 93); false refinement and appearances (87, 89, 91, 93, 99, 107); and physical delicacy (95, 99, 105). You may choose to focus on one of these topics in a comprehensive manner, or seek to analyze passages from a number of these topics.
Throughout chapter 2 Wollstonecraft argues that education has stunted women’s intellectual, emotional, and spiritual growth (see pages 84, 88, and 89). She also highlights that the best education (for men and women) is “such an exercise of the understanding as is best calculated to strengthen the body and form the heart” (86)
