# What Virtue and Morality means in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

> The author contends that true virtue is based on reason and knowledge, not on superficial qualities like beauty or reputation, and that women must be allowed to cultivate virtue through understanding.

## Explanation

The author contends that true virtue is based on reason and knowledge, not on superficial qualities like beauty or reputation, and that women must be allowed to cultivate virtue through understanding.

Argues that true virtue arises from reason and the exercise of passions, not from artificial social conventions.

Wollstonecraft redefines modesty as a virtue stemming from reason and chastity, not social performance.

The chapter explores how true virtue is undermined by a societal obsession with reputation rather than inner moral character.

Wollstonecraft insists that virtue must be nursed by liberty and grounded in reason, and that without it, marriage and sexual attachment become degraded.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_vindication_of_the_rights_of_woman_se/concepts/cos-virtue-and-morality
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_vindication_of_the_rights_of_woman_se
- All concepts: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_vindication_of_the_rights_of_woman_se/concepts