19th Century Feminist Literature
Around the 1800's women's voices began exploding in writing offering a wide variety and copious topics
1813
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice tells the tale of a young girl of upper middle class England learning about marriage, morality, education, as well as the importance of upbringing in society. Mainly Austen details the corruption of marriage as women are married off to bring fortune to a family based upon a father's judgement. While the main theme of the novel is marriage other themes interconnect with it, such as social class and the idea that when from different social backgrounds and economic upbringings marriage is an obstacle. The main plot of the novel details that previously important factors should not be considered when discovering your life partner. Including the desire of both partners to decide if they want to marry, where in Pride and Prejudice main characters overcome both pride (be it to proud to marry outside of socio-economic class) and prejudice (the judgments faced between people based on the knowledge certain institutions have trained us to believe) to discover that marriage is based off of love.
information from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_and_Prejudice
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice tells the tale of a young girl of upper middle class England learning about marriage, morality, education, as well as the importance of upbringing in society. Mainly Austen details the corruption of marriage as women are married off to bring fortune to a family based upon a father's judgement. While the main theme of the novel is marriage other themes interconnect with it, such as social class and the idea that when from different social backgrounds and economic upbringings marriage is an obstacle. The main plot of the novel details that previously important factors should not be considered when discovering your life partner. Including the desire of both partners to decide if they want to marry, where in Pride and Prejudice main characters overcome both pride (be it to proud to marry outside of socio-economic class) and prejudice (the judgments faced between people based on the knowledge certain institutions have trained us to believe) to discover that marriage is based off of love.
information from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_and_Prejudice
1845
19th century women's rights advocate Margaret Fuller' essay "Woman in the Nineteenth Century" dictates that Americans had inherited difference from Europe as shown by the treatment of Native and African Americans and that humans must love such as divinity and view everybody as equals. Naming the Abolitionists as showing divine love as they act on the love of humanity. She analyzes women's equality to children but not men and states that women must be taught self-dependence as this would fulfill both men and women's lives as women would be happier with access to equal intellectual and religious freedom that men have. Resulting in a happier marriage as both partners would be supportive to each other. Fuller goes on to incorporate today's gender discovery by stating that men also have feminine energies as well as women have masculine energies. "There is no wholly masculine man, and no purely feminine woman" indicating that any difference between man and woman is purely societal and illogical.
information from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman_in_the_Nineteenth_Century
19th century women's rights advocate Margaret Fuller' essay "Woman in the Nineteenth Century" dictates that Americans had inherited difference from Europe as shown by the treatment of Native and African Americans and that humans must love such as divinity and view everybody as equals. Naming the Abolitionists as showing divine love as they act on the love of humanity. She analyzes women's equality to children but not men and states that women must be taught self-dependence as this would fulfill both men and women's lives as women would be happier with access to equal intellectual and religious freedom that men have. Resulting in a happier marriage as both partners would be supportive to each other. Fuller goes on to incorporate today's gender discovery by stating that men also have feminine energies as well as women have masculine energies. "There is no wholly masculine man, and no purely feminine woman" indicating that any difference between man and woman is purely societal and illogical.
information from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman_in_the_Nineteenth_Century
1868
Lousia May Alcott's novel Little Women details 4 young girls transition from children into womanhood in mid 19th century America. Although a novel aimed at young girls it deals with the themes that women could relate to such as; domesticity, work, and true love. While not entirely focused around discussing female oppression it outlines it in a subconscious way. Alcott's novel illuminates the societal institutions that have placed women in a defined role of being domestic workers, be it stay at home moms, teachers, or writers and things of that nature. Allowing girls of that time to relate to the gender implications that they have become very aware of. However the novel does imply that marriage has overcome the ideals of marrying for social or economic advancement and marrying for love, with both partner's input taken into account. Displaying the advancement
information from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Women
Lousia May Alcott's novel Little Women details 4 young girls transition from children into womanhood in mid 19th century America. Although a novel aimed at young girls it deals with the themes that women could relate to such as; domesticity, work, and true love. While not entirely focused around discussing female oppression it outlines it in a subconscious way. Alcott's novel illuminates the societal institutions that have placed women in a defined role of being domestic workers, be it stay at home moms, teachers, or writers and things of that nature. Allowing girls of that time to relate to the gender implications that they have become very aware of. However the novel does imply that marriage has overcome the ideals of marrying for social or economic advancement and marrying for love, with both partner's input taken into account. Displaying the advancement
information from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Women
Susan B. Anthony
Anthony had been one of the most famous advocates for women's suffrage and wrote a lot on said topic. working with Elizabeth Cady Stanton for suffrage and being sentenced for committing the crime of voting. Although not a literary figure she deserves to be here. Citing the constitution in her after indictment speech forging the early road that women would have to continue to pave until 1920 when they legally had the right to vote under the 19th amendment.
