The Eloquent Rhetoric of Feminism

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Recommended: Responsibility of women in society

The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was a major organization responsible for several courageous efforts in the promotion of women’s rights, notably the movement to ratify the 19th Amendment in 1920. Elizabeth Cady Stanton served as the first president of the NAWSA and a significant figure of the feminist movement. At the Women’s Rights Convention in 1848 Stanton delivered her momentous resignation speech entitled “The Solitude of Self.” Addressing her audience, Stanton delivers an inspiring and rhetorically eloquent speech. She uses metaphors and logical interpretation to provide her audience with the knowledge and understanding of true equality. The following essay details the effective attributes and distinct style of her appeals.
Stanton effectively engages her audience from the beginning for her speech by immediately revealing her purpose. She expresses the value of each individual person, based not only on legal rights but on the basis of each person functioning in solitude from one another. As she continues her address, she educates her audience on the meaning of individuality and how it relates to the fundamental rights of American citizenship. A woman has her own rights, her own happiness, and her own life; feminism embodied this concept. The feminist movement proposed that women be treated more than secondary citizens, more than just a wife and a mother, and more than her husband’s possession. Stanton’s vision was for women to be educated and equally active members of society.
Stanton’s passion carries a resolute tone throughout her speech. Well-read and resourceful, she references popular authors of her time to relate to the literate and well-educated people in her audience. Stanton uses the words t...

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...appeal to each respective member of her audience, Stanton illustrates how women can contribute to various areas of society. Her unique style of oratory was so exceptional that her speech “The Solitude of Self” remains an iconic representation of sound reasoning that elegantly supports equality for all women.

Works Cited

“Elizabeth Cady Stanton.” Biography.com. A+E Television Networks, LLC. 2013. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.

Kartal, Filiz. “Liberal and Republican Conceptualizations of Citizenship: A Theoretical Inquiry.”Academia.edu, 2002. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.

Lowe, Maggie. “Early College Women: Determined to be Educated.” American Association of University Women, n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2014.

“Social Change and Politics in the Early 1800’s.” Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2014.

Stanton, Elizabeth Cady.“The Solitude of Self.” English 121 handout, 2014.

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