Page:Vindication Women's Rights (Wollstonecraft).djvu/83

Rh blind zeal. The child is not left a moment to its own direction, particularly a girl, and thus rendered dependent—dependence is called natural.

To preerve peronal beauty, woman's glory! the limbs and faculties are cramped with wore than Chinee bands, and the edentary life which they are condemned to live, whilt boys frolic in the open air, weakens the mucles and relaxes the nerves.—As for Roueau's remarks, which have ince been echoed by everal writers, that they have naturally, that is from their birth, independent of education, a fondnes for dolls, dreing, and talking—they are o puerile as not to merit a erious refutation. That a girl, condemned to it for hours together litening to the idle chat of weak nures, or to attend at her mother's toilet, will endeavour to join the converation, is, indeed, very natural; and that he will imitate her mother or aunts, and amue herelf by adorning her lifeles doll, as they do in dreing her, poor innocent babe! is undoubtedly a mot natural conequence. For men of the greatet abilities have eldom had ufficient trength to rie above the urrounding atmophere; and, if the page of genius has always been blurred by the prejudices of the age, ome allowance hould be made for a ex, who like kings, always ee things through a fale medium.

In this manner may the fondnes for dres, conpicuous in women, be eaily accounted for, without uppoing it the reult of a deire to pleae the ex on which they are dependent. The aburdity, in hort, of uppoing that a girl is naturally a coquette, and that a deire connected with the&ensp;