The Subjection of Women

“[T]he principle which regulates the existing social relations between the two sexes—the legal subordination of one sex to the other—is wrong in itself, and now one of the chief hindrances to human improvement; and […] it ought to be replaced by a principle of perfect equality, admitting no power or privilege on the one side, nor disability on the other.”

Mill presents his primary argument, or thesis statement, at the beginning of his essay. He proclaims that the oppression of women impacts not just women but society overall, which is why it is imperative that gender equality be established.

“There was a time when the division of mankind into two classes, a small one of masters and a numerous one of slaves, appeared, even to the most cultivated minds, to be a natural, and the only natural, condition of the human race.”

This quote appears as part of a lengthy consideration of Ancient Greece and Rome’s practice of enslaving people and develops the theme of Liberty, Slavery, and Marriage. While Mill acknowledges that Greece and Rome remain models of democracy, they were flawed in their thinking when it came to slavery. Therefore, just as England saw fit to abolish slavery, so too should it release women from their bondage.

“Men do not want solely the obedience of women, they want their sentiments.”

Mill explains the comprehensive tyranny of marriage as part of his criticism of men’s selfishness. According to Mill, men want more from women than what they require from their “slaves”: They also want women to love them even as they oppress them.