A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and An Ode Popular Superstitions o

Comparing Unification in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and An Ode on the Popular Superstitions of the Highlands of Scotland  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      In A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Mary Wollstonecraft seeks to abolish repressive, orthodox conventions. She endeavors to abate manners that lacerate our society, that elevate man above woman, that prohibit equal exchange between the sexes. This unequal system of gender roles forms the basis of her argument. Wollstonecraft claims that civilization will not progress while half its population is subjugated. Arguing that progress in sexual commerce will balance the scales, she seeks simplicity in society through equality between man and woman. Through equal education, rejection of traditional expectations, but most importantly a dismissal of complex, debilitating emotions like love and passion, the sexes will overlap, becoming one, becoming unisexual. This simplification, this unisexuality, will clear the smoke between men and women, allowing them to return to a basis of reason upon which to build a better society. Wollstonecraft sees this unisexuality as the savior of human kind . In An Ode on the Popular Superstitions of the Highlands of Scotland, Considered as the Subject of Poetry, William Collins seeks to abolish cultural stereotypes rending Scottish and English societies. Collins realizes that if unabated, the rising 18th century commercial torrent will consume Scotland. This flood will leave the north hopelessly backward, unable to unite with the southern commonwealth. The growing cultural and economic gap between north and south will leave England ripe for conflict. Collins also realizes that the British Empire can never be a great power unless these two warring factions u... ...al level simplifies the conflict between the sexes because it eliminates the messy emotional biases attached to this conflict. Returning Scot and Brit to their ancient Celtic past simplifies the conflict between their nations because it eliminates messy emotional biases attached to this impasse as well. Both Wollstonecraft and Collins seek harmony through reason; both seek unity through precision, both succeed because simplicity speaks to everyone, Brit, Scot, man or woman. Works Cited Collins, William. "An Ode on the Popular Superstitions of the Highlands of Scotland,Considered as the Subject of Poetry." Online. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. 3034: Texts and Contexts: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature. Oct. 1998. Wollstonecraft, Mary. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Ed. Carol H. Poston. New York: Norton, 1988.