Previous
Personification
Definition of Satire
Satire is the use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something or someone. Public figures, such as politicians, are often the subject of satire, but satirists can take... read full definition
Satire is the use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something or someone. Public figures, such as politicians, are often the subject of... read full definition
Satire is the use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something or someone. Public figures, such as politicians... read full definition
Introduction
Explanation and Analysis—Like Rational Creatures:
The gravity of Wollstonecraft’s subject matter doesn’t prevent her from occasionally using satire to get her point across. In the introduction, she exposes the stupidity of misogyny by exaggerating the way that women are belittled and undervalued in society. Her aim in doing so is to make it clear to her reader that any adherence to these attitudes are foolish and impractical. She includes this strategy in her introduction in order to set up the serious argument that follows. Wollstonecraft writes:
My own sex, I hope, will excuse me, if I treat them like rational creatures, instead of flattering their fascinating graces, and viewing them as if they were in a state of perpetual childhood, unable to stand alone.
In this section, Wollstonecraft sarcastically asks the pardon of her fellow women before treating them with respect and reason. Her use of satire exposes an attitude in male writers who assume that by flattering and belittling women, they are behaving naturally towards them. Wollstonecraft’s sarcastic tone emphasizes how ridiculous that assumption is by taking it to the extreme. By pretending that she might offend women by treating them as "rational beings," she makes it abundantly clear that they have not asked to be condescended to, and that to assume they would prefer that treatment is a grave misjudgment. Her sarcasm in this quote ultimately helps her move from satire into a serious critique of the culture. It is a way of disavowing a potential sexist response to her writing by making anyone who takes that line of reasoning seem like a fool.
