Based on your reading of “On Making an Agreeable Marriage” and A Vindication of the Rights of Women, what can you conclude about women’s education at the time these pieces were written?
A. Women were mainly taught practical skills useful in running a household.
B. Women were taught ladylike accomplishments such as music and sewing.
C. Women were encouraged to learn to become writers and artists.
My answer is B
To confirm your answer, let's examine the evidence from the two texts in question. "On Making an Agreeable Marriage" is a piece that provides advice and guidelines for women on selecting a suitable partner. In this text, it is mentioned that a woman should possess qualities like understanding household management, being accomplished in the arts, and having an education that includes reading and writing. This suggests that women were indeed taught ladylike accomplishments such as music and sewing, supporting option B.
Now, let's move on to "A Vindication of the Rights of Women" by Mary Wollstonecraft. This text is a feminist work that argues for the equal education of women. Wollstonecraft criticizes the traditional education given to women, which mainly focuses on superficial accomplishments and neglects the development of their rational faculties. She advocates for women to have access to the same education as men, including subjects like science, philosophy, and literature. This challenges the idea that women were mainly taught practical skills useful in running a household (option A).
Therefore, based on the evidence from these texts, the correct answer is C. Women were encouraged to learn to become writers and artists, as supported by the arguments in "A Vindication of the Rights of Women" and the mention of being accomplished in the arts in "On Making an Agreeable Marriage."