The Autobiography of John Stuart Mill · Theme
Gender Equality and Women's Rights
How The Autobiography of John Stuart Mill develops Gender Equality and Women's Rights.
Mill highlights his early commitment to the complete legal and social equality of women, crediting Harriet Taylor with deepening his understanding of the practical consequences of women's subordination, a theme central to his later work.
Where it surfaces
- Chapter IV
Mill and his associates dissent from James Mill's view that women's interests are identical to men's, arguing for women's suffrage as a matter of justice.
- VII
Implicit in Mill's commitment to equal participation and his partnership with Harriet Taylor.
- Endnotes
Mill discusses how his abstract belief in women's equality was transformed into a deep understanding of practical disabilities through Harriet Taylor's teaching.