NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, ORISSA

A Project on Political Science

THE SUBJECTION OF WOMEN

JOHN STUART MILL

SUBMITTED TO: PROF. (DR.) AFROZ ALAM

SUBMITTED BY: SOHAM DUTTA B.A. L.L.B. (H) ROLL NO: 52 RED HOUSE A

SYNOPTIC BIOGRAPHY
John Stuart Mill wa !orn in the Penton"ille area o# Lon$on% Hi #ather& Ja'e Mill& wa a Scotti h (hilo o(her% Hi 'other) na'e wa Harriet Burrow% wa e$ucate$ !* hi #ather& with the a$"ice an$ a i tance o# Jere'* Bentha' an$ +ranci Place% at the a,e o# three he wa tau,ht Gree-% Hi #ather wa a #ollower o# Bentha' an$ an a$herent o# a ociationali '& ha$ a hi e.(licit ai' to create a ,eniu intellect that woul$ carr* on the cau e o# utilitariani ' an$ it i'(le'entation a#ter he an$ Bentha' were $ea$% Mill hi' el# wa an ar$ent #ollower o# Bentha'% At a,e #ourteen& Mill ta*e$ a *ear in +rance with the #a'il* o# Sir Sa'uel Bentha'& !rother o# Jere'* Bentha'% He ha$ ,reat rea$in, /ualitie a he ha$ rea$ 'an* cholarl* worat a 'all a,e% Mill re#u e$ to tu$* at O.#or$ Uni"er it* or Ca'!ri$,e Uni"er it*% In tea$ he #ollowe$ hi #ather to wor- #or the 0a t In$ia Co'(an* until 1232% In 1231& Mill 'arrie$ Harriet Ta*lor%

Hi wor- inclu$e4
"Essay on Bentham" 1838 A System of Logic, 1843 On Liberty, 1859 Uti itarianism, 18!3 A"g"ste #omte an$ %ositi&ism, 18!5' (he S"b)ection of *omen, 18!9' A"tobiogra+hy of ,ohn St"art -i , 18.3

an$ 'an* 'ore (u!lication % J%S%Mill $ie$ in A"i,non& +rance& in 1256& where he i !urie$ alon, i$e hi wi#e%

INTRO7UCTION
The Subjection of Women i the title o# an e a* written !* John Stuart Mill in 1281& with hi wi#e Harriet Ta*lor Mill& tatin, an ar,u'ent in #a"or o# 9e/ualit* !etween the e.e :% Thi e a* i an a##ront to 0uro(ean con"entional nor' o# "iew on tature o# 'en an$ wo'en% It i a treati e on the o((o ition o# ocial an$ le,al ine/ualitie co''onl* i'(o e$ u(on wo'en !* a (atriarchal culture% Mill $e#en$ the e'anci(ation o# wo'en on utilitarian ,roun$ % Mill !elie"e$ that the 'oral an$ intellectual a$"ance'ent o# hu'an-in$ woul$ re ult in ,reater ha((ine #or e"er*!o$* a intellect core 'ore than en e % Hu'an !ein, & !oth 'en an$ wo'en& are 'orall* an$ intellectuall* ca(a!le o# !ein, e$ucate$ an$ ci"ili;e$& thu e"er*one houl$ ha"e the ri,ht to "ote% The* houl$ !e a!le to tan$ on their own #eet 'orall* an$ intellectuall*% In Mill< ti'e a wo'an wa ,enerall* u!ject to the whi' o# her hu !an$ an$=or #ather $ue to ocial nor' which ai$ wo'en were !oth (h* icall* an$ 'entall* le a!le than 'en& an$ there#ore nee$e$ to !e >ta-en care o#%> Mill ar,ue$ that ine/ualit* o# wo'en wa a relic #ro' the (a t& when 'i,ht wa ri,ht% Mill aw thi a a hin$rance to hu'an $e"elo('ent& ince e##ecti"el* hal# the hu'an race wa una!le to contri!ute to ociet* out i$e o# the ho'e% Accor$in, to hi' we i'(l* $on)t -now what wo'en are ca(a!le o#& !ecau e 'en ne"er let the' tr* an$ one cannot 'a-e a authoritati"e tate'ent without an* e"i$ence not (eculation% Mill illu trate$ hi (oint !* ,i"in, e.a'(le o# 0n,li h /ueen li-e 0li;a!eth I& ?ictoria an$ +rench (atriot li-e Joan O# Arc% Mill) ar,u'ent are utilitarian in nature a he want wo'en to !e (ower#ul o that ociet* $eri"e o'e utilit*%

