The Book – a Meaning Construct or a Vehicle for Social Change? Deconstructing Liberal Feminist Discourses – John Stuart Mill’s The Subjection of Women

John Stuart Mill’s, The Subjection of Women (1869), remains one of the harbingers of women’s emancipation and presents a strong moral argument in support of the suffrage movement in late 19th century Victorian England. His work launches an urgent appeal for the need to provide freedom, equal treatment and opportunities to women, so that they can develop their capacities for the full benefit of a liberal democratic society. An imaginary dialogue is established between Mill’s significant statement of liberal feminism and his audiences at the time of publishing of the book as well as the new generations, with the purpose of tracing the significance of his book in challenging social structure and discussing crucial problems of social justice, such as gender equality and freedom. Reading the book requires a contextualist approach regarding the historical context as well as dominant political and ideological discourses. Such an approach may also explain many of the perceived ‘shortcomings’ of his work, as often stated by critics, which can be explained to a great extent by its rootedness in the social structure and moral fabric of Victorian society and the failure of later generations of feminists to account for the influence of this context on the formation of Mill’s worldview and on the choice of rhetorical strategies.