Student
Paper SP002-04
Spring 2000, Section I
Reviewer Comments
The Rise of the Individual in European
Society
Between the 16th and 20th centuries the people of Europe increased
their power dramatically. European society had been dominated by aristocrats
and the church for centuries. The constitutional documents helped establish the
rights of the people. Galileo and Charles Darwin had a lot to do with the
decline in the church's power. There were many reason for the decline of the
European aristocracy. Corruption of the government was a main reason that the
aristocracy fell. The reason that the constitutions were written is the people
were tired of being unfairly treated by the government. Another reason that the
individual gained power was the newly found knowledge. The common man could
read and make sound judgments. Formerly the nobles and clergy were the only part
of society with the benefits of education. This rise in status was not just
limited to men; women also improved their status immensely. There was now an
opportunity for leaders to work their way to the top, not just be born there.
Although there were many great triumphs in European individualism, the greatest
achievement of all was to give equal rights to women.
Until this century women and equality could not be mentioned in the
same sentence. The only places in society in which women were considered to be
equal were the very top and bottom rungs of society. A woman could become a
queen and be very respected like Elizabeth I. In the lower classes females were
looked upon the same because they had to work just like the men in order for
their families to survive. But in the middle to upper classes females were not
permitted to work or improve their education. These women were oppressed by
stereotypes. Many women did not have any problem with this system. This was
simply the way to live, but a few courageous women were willing to stand up for
what they believed to be right and strive for equality. Unfortunately these
women were often ostracized for standing up for what they believed in. The men
called these women "man women." This was a very degrading term to the
women. Eventually, after a few hundred years these women's struggle for
equality would eventually pay off.
Throughout the history of the world women were forced to submit to men.
Education was often denied to women, and when they were given the opportunity
to have an education the women were limited in what they were able to learn.
The debate about the education for women really began to heat up in the
seventeenth century. Some men agreed that women should have the right to an
education: A good example of a man who was for the education of women was
Daniel Defore. He said, "I have often thought of it as one of the most
barbarous customs in the world, considering us as a civilized and a Christian
country, that we deny the advantages of learning to women. We reproach the sex
every day with folly and impertinence; while I am confident, had they the
advantages of education equal to us, they would be guilty of less than
ourselves."1 One of the women on the quest to attain equal
rights to education was Marie Le Jars de Goumay. In an essay she says,
"Perhaps women do attain excellence less often than men. But isn't it a
wonder that the lack of gook teaching-or, rather, the overabundance of wretched
teaching-has not kept women from attaining anything at all? Is there a greater
difference between a man and a woman than there is between one woman and
another taking into account each person's education and the circumstances of
his or her upbringing, whether in city or hamlet, in one or another nation? And
wouldn't the gap people often notice between men's and women's accomplishments
be bridged if women were educated and given experience equal to men in business
affairs and in arts and letters? Education is so very crucial;…"2
Although de Gournay makes this logical and extremely eloquent plea women would
have to wait hundreds of years to achieve the right to equal education. Even
with all of this prejudice against female education. females were eventually
given the right to have an education. European individualism eventually stepped
over this huge boundary and overcame the oppressive stereotypical norms.
Another area in which women were valiantly trying to overcome
inequality was in their quest for political rights. Women were willing to pay
the highest price to attain political rights like voting. In an essay by
Emmeline Pankhurst she says, "Now, I want to say to you who think women
cannot succeed, we have brought the government of England to this position,
that it has to face this alternative; either women are to be killed or women
are to have the vote. I ask American men in this meeting, what would you say if
in your State you were faced with that alternative, that you must either kill
them or give them their citizenship,--women, many of whom you respect, women
whom you know have lived useful lives, women whom you know, even if you do not
know them personally, are animated with the highest motives, women who are in
pursuit of liberty and the power to do useful public service? Well, there is
only one answer to that alternative; there is only one way out of it, unless
you are prepared to put back civilization two or three generations; you must
give those women the vote. Now that is the outcome of our civil war."3
This shows the women in England's dedication to this noble cause. Women
in England organized all kinds of schemes to get this right. They broke glass
and set fires. They subjected themselves to starvation and even death. To
prevent women from starving to death the women the police would be forced to
break their teeth. All of the suffering that women went through did not go
unnoticed, and many of these women became martyrs, but they were still not
granted the right to vote or run for office. The most important event in
achieving political rights for women was the first World War. Due to the lack
of men to help with the war effort women had to do "masculine" jobs
like help make weapons and other jobs that men could not participate in because
they were fighting in the war effort. This is what ultimately gave women
political equality. Men could no longer keep this right only to themselves
after the women had proven themselves so capable during the conflict. This hard
work made it possible for future politicians like Milada Horokova to rise to
power. They were finally allowed to consider themselves individuals and not
just live through their husbands.
There were many great achievements in European individualism over the
centuries.
Footnotes
1 Daniel Defore. "(On) The Education of
Women,"
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/l719defoe-women.html
(April 8, 2000) 1.
2 Marie Le Jars de Gournay. "On the
Equality of Men and Women," Western Literature in a World Context vol.
2, eds. Paul Davis, Gary Harrison, David M. Johnson, Patricia Clark Smith, and
John F. Crawford New York, New York: St. Martin's Press Inc., 1995), 491-492.
3 Emmeline Pankhurst. "Militant
Suffragist," http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1913pankhurst.html
(April 8, 2000) 1.