The reading key for this portion of Elizabeth Cady Stanton famous’s speech “The destructive male” (1868) is to localize its historical context paying attention to the articulation between women-nature and men-violence made by the author. She is advocating for a equilibrium of men and women's presence in political life.
Stanton was a famous fighter for the women’s right to vote and gave this speech at the Women's Suffrage Convention in Washington D.C. The suffragists’ movements of the 19th century fought for a more strong presence of women in the public arena. They wanted to talk, discuss and to be effectively heard. When Stanton compares “matter and mind” after talking about nature and violence, she is saying that if women had more rights to political participation they would, as the mother nature does with the "angry winds and waves", help to equilibrate things and soften men’s violence. The best way for that equilibrium to be achieved was through just and equal participation of men and women in the public arena of the society, which should happen through the right to vote.