Her speech can be found here: http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/anthony.htm
information from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_B._Anthony
Anthony had been one of the most famous advocates for women's suffrage and wrote a lot on said topic. working with Elizabeth Cady Stanton for suffrage and being sentenced for committing the crime of voting. Although not a literary figure she deserves to be here. Citing the constitution in her after indictment speech forging the early road that women would have to continue to pave until 1920 when they legally had the right to vote under the 19th amendment.
Her speech can be found here: http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/anthony.htm
information from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_B._Anthony
1894
Kate Chopin's Story of an Hour details a wife being informed of her husband's death. However after an hour her husband returns home. The protagonist has heart problems so her family tries to break the news gently. She goes to her room as to mourn however, she finds herself liberated. She is no longer tied to her husband, no longer under his subjection. "Free! body and soul, free!" Chopin touches on the female view of their domestication and loss of individual liberty once married, only to do the husband's bidding. However upon her husband's return home the protagonist has a heart attack, as all her twisted yet justifiable joy is shattered and vanishes. The realization that she is still under her husband's rule is literally heartbreaking to her. This speaks volumes of the female view of marriage in the 19th century, existential joy about being widowed, just screams unhappiness while married.
Information from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_an_Hour
Kate Chopin's Story of an Hour details a wife being informed of her husband's death. However after an hour her husband returns home. The protagonist has heart problems so her family tries to break the news gently. She goes to her room as to mourn however, she finds herself liberated. She is no longer tied to her husband, no longer under his subjection. "Free! body and soul, free!" Chopin touches on the female view of their domestication and loss of individual liberty once married, only to do the husband's bidding. However upon her husband's return home the protagonist has a heart attack, as all her twisted yet justifiable joy is shattered and vanishes. The realization that she is still under her husband's rule is literally heartbreaking to her. This speaks volumes of the female view of marriage in the 19th century, existential joy about being widowed, just screams unhappiness while married.
Information from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_an_Hour
1892
The Yellow Wallpaper is a story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and outlines the attitudes towards women's health in the 19th century. The case displayed in this story is the effects of under stimulation leading to an eventual decent into psychosis. The unnamed narrator is placed in a room due to a recent (and common at the time) diagnosis of "temporary nervous depression - a slight hysterical tendency." The protagonist keeps a journal which is the narrative style of this work of literature. The husband of the narrator tries to help by issuing a rest cure in a room with nothing but yellow wallpaper. The wall patterns becomes her only stimulus. The journal entries go into great detail about the patterns as she studies them greatly, she goes so far as to describe it smelling yellow. As time goes by the patterns morph more and become even more interesting to the narrator. Eventually the narrator begins to see a figure in the patterns of the wall paper. She feels she needs to free this woman figure from behind the wall paper. On the last day of her recommended vacation she locks herself in her room to tear her wallpaper off the wall. Her husband comes with the key and opens the door to see the stripped walls and his wife crawling around the room claiming shes "gotten out at last," her husband faints and she crawls over his body while continuing to circle the room. This story is a critical piece of the view of women's health at the time and what the poor choices had lead to.
information from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Yellow_Wallpaper
The Yellow Wallpaper is a story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and outlines the attitudes towards women's health in the 19th century. The case displayed in this story is the effects of under stimulation leading to an eventual decent into psychosis. The unnamed narrator is placed in a room due to a recent (and common at the time) diagnosis of "temporary nervous depression - a slight hysterical tendency." The protagonist keeps a journal which is the narrative style of this work of literature. The husband of the narrator tries to help by issuing a rest cure in a room with nothing but yellow wallpaper. The wall patterns becomes her only stimulus. The journal entries go into great detail about the patterns as she studies them greatly, she goes so far as to describe it smelling yellow. As time goes by the patterns morph more and become even more interesting to the narrator. Eventually the narrator begins to see a figure in the patterns of the wall paper. She feels she needs to free this woman figure from behind the wall paper. On the last day of her recommended vacation she locks herself in her room to tear her wallpaper off the wall. Her husband comes with the key and opens the door to see the stripped walls and his wife crawling around the room claiming shes "gotten out at last," her husband faints and she crawls over his body while continuing to circle the room. This story is a critical piece of the view of women's health at the time and what the poor choices had lead to.
information from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Yellow_Wallpaper