SOURCE: "Frances Wright," in Liberty, Equality, Sorority: The Origins and Interpretation of American Feminist Thought: Frances Wright, Sarah Grimke, and Margaret Fuller, Carlson Publishing, 1994, pp. 25-55.

In the following excerpt, Bartlett considers Wright's moral and political convictions, which grew out of her intellectual commitments to liberal democracy and Utopian socialism.

Wright's Feminist Thought

The juxtaposition of all of the contrasting philosophical backgrounds and assumptions of moral sense, utilitarianism, and Utopian socialism creates a complexity and richness in Wright's feminism. From the Enlightenment Wright drew the importance of education in shaping character and thus in defining the equality or inequality of the sexes. From utilitarian liberalism she gained her appreciation of the liberty of individual thought and action. She drew her passion for justice and equality from moral sense and Utopian socialist thought. As a moral sense theorist, she justified her feminism with moral righteousness; as a utilitarian, she...