The power to direct a life
I do not wish them to have power over men; but over themselves.
Mary Wollstonecraft
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman · Chapter IV
Original English. 1792. “Them” refers to women; keep the argument about women’s agency visible.
Wollstonecraft is arguing for women's capacity to direct their own lives, against arrangements that make dependence seem natural. The sentence should retain that political force. It is not simply an instruction to control one's emotions. Education, opportunity, and freedom from arbitrary authority help make self-direction possible. There is also a useful everyday question here: does an arrangement increase someone's ability to judge and act, or keep them reliant on another person's permission? In a family, workplace, or friendship, support can build independence. It can also quietly preserve control. Good intentions alone do not settle which kind of support is being offered.
A question for today
Where could your help give someone more room to decide?
