After considering the historic page, and viewing the living world with anxious solicitude, the most melancholy emotions of sorrowful indignation have depressed my spirits, and i have sighed when obliged to confess, that either nature has made a great difference between man and man, or that the civilization which has hitherto taken place in the world has been very partial. i have turned over various books written on the subject of education, and patiently observed the conduct of parents and the management of schools; but what has been the result? —a profound conviction that the neglected education of my fellow–creatures is the grand source of the misery i deplore; and that women, in particular, are rendered weak and wretched by a variety of conferring causes, originating from one hasty conclusion. the conduct and manners of women, in fact, evidently prove that their minds are not in a healthy state; for, like the flowers which are planted in too rich a soil, strength and usefulness are sacrificed to beauty; and the flaunting leaves, after having a fastidious eye, fade, disregarded on the stalk, long before the season when they ought to have arrived at maturity. one cause of this barren blooming i attribute to a false system of education gathered from the books written on this subject by men who, considering females rather as women than human creatures, have been more anxious to make them alluring mistresses than affectionate wives and rational mothers; and the understanding of the sex has been so bubbled by this specious homage, that the civilized women of the present century, with a few exceptions, are only anxious to inspire love, when they ought to cherish a nobler ambition, and by their abilities and virtue exact respect.
1.in a vindication of the rights of women, mary wollstonecraft compares women to “flowers which are planted in too rich a soil.” what is the purpose of this comparison in the text?
a
to show how women are dying before they reach maturity like flowers do when not cared for properly
b
to tell women how beautiful they really are, like flowers that bloom and can be looked at and appreciated
c
to demonstrate how women are fragile, like flowers that should be planted in soil that is more moderate and not too rich
d
to illustrate how women are expected to be pretty rather than strong and intelligent like flowers grown for beauty rather than strength
2. read the following excerpt from the passage.
either nature has made a great difference between man and man, or that the civilization which has hitherto taken place in the world has been very partial.
which statement from the passage is most consistent with the excerpt above?
a
i have turned over various books written on the subject of education and patiently observed the conduct of parents and the management of schools
b
the conduct and manners of women, in fact, evidently prove that their minds are not in a healthy state
c
strength and usefulness are sacrificed for beauty
d
i attribute one cause of this barren blooming to a false system of education gathered from the books written on this subject by men