TH0MATIC R0?I0@
In cha(ter one o# thi !oo- i $e$icate$ to the wron, !a i on which u!or$ination o# wo'en i #oun$e$% Mill reject the clai' that wo'en are re$un$ant an$ thu their u!or$ination i Anatural)% To Mill& thi i $ue to cu to' $e"elo(e$ o"er the *ear B an$ thi houl$ not !e continue$% In cha(ter two& Mill critici;e the co''on notion that 'arria,e i the $e tination o# a wo'an a lai$ $own !* the ociet*% Thi accor$in, to Mill i $one to u!ju,ate wo'en an$ thi i carrie$ !* #oul rather than #air 'ean % +or a wo'an& onl* a li#e o# 'arria,e i not worth it an$ wo'en houl$ !e ,i"en (ower to with$raw #ro' it% Cha(ter three i !a icall* concerne$ a!out the a$'i i!ilit* o# wo'en to occu(ation an$ o((ortunitie which e"en the !a e t o# 'ale can (er#or' !ut the 'o t talente$ wo'an i $e(ri"e$ o# lea$in, to unha((ine % It i attri!ute$ to the $i##erent Cun#itD 'ental con titution o# the wo'en% The la t cha(ter #ocu e on the e.(ectation on chan,e in the e o calle$ cu to' o# ociet*% B* o(enin, to the' all honora!le e'(lo*'ent an$ e$ucation which /uali#ie #or tho e e'(lo*'ent hal# o# the ociet*) intellect i #ree$ lea$in, to (o iti"e out(ut%

0ETRACTS +ROM TH0 GI?0N TOPIC

That the principle which regulates the existing social relations between the two sexes the legal subordination of one sex to the otheris wrong itself, and now one of the chief hindrances to human improvement; and that 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.
The anxiety of mankind to interfere in behalf of nature, for fear lest nature should not succeed in effecting its purpose, is an altogether unnecessary solicitude. What women by nature cannot do, is quite superfluous to forbid them from doing.

The general opinion of men is supposed to be, that the natural vocation of a woman is that of a wife and mother. say, is supposed to be, because, !udging from actsfrom the whole of the present constitution of societyone might infer that their opinion was the direct contrary. The general opinion of men is supposed to be, that the natural vocation of a woman is that of a wife and mother. say, is supposed to be, because, !udging from actsfrom the whole of the present constitution of societyone might infer that their opinion was the direct contrary.
"tanding on the ground of common sense and the constitution of the human mind, deny

that anyone knows, or can know, the nature of the two sexes, as long as they have only been seen in their present relation to one another. #ntil conditions of equality exist, no one
can possibly assess the natural differences between women and men, distorted as they have been.

f men had ever been found in society without women, or women without men, or if there had been a society of men and women in which the women were not under the control of the men, something might have been positively known about the mental and moral differences which may be inherent in the nature of each. What is now called the nature of women is an eminently artificial thingthe result of forced repression in some directions, unnatural stimulation in others.

