Ecofeminism is a practical political movement addressing a broad range of urgent social

and political
problems, from pollution, health, and species extinction to economic development,
militarism, racism,
and sexual violence. Like all environmentalists, feminist ecologists are concerned with
human
relationships to the natural world and intent on discovering relationships--among human
beings as well
as between humans and non-human nature--that contribute to a healing, or healthy,
planet. Ecofeminists
differ from other environmentalists in their emphasis on the ways that "nature" has been
envisioned as
female (or feminine), the parallel and mutually reinforcing oppression of women and
nature, and the
ways that environmental problems and issues specifically affect women. Ecofeminists
have various--and
often conflicting--commitments to liberal, cultural, socialist, indigenous, and postmodern
feminist
theories.
Ecofeminism and Nineteenth-Century Literature
Ecologically centered discipline that critiques the dominant male practices and discourses
relating to
nature.
INTRODUCTION
Ecological feminism, or ecofeminism, is an interdisciplinary movement that calls for a
new way of
thinking about nature, politics, and spirituality. Ecofeminist theory questions or rejects
previously held
patriarchal paradigms and holds that the domination of women by men is intimately
linked to the
destruction of the environment. Ecofeminists argue that traditional male-centered
approaches involving
exploitation of and supremacy over women are echoed in patriarchal practices and
discourse with
respect to the environment. Ecofeminism came into being in the early 1970s in the United
States, when a
number of women became disillusioned with the mainstream environmental movement
and sought to
create more awareness among feminists about environmental concerns. Feminists before
this had seen it
as important to deemphasize the differences between men and women, but ecofeminists
embarked on a
study of particularly female ways of being and thinking about nature throughout history.
Thinkers in
various fields, from science to anthropology, sociology, history, and politics began to
critique traditional
attitudes toward the environment from a feminist perspective. In the 1990s, a field of
study called
ecocriticism—an earth-centered approach to literary studies—began to emerge in
literature departments
in the United States. Ecocriticism studies the relationship between literature and the
physical
environment, asking how nature is represented in literary works. While ecofeminist
literary criticism is
similarly concerned with the depiction of nature, it emphasizes how traditional
representations often see
the land as innocent, female, and ripe for exploitation.
While ecofeminist literary critics examine literature from all cultures and throughout
history to explore
female perspectives on nature, nineteenth-century English and American literature is seen
as a
particularly rich area of study. As ecofeminist literary critics have shown, nature writing
by women in
both England and the United States flourished in the nineteenth century. The study of
flora and fauna,
which could be done relatively close to home, was seen as a respectable occupation for
middle- and
upper-class women; thus, a number of them took an interest in writing about their natural
environment.
Few of these female nature writers are well-known outside scholarly circles, but they are
seen as
important because they offer radically different perspectives on the study of plants and
animals than do
their male contemporaries. Also significant is that many of these women regarded nature
as a liberating
force, especially in contrast to their confining domestic existences.
For many nineteenth-century women, the sense of place was an important aspect of their
writing and
many wrote about the local landscape that was often an integral part of their daily life.
One of the best-
1
Ads by Google
known writers who made place a central element in her fiction was the American novelist
Sarah Orne
Jewett. The Country of the Pointed Firs (1896), for example, is set in the fictional town of
Dunnett
Landing on the coast of Maine, and the action of the novel revolves around the town and
surrounding
islands. The story is of a young woman writer who spends a summer in the small town,
where she falls
in with a group of women who weave a web of stories about the place and its people.
Jewett also
portrays this circle of women as a manifestation of nature that seems to arise from the
rugged landscape.
Another important, but neglected, work about place is Rural Hours (1850) by Susan
Fenimore Cooper,
the daughter of the novelist James Fenimore Cooper. Rural Hours is one of the earliest
examples of
American nature writing and the first by a woman. In this work, Cooper describes an
ideal rural society
based on her experiences during her excursions in the local countryside. She also shows
how that society
is changing as the wilderness recedes and industrialization looms. Cooper suggests that
knowledge of
place encourages people to respect the land, and she discusses the moral obligation of
human beings to
create a society that is aware of the natural history of the environment and lives in
harmony with the
natural world.
