During the eighteenth century, discourse about women’s oppression in society began to take up space within society. At the same time, changes in political structures and ideologies fought their way into the forefront of society. Parliament in England took positions over the monarchy, challenging the king’s authority to govern the country. As the British assessed and changed their political ideologies, so did Mary Wollstonecraft with her work, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Wollstonecraft challenged the gender hierarchy in England to spark a change among women, but more specifically to showcase the mindset behind the oppression of women. Through the use of eighteenth-century scholars and their literature, this paper will examine how the change in England’s political hierarchy inspired Mary Wollstonecraft’s feminist ideologies. These ideologies were used to write and publish Vindication, which prompted female writers who came after Wollstonecraft, like Mary Shelley, to publish their own stance on the subject.  By doing so, this paper will highlight the humble beginnings of the feminist movement and why it was such a radical idea in eighteenth-century England.

It takes the voice of the oppressed to begin a real change in society. Mary Wollstonecraft fought a hard battle to present the idea that women should be treated equally both in society and within their relationships. Her work created a group of writers that continued the feminist movement and gave it momentum. The study of feminism’s origins and history has a great impact on how the movement is regarded in present-day society.