A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: Chapter 7 Summary & Analysis

Wollstonecraft next tackles the subject of modesty—“that soberness of mind which teaches a man not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think,” as distinguished from a self-abasing humility. She argues that the woman who has most developed her reason will be the most modest. A woman who has spent time in intellectual pursuits will have greater “purity of mind” than one who’s dedicated her time to the pursuit of pleasure or love.

Wollstonecraft draws a distinction between chastity and modesty. Although women are more chaste than men, she claims, chastity cannot of itself produce modesty; it can produce “propriety of conduct, which is merely a respect for the opinion of the world.” But she says it stands to reason that men ought to be more modest than women.

In reality, though, both men and women need to become more modest. Men need to bestow “the modest respect of humanity, and fellow-feeling—not the libidinous mockery of gallantry.” And women should not be expected to be more responsible for checking passion when they haven’t been taught how to moderate their own passions; self-denial should be mutual. In fact, “modesty must be equally cultivated by both sexes, or it will ever remain a sickly hothouse plant.”

Wollstonecraft argues that the “ridiculous falsities” told to children about reproduction, etc., tend only to undermine modesty, by allowing their passions to take the place of reason in the formation of their moral characters. She also encourages greater modesty among girls in boarding schools, where bawdy humor tends to reign.

Modesty must be founded on more than “worldly prudence,” or “a good reputation will be her only reward.” If women really desire to possess this virtue, they must seek sobriety of mind and knowledge, because “modesty, being the child of reason, cannot long exist with the sensibility that is not tempered by reflection.”