Comparison of the unification in A Vindication of Women's Rights and an Ode on the Popular Superstitions of the Highlands of ScotlandIn A Vindication of Women's Rights , Mary Wollstonecraft seeks to abolish repressive and orthodox conventions. It strives to reduce the morals which tear apart our society, which elevate men above women, which prohibit equal exchanges between the sexes. This unequal system of gender roles forms the basis of his argument. Wollstonecraft asserts that civilization will not advance as long as half its population is subjugated. Arguing that progress in sexual commerce will balance the scales, she seeks simplicity in society through equality between men and women. Through equal education, the rejection of traditional expectations, but above all the rejection of complex and debilitating emotions like love and passion, the sexes will overlap, becoming one, becoming unisexual. This simplification, this unisexuality, will clear the smoke between men and women, allowing them to return to a basis of reason on which to build a better society. Wollstonecraft considers this unisexuality to be the savior of the human race. In An Ode on the Popular Superstitions of the Highlands of Scotland, Considered as the Subject of Poetry, William Collins seeks to abolish the cultural stereotypes that tear Scottish and English societies apart. Collins realizes that if he does not relax, the rising commercial torrent of the 18th century will consume Scotland. This flood will leave the North hopelessly behind, unable to unite with the Commonwealth of the South. The growing cultural and economic divide between north and south will leave England ripe for conflict. Collins also realizes that the British Empire can never be a great power unless these two warring factions simplify the conflict between the sexes because it eliminates the messy emotional biases attached to it. to this conflict. The return of the Scots and British to their ancient Celtic past simplifies the conflict between their nations because it also eliminates the emotional biases associated with this impasse. Both Wollstonecraft and Collins seek harmony through reason; both seek unity through precision, both succeed because simplicity speaks to everyone, British, Scottish, man or woman. Works Cited Collins, William. “An Ode on the popular superstitions of the Highlands of Scotland, considered the subject of poetry.” Online. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. 3034: Texts and contexts: Restoration and 18th century literature. October 1998. Wollstonecraft, Mary. A demand for women's rights. Ed. Carol H. Poston. New York: Norton, 1988.