# Sophia — A Vindication of the Rights of Woman character guide

> Sophia in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft.

**Role:** minor

**Also known as:** Sophia, yourself, your

**First appearance:** 0005-iii

## Who they are

Fictional ideal woman from Rousseau's Emile, used as a counterexample.

## Relationships

### [Sir Isaac Newton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_vindication_of_the_rights_of_woman_se/characters/sir_isaac_newton)

_social_

Newton and Sophia appear together in Wollstonecraft's text as contrasting examples of reason versus superficial femininity.

### [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_vindication_of_the_rights_of_woman_se/characters/mary_wollstonecraft)

_psychological_

Sophia is used by Wollstonecraft as a cautionary example of a woman shaped by frivolous education, lacking true virtue.

## In the story

### [Chapter V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_vindication_of_the_rights_of_woman_se/chapters/v)

Rousseau's idealized female figure, used as an example of the constrained and coquettish ideal Wollstonecraft rejects.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_vindication_of_the_rights_of_woman_se/characters/sophia
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_vindication_of_the_rights_of_woman_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_vindication_of_the_rights_of_woman_se/characters