Other female writers wrote about place not because it was familiar but because it was
new and different
from what they left behind as they sought a better life in new and distant regions. Many
American
frontierswomen left accounts of their travel experiences in diaries and letters which have
been collected
and studied by feminist scholars. These documents show how different their perspectives
were from
their male contemporaries. For many women, life on the frontier meant further drudgery
and hard work
doing domestic chores, and consequently they had a different sense of the possibilities of
the landscape
than did their husbands and sons. Other women travelers noted in their writings that
despite the promise
of untouched landscapes, women's domestic captivity prevented them from enjoying
what the land had
to offer. This is, for example, one of the themes of Margaret Fuller's Summer on the
Lakes, in 1843
(1844), which chronicles the travels of Fuller and her companions as they visit Niagara
Falls, the Great
Lakes, Chicago, and the Wisconsin Territory.
Nineteenth-century nature writing by women took various forms, but one theme that is
seen in most of
these works is the importance of the link between human beings and their natural
surroundings. For
most female writers, concern with the environment is not tied to a romantic longing for
the openness of
the rugged landscape or the withdrawal from society, which are common themes in men's
nature writing.
Rather, the earth is seen as the sustainer of human life and relationships, and the fragile
boundary
between nature and humanity is emphasized. Critics who study these women's writings
have been
particularly interested to show how the “gendered” female landscape that is central to
nineteenth-century
male writing about the environment is given more complex expression in works by
women. They also
show how female writing about the environment weaves together concerns about
ordinary life and
explores questions of community, gender, domination, and exploitation.
Women and Women's Writings from Antiquity Through the Middle Ages | Introduction
Contemporary feminist theory has allowed social and literary critics to observe and
reconstruct the past
through the lens of the woman, and more specifically, through that of the woman writer.
Looking to the
premodern eras of antiquity and the Middle Ages, feminist scholars have studied
women's roles as
artists, leaders, and agents of history. Likewise, they have examined the status of ordinary
individuals as
the subjects of social and historical change across the millennia. Importantly, most
classicists and
medievalists who employ the tools of feminist theory in their work have been careful to
note that
feminism is a decidedly contemporary development, cautioning those who would
describe women of the
distant past as feminists to be aware of the consequent anachronism. Nevertheless, in
their explorations
2

of early literature and past civilizations, these scholars have recognized an emerging
consciousness
regarding women's issues. While women writers of ancient Greece, Alexandrian Egypt,
or feudal Japan
can scarcely be labeled feminists by contemporary standards, their unique awareness of
themselves and
their status in their societies has inspired the endeavor to read and write the history of
women in art and
literature.
Scholars have unearthed, in the early records of antique civilizations from Bronze Age
Greece and Old
Kingdom Egypt to ancient China and imperial Rome, suggestions of similar elements
within the
diversity of women's literature and social roles. Bringing together numerous common
themes, such as
the conflict between women of influence and the strong patriarchal tendency to
marginalize the feminine
and codify it symbolically, feminist criticism has offered a new way of looking at the
ancient past that
seeks to question some of the underlying assumptions of traditional humanist criticism.
By examining
textual and archeological evidence, critics have endeavored to reassess the society, daily
lives, and
literary production of women in various cultures of the ancient world. Because women
writers of
antiquity tended to be individuals with unique talent, their status is generally viewed as
highly
exceptional. Writers such as the Greek poet Sappho, the Alexandrian mathematician and
philosopher
Hypatia, and the Chinese scholar Pan Chao (Ban Zhao), in some fashion and for some
limited period
enjoyed favorable social or familial circumstances that assisted them in their vocations.
For feminist
critics, their rarity and the treatment they received in society—Hypatia, for instance, was
murdered in
the streets of Alexandria—suggest a prevalent lack of opportunity and respect for creative
and
intellectual women in antiquity. Such conclusions have led scholars to probe the origins
of misogyny in
the patriarchal societies these writers represent and to analyze the system of masculine
and feminine
semiotics upon which the notion of misogyny rests. Beginning with ancient Greece,
commentators have
evaluated the gendered distinction between private and public spheres, usually described
as a symbolic
tension between the feminineoikos (household) and masculinepolis (city-state or society).
