It is interesting as her
first work. Otherwise it is of no great value. Though Mr. Johnson saw in
it the marks of genius, there is really little originality in its
contents or striking merit in the method of treating them. The ideas it
sets forth, while eminently commendable, are remarkable only because it
was unusual in the eighteenth century for women, especially the young and
unmarried, to have any ideas to which to give expression.

The pamphlet consists of a number of short treatises, indicating certain
laws and principles which Mary thought needed to be more generally
understood and more firmly established. That a woman should not shirk the
functions, either physical or moral, of maternity; that artificial
manners and exterior accomplishments should not be cultivated in lieu of
practical knowledge and simplicity of conduct; that matrimony is to be
considered seriously and not entered into capriciously; that the
individual owes certain duties to humanity as well as to his or her own
family,--all these are truths which it is well to repeat frequently. But
if their repetition be not accompanied by arguments which throw new light
on ethical science, or else if it be not made with the vigor and power
born of a thorough knowledge of humanity and its wants and shortcomings,
it will not be remembered by posterity. The "Education of Daughters"
certainly bears no relation to such works as the "Imitation" on the one
hand, or the "Data of Ethics" on the other. It is not a book for all
time.

However, much in it is significant to readers interested in the study of
Mary Wollstonecraft's life and character. Every sentence reveals the
earnestness of her nature. Many passages show that as early as 1787 she
had seriously considered the problems which, in 1791, she attempted to
solve. She was even then perplexed by the unfortunate situation of women
of the upper classes who, having received but the pretence of an
education, eventually become dependent on their own exertions. Her sad
experience probably led her to these thoughts. Reflection upon them made
her the champion of her sex. Already in this little pamphlet she declares
her belief that, by a rational training of their intellectual powers,
women can be prepared at one and the same time to meet any emergencies of
fortune and to fulfil the duties of wife and mother. She demonstrates
that good mental discipline, instead of interfering with feminine
occupations, increases a woma