Women's Rights

Question 2 (etc):
In this quote, Wollstonecraft is commenting on the social system of "riches and hereditary honors"(382). Calling women nothing more than a cypher (which I had to look up to get the exact definition and means a number which does not change the outcome of an equation, such as a zero, or something that has no real meaning or effect), Wollstonecraft believes that by restricting women to domestication, society is forcing them to be of no consequence. Not only in present life, but also in history. Earlier she was comparing women's education (or lack thereof) to that of those in the military. Women are taught manners and codes of conduct without any logic behind them. They can follow these codes but inherently do not know why they do or why they are in place. They do it because they are told to, not because they understand the codes' rationale. Women are forced to live much like soldiers, chosen early on to be drafted to serve the motherland (in woman's case, house and future husband). They are chosen, by sex, to be placed in a home to sew, cook and make babies. According to Wollstonecraft, even those with "natural sagacity" are stunted and forced to waste their natural intelligence "on life and manners"(382). Now, I'm not saying that Wollstonecraft was against all domestication, just that which suppresses her sex. This follows her "main argument" that by not educating women society is "stop[ping] the progress of knowledge and virtue" (371). Basically, after a few generations of blindly following these rules, society will forget why they were put in place to begin with. One must be taught why things are done they way they are in order for them to be understood and therefor followed. Without this, "knowledge and virtue" will be forgotten.
And on a side note, it's interesting to compare this basic concept to the rules and regulations of today. This is kind of a stretch but I thought of it while reading. When raising children, it is very common for parents to use the infamous phrase "because I said so." I have found (in interacting with my two sisters, ages 6 and 3, and my 17 year old brother) that this approach is not well receipted. So why does it work so well with adults today? Laws, ordinances, etc. are put in place and no one thinks to question them. Sure, the small percent of the population that takes the time to follow up will understand, but what about the rest of the nation. Why do we grow up and become adherents to a law we don't understand? This is just where my thoughts led me. Basically, we should all take Wollstonecraft's advice and begin to educate ourselves and dare to ask "why?".