"I am saddened that women are systematically underestimated, gladly accepting the insignificant attention that men believe is appropriate to show towards the female gender. All these little rituals seem so ridiculous to me, that I struggle to control my nerves when I see a man eagerly rushing to pick up a fallen handkerchief or open a door, when a lady could do it herself with a simple movement."

Writing in an era when the struggle for human rights had led to major revolutions in America and France, Mary Wollstonecraft passionately expressed her own opinion on women's independence in 1792. With fervor and directness, she attacked the prevailing societal view that treated women as decorative objects and demanded equal education for girls and boys, an end to prejudice, and women's dependence on their profession rather than their partner. The recognition of women's rights was met with both admiration and indignation, but it established her as the "mother" of modern feminism.

"I wish for women to have power, not over men, but over themselves."