In Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication Of The Rights Of Woman And Anna Karenina

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Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina both illustrate feminist ideals as well as the continual gender gap that plagues our society. Wollstonecraft lays out very specific qualifications for modesty and portrays how imperative a modest society is to achieving gender equality for both sexes. Similarly, the character of Anna in Anna Karenina chooses to become an advocate for feminist ideals in Russia during a time in which her society was ruled by men and women had very little say. Anna’s character and Wollstonecraft were both pioneers in paving the way for women’s rights and creating a society in which women and men would be able to allow each other to grow without oppressing one another.
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This further exemplifies the rift between male and female sexuality that still takes place in modern society in which males are often praised for their sexual escapades while females are repeatedly shunned. Wollstonecraft says that “modesty must be equally cultivated by both sexes” in order for both genders to reach their highest capacity of modesty. During the 18th and 19th century, the modesty gender gap was far greater than it is today but unfortunately there is still a long way to go. Another occasion that the patriarchal society of Anna Karenina’s time shows the submission of females is when Anna’s husband does not allow her to divorce him (Webster & Wright, 2012). While in one light, her husband can be seen as trying to protect her from throwing away her family and becoming the “guilty party,” it is also seen throughout the film that he endeavors to have a tight grip on Anna and thus will not allow himself to be ashamed by her betrayal (Webster & Wright, 2012). His expectations involved Anna staying in their marriage to protect an image, and although women such as Stiva’s wife agreed to this type of compromise, Anna remained poised and chose to follow her heart instead of following orders from her cold

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