The Subjection of Women Essay Questions

According to Mill, how is the legal status of women akin to that of slaves?

Mill compares women’s legal rights with those of slaves in multiple aspects, such as the right to own property, the right to reject intimacy, the right to leave the master in certain areas, etc. With restricted property rights and limited basic rights, women are subject to their husbands’ power, including in cases of domestic abuse. Mill even goes further by saying that women are not in a better legal condition than slaves, especially in regard to marital rape. Women, like slaves, lack basic human rights in marriage. Once married, women’s legal identities aren’t separated from their husbands. He suggests that women by law are their husbands’ children, without personal and intellectual freedom.

What are the benefits of women’s emancipation according to Mill?

There are personal and social benefits of women’s liberation. Women’s liberation includes gaining basic human rights, being able to divorce, having opportunities outside of marriage, being able to participate in public life, etc. Once these are achieved, women will gain freedom, which is fundamental to human happiness. Women will be able to lead meaningful lives. Moreover, gender equality would double the brain pool in society, enhance men’s moral development, and also improve harmony within marriages.

What does Mill say about the true nature of women?

Mill believes that it is impossible to know women’s true nature, since one can’t judge based on their existing behavior, which is largely shaped by social conditioning, social expectations, education, and traditional gender roles. He argues that women have been molded, legally and internally, by principles that are beneficial to men. Therefore, it’s difficult to go beyond the constructed appearance to see their true characteristics. Mill emphasizes that we can’t know the real differences between men and women unless all the external factors have been accounted for and explained.