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The Subjection of Women

John Stuart Mill · 1869

Mill's 1869 essay arguing for legal equality between men and women, developed with Harriet Taylor Mill.

Mill's own essay arguing for women's equality, developed together with his wife Harriet Taylor Mill.

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Title page of The Subjection of Women by John Stuart Mill. Printed text reads: THE SUBJECTION OF WOMEN, BY JOHN STUART MILL, LONDON, LONGMANS, GREEN, READER, AND DYER, 1869. Cream-colored paper.
John Stuart Mill, The Subjection of Women, 1869. Title page scan.

About this source

What it is

This is the title page of The Subjection of Women, an essay by John Stuart Mill, published in London in 1869 by Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer. Mill said many of its central ideas came from his wife, Harriet Taylor Mill, and some passages from their daughter Helen Taylor.

Why it matters

The essay argues that the legal subordination of women to men is wrong and should be replaced by full equality, attacking the common belief that women were naturally less capable than men. Mill, then a member of Parliament, used his position to argue publicly for women's suffrage. The essay became a founding text of liberal feminism and shocked many readers of its time.

Look closer

  • What evidence does Mill use to argue that no one really knows the 'natural' abilities of women?
  • Why might Mill have faced criticism for holding this view in the 1860s?
  • How does crediting Harriet Taylor Mill and Helen Taylor change how we should read this essay?

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