 $ence, in regard to that most difficult question, what are the natural differences between the two sexesa sub!ect on which it is impossible in the present state of society to obtain complete and correct knowledgewhile almost everybody dogmati%es upon it, almost all neglect and make light of the only means by which any partial insight can be obtained into it. &or, according to all the principles involved in modern society, the question rests with women themselvesto be decided by their own experience, and by the use of their own faculties. 'arriage being the destination appointed by society for women, the prospect they are brought up to, and the ob!ect which it is intended should be sought by all of them, except those who are too little attractive to be chosen by any man as his companion; one might have supposed that everything would have been done to make this condition as eligible to them as possible, that they might have no cause to regret being denied the option of any other. f an appeal be made to the intense attachments which exist between wives and their husbands, exactly as much may be said of domestic slavery. t was quite an ordinary fact in (reece and )ome for slaves to submit to death by torture rather than betray their masters. n the proscriptions of the )oman civil wars it was remarked that wives and slaves were heroically faithful, sons very commonly treacherous. *et we know how cruelly many )omans treated their slaves. +ut in truth these intense individual feelings nowhere rise to such a luxuriant height as under the most atrocious institutions. t is part of the irony of life, that the strongest feelings of devoted gratitude of which human nature seems to be susceptible, are called forth in human beings towards those who, having the power entirely to crush their earthly existence, voluntarily refrain from using that power. When we consider how vast is the number of men, in any great country, who are little higher than brutes, and that this never prevents them from being able, through the law of marriage, to obtain a victim, the breadth and depth of human misery caused in this shape alone by the abuse of the institution swells to something appalling. believe that equality of rights would abate the exaggerated self,abnegation which is the present artificial ideal of feminine character, and that a good woman would not be more self,sacrificing than the best man- but on the other hand, men would be much more unselfish and self,sacrificing. than at present, because they would no longer be taught to worship their own will as such a grand thing that it is actually the law for another rational being. There is nothing which men so easily learn as this self,worship- all privileged persons, and all privileged classes, have had it.

&or my own part, am one of the strongest supporters of community of goods, when resulting from an entire unity of feeling in the owners, which makes all things common between them. +ut have no relish for a community of goods resting on the doctrine, that

what is mine is yours, but what is yours is not mine; and should prefer to decline entering into such a compact with anyone, though were myself the person to profit by it. believe that their disabilities elsewhere are only clung to in order to maintain their subordination in domestic life; because the generality of the male sex cannot yet tolerate the idea of living with an equal. Were it not for,that, think that almost everyone, in the existing state of opinion in politics and political economy, would admit the in!ustice of excluding half the human race from the greater number of lucrative occupations, and from almost all high social functions; ordaining from their birth either that they are not, and cannot by any possibility become, fit for employments which are legally open to the stupidest and basest of the other sex, or else that however fit they may be, those employments shall be interdicted to them, in order to be preserved for the exclusive benefit of males. n the last two centuries, when .which was seldom the case/ any reason beyond the mere existence of the fact was thought to be required to !ustify the disabilities of women, people seldom assigned as a reason their inferior mental capacity; which, in times when there was a real trial of personal faculties .from which all women were not excluded/ in the struggles of public life, no one really believed in. have heard men quote this saying, with an air as if they thought that there was something in it. 0t any rate, it will serve as anything, else for a starting,point in discussion. say, then, that it is not true that under kings, women govern. "uch cases are entirely exceptional- and weak kings have quite as often governed ill through the influence of male favourites, as of female. When a king is governed by a woman merely through his amatory propensities, good government is not probable, though even then there are exceptions.

1o one can safely pronounce that if women2s nature were left to choose its direction as freely as men2s, and if no artificial bent were attempted to be given to it except that required by the conditions of human society, and given to both sexes alike, there would be any material difference, or perhaps any difference at all, in the character and capacities which would unfold themselves. 'oreover, when people are brought up, like many women of the higher classes .though less so in our own country than any other/, a kind of hot,house plants, shielded from the wholesome vicissitudes of air and temperature, and untrained in any of the occupations and exercises which give stimulus and development to the circulatory and muscular system, while their nervous system, especially in its emotional department, is kept in unnaturally active play; it is no wonder if those of them who do not die of consumption, grow up with constitutions liable to derangement from slight causes, both internal and external, and without stamina to support any task, physical or mental, requiring continuity of effort. t no doubt often happens that a person, who has not widely and accurately studied the thoughts of others on a sub!ect, has by natural sagacity a happy intuition, which he can suggest, but cannot prove, which yet when matured may be an important addition to