Thus,
women of the Athenian classical period in the fourth and fifth centuries B.C. were
expected to attend to
their domestic duties without mingling in political affairs. Women's ritual lives were also
generally kept
separate from those of men, giving rise to the feminine mysteries of ancient Greek
religion. Ancient
Sparta, in contrast, promoted a more egalitarian view of the sexes, but a woman's primary
role remained
the bearing of strong future warriors to defend the militaristic city-state. In later times,
Roman law
placed rather severe restrictions on women, making their legal and social status
completely subject to the
authority of their fathers and husbands. In a few cases, however, the position of
aristocratic women in
the ancient world may have been somewhat more favorable. In Ptolemaic Egypt, for
example, Queens
Nefertiti and Cleopatra appear to have been treated with much the same regard as their
male
counterparts. Notwithstanding these rare instances, the lives of most antique women were
generally
circumscribed by limits on education, mobility, and vocation precluding virtually all
possibilities that
might conflict with either domestic or reproductive responsibilities.
Women's relatively limited social roles are also reflected in the arts and literature of the
antique period,
from Athenian vase painting to Homeric verse, which suggest that the most common
position of ancient
woman was in the home, occupied with household duties—cooking, weaving, child
rearing,—leaving
men to handle political issues, which often meant war. Feminist critics have noted that
such
representations of women in the ancient period derive from the patriarchal assumptions of
premodern
societies, which were reflected in the symbolic order of the mythic past. Greco-Roman
mythology—
embodied for the purposes of literary scholarship here in the Homeric epics theIliad
andOdyssey, and in
Ovid's LatinMetamorphoses—encapsulates classical perceptions of the feminine,
depicting women as
powerful goddesses, vengeful queens, cunning witches, and as the objects or victims of
male aggression.
Such mythic stereotypes inform an array of world literature and are precisely the sorts of
ingrained
depictions of women that contemporary feminists wish to discover and understand.
Likewise, classical
drama, perhaps best typified in the works of Aeschylus, Euripides, Aristophanes, and
Sophocles,
3

presents a somewhat divergent view of women, but one that nevertheless betrays antique
assumptions
about the nature of woman and man that modern feminists seek to question. Literary
depictions of
women in the Bible, additionally, contributed to a reductive dichotomy that informed the
fundamental
gender bias of medieval European society and literature. While self-possessed and heroic
female figures
such as Esther and Judith are present in the Bible, their stories are usually categorized
with the Old
Testament Apocrypha. For the most part, perceptions of women in biblical contexts
became
symbolically aligned with one of two poles—the sinning temptress Eve or the flawless
Virgin Mary.
Studying continuity from classical and biblical perceptions of women, feminist scholars
interested in the
Middle Ages have generally focused on the social roles of women depicted in a wide
array of texts, in
the visual arts of the period, and in the works of a growing pool of female writers. The
medieval epoch
in Europe and Asia witnessed major developments in women's writings in large part due
to the spread of
religious education. Consequently, feminist critics have been drawn to the works of
female mystic
writers, among them Hildegard of Bingen, Julian of Norwich, St. Catherine of Siena, and
St. Birgitta of
Sweden. Their writings generally include revelatory visions of Christ and the Virgin
Mary, religious
poetry, and similar works of a spiritual nature. Other medieval European writers, such as
Marie de
France and Heloise (in her well-known correspondence with Pierre Abelard), offered
unique
contributions to the romantic and epistolary genres, respectively. In the Far East, the
ninth-century
Chinese poet Yu Xuanji produced some of the finest lyric poetry in her language, while
writers such as
Murasaki Shikibu, in her innovative novel The Tale of Genji, and Sei Shonagon, in her
Pillow Book,
recorded the flowering and decadence of the imperial court in Heian Japan around the
turn of the
eleventh century. Despite such literary accomplishments, the essential social and political
status of
women in the medieval period changed relatively little from that of the antique, and in
some respects
may even have declined. For the most part, women continued to be valued only for their
domestic skills
and reproductive role. Those who protested, and thereby failed to acquiesce to the
patriarchal social
order, were often harshly treated at all levels of society. Among the aristocracy, the
example of the
twelfth-century Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine demonstrates this point. Scornfully
denounced in popular
legend as the embodiment of feminine guile and malevolence for requesting a divorce
from her husband,
Eleanor was unfairly burdened with maintaining the integrity of her family at all costs
and regardless of
circumstances. Far worse, from the point of view of most men, was that a woman should
be guilty of
unchaste behavior—an accusation also leveled against the Queen. Critics have observed
that this
common theme in medieval society and literature was probably best articulated by
Geoffrey Chaucer in
his Wife of Bath's Prologue andTa l e . Ironically in the view of modern critics, Chaucer,
with his
compelling description of the Wife of Bath as a self-possessed, outspoken, and boastfully
licentious
woman, rendered an epitome of the medieval antifeminist tradition, while at the same
time sketching a
figure in whom many have seen the first inklings of an incipient feminist consciousness.
