The Evolution of Anger

Can frustration develop into anger? And is that anger fueled by something that an individual is passionate about?

"Women are, in fact, so much degraded by mistaken notions of female excellence, that I do not mean to add a paradox when I assert, that this artificial weakness produces a prosperity to tyrannize, and gives birth to cunning, the natural opponent of strength," (261)

Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Women was an interesting piece that had some sharp emotional undertones throughout. Although she did not outright say that she was frustrated with the social standards that are placed upon women, her writing conveyed a frustration that caused the reader to sympathize with her and also feel obligated to help change those standards. Throughout the piece, she is composed and provides a bit of history upon the relationships between men and women in society.

As the piece progresses, she becomes fueled by her emotions and seems to spark a bit of anger within her writing, as shown by the above quote. Although Wollstonecraft's writing was a feminist piece, I believe that this quote also effectively presents the transition between frustration and anger. It shows that because women have been told that they are weak and unable to fend for themselves, they in turn become fueled by criticism and desire a change within those notions. Therefore, because these frustrations become angry emotions, individuals must channel those feelings into something productive and forceful. In Wollstonecraft's case, this means cunning thoughts in order to overcome.

Along with that, anger does not represent violence. Anger can be matched with productivity, logic and planning in order to create the change that is needed. "I hope that no sensible mother will restrain the natural frankness of youth by instilling such indecent cautions." (267) There doesn't have to be insane change either. There are steps that can be taken to enable the future of change. There doesn't have to be tyranny, but there can be plans that revert the happenings within society. And thus, I feel that the movement for change through anger can be connected to desire.

Anger is an extremely powerful emotion and although there are many levels of anger within humans, it can still be the driving force for a plethora of other emotions. Concerning Wollstonecraft's ideas, it seems that desire is fueled by the power for equality for men and women. Ultimately, because of the frustration that was slowly developed through Wollstonecraft's writing, the reader is able to view the evolution of frustration into anger which can then led to the betterment of the argument through desire or any other emotion available.