Intellectual developments relating to gender in Japan and EuropeGender roles and women's rights in society are fundamentally the same in 18th-century Europe as in Japan at the turn of the century. In both societies, women are seen as men's weaker counterparts; useful only to improve the lives of men. Because society believes that women only live to improve the lives of men, it believes that they do not need to be educated, that they do not need to own property, and that they must match the tastes and needs of men. The idea that women are inferior to men in society and do not deserve the same privileges and rights has shaped the role of women in Europe and Japan. Women in Japan and Europe are forced to rely on men because they do not have the rights and education they need to be independent. Women in Japan are seen and treated like Wollstonecraft's women in Indication of Women's Rights; they are forced to follow the orders of society, their father and, when they marry, their husband. In Japan, women are expected to be obedient, decent and calm. They are not expected to share their opinions unless asked, they are expected to marry for the benefit of their family and they are not expected to be educated. Likewise, in Europe, women were expected to be good wives and mothers, nothing more. Women are simply seen in society as tools to improve the lives of men. According to Rousseau “the education of women must always be relative to that of men. To please us, to be useful to us… to make our lives easy and pleasant, these are the duties of women at all times” (Wollstonecraft 54). Men want obedient wives who make their lives easier so that women learn to be obedient and helpful wives and to cherish beauty...... middle of paper ...... women of the era and of society women married for security and in return women were expected to be good obedient wives. Even though European women have more freedom to express their thoughts, they are just as dominated by the gender roles imposed on them as Japanese women. Works Cited Natsume, Sōseki. Sanshiro: a novel. London: Penguin Classics, 2009. Print. Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. The Social Contract. New York: Carlton House, 1939. Print. Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. The Social Contract. Np: Johnathan Bennett, 2010. Early modern texts. Internet. November 26, 2013. Wollestonecraft, Mary. “The demand for women’s rights”. Np: np, 1792. N. pag. Rep. in Oregon: Renascene Editions, 2000. Print. Wollstonecraft, Mary. “The demand for women’s rights”. Np: np, nd N. pag. Rep. in early modern texts. By Johnathan Bennett. Np: np, nd Print.