Women in the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries | Introduction
Women in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries were challenged with
expressing
themselves in a patriarchal system that generally refused to grant merit to women's views.
Cultural and
political events during these centuries increased attention to women's issues such as
education reform,
and by the end of the eighteenth century, women were increasingly able to speak out
against injustices.
Though modern feminism was nonexistent, many women expressed themselves and
exposed the
conditions that they faced, albeit often indirectly, using a variety of subversive and
creative methods.
4

The social structure of sixteenth century Europe allowed women limited opportunities for
involvement;
they served largely as managers of their households. Women were expected to focus on
practical
domestic pursuits and activities that encouraged the betterment of their families, and
more particularly,
their husbands. In most cases education for women was not advocated—it was thought to
be detrimental
to the traditional female virtues of innocence and morality. Women who spoke out
against the patriarchal
system of gender roles, or any injustice, ran the risk of being exiled from their
communities, or worse;
vocal unmarried women in particular were the targets of witch-hunts. Anne Hutchinson,
who challenged
the authority of Puritan clergy, was excommunicated for her outspoken views and
controversial actions.
Anne Askew, a well-educated, out-spoken English Protestant, was tried for heresy in
1545; her denial of
transubstantiation was grounds for her imprisonment. She was eventually burned at the
stake for her
refusal to incriminate other Protestant court ladies. Elizabeth I ascended to the throne in
1558, a woman
who contradicted many of the gender roles of the age. She was well educated, having
studied a variety
of subjects including mathematics, foreign language, politics, and history. Elizabeth was
an outspoken
but widely respected leader, known for her oratory skills as well as her patronage of the
arts. Despite the
advent of the age of print, the literacy rate during this period remained low, though the
Bible became
more readily available to the lower classes. Religious study, though restricted to
"personal
introspection," was considered an acceptable pursuit for women, and provided them with
another
context within which they could communicate their individual ideas and sentiments. In
addition to
religious material, women of this period often expressed themselves through the
ostensibly private forms
of letters and autobiographies.
The seventeenth century was not an era of drastic changes in the status or conditions of
women. Women
continued to play a significant, though not acknowledged, role in economic and political
structures
through their primarily domestic activities. They often acted as counselors in the home,
"tempering"
their husbands' words and actions. Though not directly involved in politics, women's
roles within the
family and local community allowed them to influence the political system. Women were
discouraged
from directly expressing political views counter to their husbands' or to broadly condemn
established
systems; nevertheless, many women were able to make public their private views through
the veil of
personal, religious writings. Again, women who challenged societal norms and prejudices
risked their
lives—Mary Dyer was hanged for repeatedly challenging the Massachusetts law that
banished Quakers
from the colony. Though their influence was often denigrated, women participated in
various community
activities. For example, women were full members of English guilds; guild records
include references to
"brethern and sistern" and "freemen and freewomen." During the seventeenth century,
women's writings
continued to focus on largely religious concerns, but increasingly, women found a
creative and
intellectual outlet in private journal- and letter-writing. Mary Rowlandson's captivity
narrative,
published in 1682, is a famous narrative written ostensibly for personal use that was
made public and
became a popular success.
