An Aristotelian paradox

Wollstonecraft and the implications of marriage as friendship

Bibliographic Data

ID3661100
AuthorsMatthew H Hartman (0000-0002-1724-615X, Department of Political Science, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume28
Issue7
Pages826-836
Publication date2019-10-03
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Gender Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0958-9236 • E-ISSN: 1465-3869
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09589236.2019.1660146
OpenAlexW2979098968
LanguageEN
References cited12

This essay argues that Mary Wollstonecraft interprets marriage in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman as a relationship reminiscent of Aristotelian higher friendship. This position presents an Aristotelian paradox: Wollstonecraft shows how marriage – an institution Aristotle explicitly viewed as a husband ruling a wife – can be the basis of the Aristotelian fulfilment political society structurally provides to the best men. Overall, Wollstonecraft suggests that marriage should be recognized as a concrete contract of friendship between two individuals as opposed to a male-female complementarity that ends in the propagation of the species through childbirth. Her work enables us to challenge ideas of marriage – from Aristotle to Rousseau to the new natural law tradition – that overlook how the structure of marriage dominates possibilities for partnerships. By thus dignifying marriage, Wollstonecraft both critiques eighteenth century marriage practices and broadens the scope of gender expression today.Abbreviation: VRW - A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Friendship · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Wife · Gender Studies · Law · Literature: history, themes, analysis · Philosophy · Religion, Gender, and Enlightenment · Rousseau and Enlightenment Thought

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