Woman in the Nineteenth Century - Essay Example

The Dial is a collection of essays and the very eminent essay, “Woman of the Nineteenth Century”, is included in this book. She first wrote an article “The Great Lawsuit: Man vs. Men, Woman vs. Women”. This was also published in the same collection of essays but this work gained quite a lot of attention and appreciation, especially from the women of the American society. Owing to this, she decided to elaborate her ideas and thoughts and thus she published a great work now known as “Woman in the Nineteen Century” (Alfonso).

This work has received accreditation in the United States owing to the fact that it is one of the first few works that highlighted the issue of women rights (Slator, 1978). Essentially, Margaret Fuller argues over the fact that woman of the nineteenth century are more or less treated like slaves. She also elucidates on the concept of marriage in 1800s in America. According to her, a woman in many cases makes a better life partner than a man. She says that it is unfair that fathers of the family decide to send their sons to grand universities while the daughters are kept to do the household chores.

She also pen downs many reasons why men and women should be considered as an equal entity. Her essay also reflected her belief on transcendentalism because she said that earth cannot be made in to a better place and a man cannot inherit heaven unless both the genders are treated equally. She said that women should also be given the same opportunities in every aspect of life with which men have been bestowed with. Fuller says that education is the keyword and it is equally essential for both men and women.

In those times, women were not allowed to get education as they were considered only good enough to do the household work. Fuller argues that they should be given a chance to explore their possibilities so that they can live a contented life. She said if both men and women are treated as equals, the world would be a much better place to live in. According to her, men and women are “two sides of the great radical dualism.” However, at the same time, they are forever crossing and overlapping each other just like fluids solidify and solids liquefy.

The concept of a completely masculine man and a completely feminine woman is a sham because such ideals do not exist. This also means that the individuality of a person is negated when he or she is not given the desired or deserved respect. First a person should learn to depend on him and then on others. If women are taught that they should only depend on their husbands and fathers, then in a way their individuality is being snatched away from them. A true union can only occur if every individual learns his own strengths and weaknesses.

Fuller stated that if women will not be treated with respect, how does one think that it is possible to achieve heaven? She argues that love comes with respect and if women are not respected how they can be loved. These two things are the basis of a marriage. If men do not respect women in a marriage, then that means that they are only using them physically and the women are only serving the purpose of a slave to the men. Marriage is an imperative topic in this work. She documents the marriage in America in the nineteenth century.

She writes that it is unfair that men are considered as the masters of the family whereas women are the ones who keep everything knitted closely. According to her, women were not given full credit on their courage and spirit which further deflated their pride and she argues that pride is as important to a woman as it is to a man. She writes, “Women need not poetry or power to be happy, which they now have access to, but rather intellectual and religious freedom equal to men’