Mill was considered to be a genius with radical views. He came onto the scene drawing recognition for his outlook of social reform by promoting Utilitarianism in Victorian England. Though he never attended a public or private school, Mill’s father provided a superior education for him at home with him learning Greek at the age of three. His education was legendary, but lacked any human compassion from his father. “I… grew up in the absence of love & in the presence of fear” (514). At the age of 17, he started working for his father as a clerk at the East India Company and established the Utilitarian Society. Due to depression and the lack of fulfillment, he had a nervous breakdown in 1826. His recovery was accomplished by reading poetry from Wordsworth essays.
Mill was a supporter of the right of liberty, freedom of speech, and sexual equality. I recognized most with his encouragement towards the rights of women. In 1830, his life was changed with his meeting of Harriet Taylor. She had a radical analysis towards women’s rights which they both shared. Since Harriet was married and laws only allowed men to receive divorces, it gave Mill incentive to fight to get this law changed. They were able to wed in 1850 after the death of her husband. It was during this wedding ceremony, Mill made vows to treat his wife as an equal in all aspect of their lives.
Mill’s maintained that woman should be given a chance to be a part of the world instead of one that is a shadow of her husband. “That the principle which regulates the existing social relations between the two sexes------ the legal subordination of one sex to the other------ is wrong in itself, and now one of the chief hindrances to human improvement; and that it ought to be replaced by a principle of perfect equality, admitting no power or privilege on the one side nor disability on the other” (521).
In contrast, Sarah Stickney Ellis felt that women should know their place. “Advised women to accept their inferiority to men and devote themselves to the happiness and moral elevation of their brother, husbands and sons” (557).
In my personal opinion, a woman should be equal to man because in all things a woman helps her mate. Whether be a housewife or a working partner, contributions toward their livelihood are supplied by both. More than anything, a man and woman are suppose to complement each other. Even in the Victorian Era, a husband took his work home and talked over dinner about decisions that had to be made by him. The wife would listen giving input that could have or would have been used by her husband. Everyone assumed all decisions were thought of by the man.
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Bianca,
ReplyDeleteOK post on this topic, and the quotations you present by Mill and Ellis provide a good opportunity for analysis. You do not really analyze them, though, and instead make several unsupported claims. It is not really clear what basis you have in your final paragraph for occurred in Victorian discussions.
Bianca,
ReplyDeleteI think this is your best blog as of yet! Good job! You did a great job of quoting Mill’s The Subjection of Women and providing a thorough explanation of his ideas. I focused my blog on Mill’s On Liberty, so it was interesting to read a more detailed account of another one of his works. I saw many similarities in his belief of equality for all. I also looked at Ellis’ work and was slightly disgusted by her contentment with submission. I really like the sentence in the third paragraph you wrote about how women should be given a chance to live in this world and not a mere shadow of her husband. This is an interesting idea in that by being in submission to one’s husband, one is not really living at all. A good thought to ponder… thanks!