Page 251 - DPOL201_WESTERN_POLITICAL_THOUGHT_ENGLISH

Unit 13: John Stuart Mill: His Life and Theory of Liberty

worship of the male in a traditional family, described by Mill as a school of despotism, was Notes
contrary to the modern principles of individuals being respected for what they did, rather than
what they were.
A just family would nurture feelings of sympathy in equality and love, rather than subordination
and command. Mill desired a transformation of the family to suit the temperament and spirit of
the modern age, namely the spirit of equality and justice, and in the process bring about a moral
regeneration of humankind. The relationship between a man and a woman in marriage should be
based on mutual respect and mutual love, giving due regard to one another’s rights. This would
make them self-reliant and self-sufficient. Unless the equal and just worth of every human being
was recognized, he could not enjoy equal rights nor realize his full potential. A life of rational
freedom devoted to the release of their full creative potential was as much a requirement for men
as for women.
Mill’s essay emphasizes the value of non-instrumental relationships in human life. His
depictions of both corrupt and well ordered marriage trace the relationship of family
to right political order. His vision of marriage as a locus of mutual sympathy and
understanding between autonomous adults stands as an unrealized goal for those
who believe that the liberation of women requires not only formal equality of
opportunity but measures which will enable couples to live in genuine equality,
mutuality and reciprocity.
Mill argued that men should not be trusted with absolute power. Such absolute power within the
family and marriage only led to brutalization of women. He denied the need of one having the
power of decision making within the voluntary association between two persons, and cited the
example of commercial partnerships. In matters where quick decisions were needed, it would
make sense to have division of power, but one that involved changes of system or principles
would need the consent of both parties. The division of affairs for practical purposes would
depend on the comparative qualifications of the couple. The man had an advantage, being the older of
the two, the breadwinner and provider of his family. In spite of his insistence on the need to
restructure family relationships based on equity and fairness, Mill continued to perceive the family
as one where a man earned the family income, and a woman would take care of domestic affairs.
Eisenstein (1986) noted that Mill reiterated the conventional assumptions about the woman’s role
in a patriarchal family. In bearing and rearing children, the woman contributed more to the
household and its common life. In addition to these chores, if she went out and worked, it would
impair the proper discharge of these functions. The Subjection toned down the assertions made by
Mill in 1832 that in the absence of servants at home, women would do all the work that a servant
would have done if there was one and at the same time be a mother and a natural teacher to her
children. Moreover, if the woman was well-protected and enjoyed an equal status within marriage,
she would not feel the need to labour outside her home, for when she married she chose a
profession, that of managing her home and bringing up her children.
Like a man when he chooses a profession, so, when a woman marries, it may in
general be understood that she makes choice of the management of a household and
the bringing up of a family, as the first call upon her exertions, during as many years
of her life as may be required for the purpose; and that she renounces, not all other
objects and occupations, but all which are not consistent with the requirements of this
(Mill 1985: 289).
Mill was also convinced that if suitable domestic help was made possible, then women, and in
particular the talented and exceptional ones, could take up a profession or a vocation. A married
woman would have full right in her property and earning. She would have the right to enter a
profession or take up a career. Women, he pointed out, were fully capable of becoming business
partners, philosophers, politicians and scientists.

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 245