knowledge- but even then, no !ustice can be done to it until some other person, who does possess the previous acquirements, takes it in hand, tests it, gives it a scientific or practical form, and fits it into its place among the existing truths of philosophy or science. s it supposed that such felicitous thoughts do not occur to women3 They occur by hundreds to every woman of intellect. +ut they are mostly lost, for want of a husband or friend who has the other knowledge which can enable him to estimate them properly and bring them before the world- and even when they are brought before it, they generally appear as his ideas, not their real author2s. Who can tell how many of the most original thoughts put forth by male writers, belong to a woman by suggestion, to themselves only by verifying and working out3 f may !udge by my own case, a very large proportion indeed. t is wholesome for the moral nature to be restrained, even by arbitrary power, than to be allowed to exercise arbitrary power without restraint. Women, it is said, seldomer fall under the penal law contribute a much smaller number of offenders to the criminal calendar, than men. doubt not that the same thing may be said, with the same truth, of negro slaves. Those who are under the control of others cannot often commit crimes, unless at the command and for the purposes of their masters. do not know a more signal instance of the blindness with which the world, including the herd of studious men, ignore and pass over all the influences of social circumstances, than their silly depreciation of the intellectual, and silly panegyrics on the moral, nature of women. The influence of women counts for a great deal in two of the most marked features of modern 4uropean lifeits aversion to war, and its addiction to philanthropy. "ociety makes the whole life of a woman, in the easy classes, a continued self sacrifice; it exacts from her an unremitting restraint of the whole of her natural inclinations, and the sole return it makes to her for what often deserves the name of a martyrdom, is consideration. $er consideration is inseparably connected with that of her husband, and after paying the full price for it, she finds that she is to lose it, for no reason of which she can feel the cogency. The moral regeneration of mankind will only really commence, when the most fundamental of the social relations is placed under the rule of equal !ustice, and when human beings learn to cultivate their strongest sympathy with an equal in nights and in cultivation. Thus far, the benefits which it has appeared that the world would gain by ceasing to make sex a disqualification for privileges and a badge of sub!ection, are social rather than individual; consisting in an increase of the general fund of thinking and acting power, and an improvement in the general conditions of the association of men with women.

0?ALUATION O+ TH0 ARGUM0NT

Mill ha !een "er* $*na'ic o"er the *ear in inter(retin, hi u!ject % Thi e a* ha !een an a$"ocate o# utilitariani ' an$ the ,oo$ o# the ociet* an$ el# reliance% Accor$in, to hi' we houl$ not reject an*thin, ju t !ecau e it i wron,& or it ha not !een trie$ in the (a t% Policie o# a tate houl$ !e uch that !* trial an$ error it houl$ tr* to $etect what i !ene#icial #or the ociet* or rather the AGreater Goo$) an$ ,et ri$ o# ol$ con"entional i$ea which 'a* not !e 'uch !ene#icial in the lon, run% Moral an$ intellectual $e"elo('ent o# the ociet* i con i$ere$ to !e the *ar$ tic- in 'ea urin, the ,reater ,oo$ o# the ociet*% At a ,i"en (oint o# ti'e $i##erent ocietie are at $i##erent ta,e o# $e"elo('ent an$ at $i##erent rate o# (ro,re % So what 'atter i the how we encoura,e #urther $e"elo('ent an$ u(li#t the ociet*% The a'e (rinci(le a((lie #or an in$i"i$ual o# the ociet*% Al o e"er* in$i"i$ual i !orn #ree an$ e/ual% The* $e"elo( into rational !ein, & alon, with li!ert* the* ,ain 'oral $e"elo('ent which in turn can !e $e"elo(e$ !* e'(lo*in, hi,her #acultie % Mill tre e on an in$i"i$ual ) a!ilit* to ,o"ern hi' el# an$ 'a-e our own $eci ion % Thi i the (rinci(le that Mill u e #or wo'en a (re"iou i$ea a!out the $i##erent nature o# 'en an$ wo'en ha"e ne"er !een (ro(erl* te te$% @o'en can (artici(ate in $eter'inin, their own a##air too an$ contri!ute to the $e"elo('ent o# the ociet* a !a e$ on utilitariani '%