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''Thoughts on the education of daughters: with reflections on female conduct, in the more important duties of life'' is the first published work of the British feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. Published in 1787 by her friend Joseph Johnson, ''Thoughts'' is a conduct book that offers advice on female education to the emerging British middle class. Although dominated by considerations of morality and etiquette, the text also contains basic child-rearing instructions, such as how to care for an infant. An early version of the modern self-help book, the 18th-century British conduct book drew on many literary traditions, such as advice manuals and religious narratives. There was an explosion in the number of conduct books published during the second half of the 18th century, and Wollstonecraft took advantage of this burgeoning market when she published ''Thoughts''. However, the book was only moderately successful: it was favourably reviewed, but only by one journal and it was reprinted only once. Although it was excerpted in popular contemporary magazines, it was not republished until the rise of feminist literary criticism in the 1970s. Like other conduct books of the time, ''Thoughts'' adapts older genres to the new middle-class ethos. The book encourages mothers to teach their daughters analytical thinking, self-discipline, honesty, contentment in their social position, and marketable skills (in case they should ever need to support themselves). These goals reveal Wollstonecraft's intellectual debt to John Locke; however, the prominence she affords religious faith and innate feeling distinguishes her work from his. Her aim is to educate women to be useful wives and mothers, because, she argues, it is through these roles that they can most effectively contribute to society. The predominantly domestic role Wollstonecraft outlines for women—a role that she viewed as meaningful—was interpreted by 20th-century feminist literary critics as paradoxically confining them to the private sphere. Although much of ''Thoughts'' is devoted to platitudes and advice common to all conduct books for women, a few passages anticipate Wollstonecraft's feminist arguments in ''A Vindication of the Rights of Woman'' (1792), such as her poignant description of the suffering single woman. However, several critics suggested that such passages only seem to have radical undertones in light of Wollstonecraft's later works. ==Biographical background== Like many impoverished women during the last quarter of the 18th century in Britain, Wollstonecraft attempted to support herself by establishing a school. She, her sister, and a close friend founded a boarding school in Newington Green, a village already known for its Dissenting academies, including that of political theorist and educational reformer James Burgh, whose widow acted as "fairy godmother" in helping Wollstonecraft to find a house and pupils. However, in the late 1780s the school closed because of financial difficulties, and, desperate to escape from debt, Wollstonecraft wrote her first book, ''Thoughts on the Education of Daughters''. The title alludes to Burgh's ''Thoughts on Education'' (1747), which in turn alludes to John Locke's 1693 work, ''Some Thoughts Concerning Education''. She sold the copyright for only ten guineas to Joseph Johnson, a publisher recommended to her by a friend; they became friends and he encouraged her writing throughout her life. Wollstonecraft next tried her hand at being a governess, but she chafed at her lowly position and refused to accommodate herself to her employers. The modest success of ''Thoughts'' and Johnson's encouragement emboldened Wollstonecraft to embark on a career as a professional writer, a precarious and somewhat disreputable profession for women during the 18th century. She wrote to her sister that she was going to become the "first of a new genus" and published ''Mary: A Fiction'', an autobiographical novel, in 1788.〔Sapiro, 13; 239; Taylor, 6–7; Jones, "Literature of advice", 120; Richardson, 24-25; Todd, 75-77.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Thoughts on the Education of Daughters」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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