Final answer:
Judith Sargent Murray was addressing the issue of gender inequality, specifically in the educational system and societal roles for men and women. She advocated for equal opportunities, challenging societal norms, and influencing later feminist theory.
Step-by-step explanation:
Judith Sargent Murray is lamenting gender inequality in education and societal expectations. She advocated for equal educational opportunities for both men and women, emphasizing that education should not be determined by gender but by the ability and potential of the individual. Murray recognized the inherent intellectual equality between genders and challenged the prevailing social norms that restricted educational opportunities for women.
By highlighting the discrepancies in the ways boys and girls are raised—where boys are taught to aspire and girls are confined and limited—Murray’s work foreshadowed the arguments of later feminist theorists who sought to understand and change the structures that maintain gender inequality.
Murray's writings suggest she believed in economic independence for women to secure their own livelihoods. Her work contributed to the dialogue on educational reform and societal views on women's roles, an issue that longer-term feminist theory and other studies of inequality would continue to explore and address.