Page:Vindication Women's Rights (Wollstonecraft).djvu/30

24 The education of women has, of late, been more attended to than formerly; yet they are till reckoned a frivolous ex, and ridiculed or pitied by the writers who endeavor by atire or intruction to improve them. It is acknowledged that they pend many of the firt years of their lives in acquiring a mattering of accomplihments: meanwhile trength of body and mind are acrificed to libertine notions of beauty, to the deire of etablihing themelves,—the only way women can rie in the world,—by marriage. And this deire making mere animals of them, when they marry they act as uch children may be expected to act:—they dres; they paint, and nickname God's creatures.—Surely thee weak beings are only fit for a eraglio!—Can they govern a family, or take care of the poor babes whom they bring into the world?

If then it can be fairly deduced from the preent conduct of the ex, from the prevalent fondnes for pleaure which takes place of ambition and thoe nobler paions that open and enlarge the oul; that the intruction which women have received has only tended, with the contitution of civil ociety, to render them inignificant objects of deire—mere propagators of fools!—if it can be proved that in aiming to accomplih&ensp;