The eighteenth century brought the beginning of the British cultural revolution. With the
increasing
power of the middle class and an expansion in consumerism, women's roles began to
evolve. The
economic changes brought by the new middle class provided women with the opportunity
to be more
directly involved in commerce. Lower-to middle-class women often assisted their
husbands in work
outside the home. It was still thought unseemly for a lady to be knowledgeable of
business so, though
some class distinctions were blurring, the upper class was able to distinguish themselves
from the rest of
society. The rise in consumerism allowed the gentry to place a greater emphasis on
changing fashion and
"display," further distancing them from the middleclass. With the advent of changes in
rules of fashion
and acceptable mores within society, some women established a literary niche writing
etiquette guides.
Also due to the cultural revolution, mounting literacy rates among the lower classes
caused an increase
in publishing, including the rise of the periodical. Men and women of all classes found
new means to
express ideas in the wider publishing community. Though women's writing during this
period continued5

largely to be an extension of domesticity, and focused mainly on pragmatic, practical

issues, women
found a wider market for publication. The act of professional writing, however, was still
considered
"vulgar" among the aristocracy. Significant colonial expansion during this period
provided would-be
writers with unique subject matter—letters written by women abroad discussed foreign
issues and
culture, and offered a detailed view of far-off lands. These letters were often circulated
among members
of an extended family, as well as in the larger community. In defiance of social strictures,
women such
as Mary Wollstonecraft began to speak out publicly on women's rights, including
education and
marriage laws. Though women had better access to education, the goal of women's
education was to
attain an ideal "womanhood"—a "proper education" was viewed as one that supported
domestic and
social activities but disregarded more academic pursuits. Women such as Wollstonecraft
advocated
access to education for women that was equal to that of their male counterparts. Marriage
laws, which
overwhelmingly favored men, also spurred public debate, though little was accomplished
to reform laws
during this period.
Throughout the world, women took action to advance their political and social rights.
Catherine the
Great of Russia devised a coup d'etat to take the throne in 1762, an aggressive act to
prevent her son's
disinheritance. Catherine continued to rule in an unconventional, independent manner,
withdrawing
from the men who made her ascension possible and remaining unmarried to ensure her
power. Catherine
was a shrewd politician, and used wide public support to enact laws that significantly
altered the Russian
political system. In France, Olympe de Gouges demanded equal rights for women in the
new French
Republic, and was eventually executed by guillotine in 1793. Madame Roland, who also
met an
untimely death in 1793, influenced revolutionary politicians and thinkers during the
French Revolution
through her famous salon. She, too, was an activist for women's social and political rights
and was
executed for treason, largely due to her outspoken feminist ideas. Phillis Wheatley, an
African-American
slave, examined slavery and British imperialism in her poetry, and became a notable
figure among
abolitionists in America and abroad. Increasingly, women rebuked traditional roles and
spoke out against
the social and political inequalities they faced. The century closed with the deaths of
visionaries such as
Mary Wollstonecraft and Catherine the Great, and the births of a new breed of female
writers and
scholars. The political and social changes that took place in the eighteenth century paved
the way for
these future writers and activists to advance the cause of women's rights.
Women's Literature in the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries | Introduction
With the advent of print in Europe in the mid 1400s, literature began to garner a much
larger audience.
The most famous early book was the Gutenberg Bible of 1456, and twenty years later,
William Caxton
effectively originated print in England when he set up his press at Westminster. The trend
toward literacy
and the wider distribution of texts throughout the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries
significantly altered not only the intellectual landscape of Europe, but the role of women
writers—as
print made literature more widely available to the middle class and to middle-class
women, the focus of
literature changed significantly. Despite often being denied the educational opportunities
afforded to
men, far more women were able to express themselves in writing than before this period.
Much early writing, including that of female authors, was devotional in nature. Many
women wrote
prayers, translations of religious works originally in Latin, and other texts primarily
centered on
spirituality. Notable, and often autobiographical, religious works by authors such as
Margery Kempe,
were especially popular. The increasing availability of print gradually allowed literature
to focus on
more secular themes, and many women contributed to the body of literature by writing
journals, essays,
6

and letters. Initially a private genre, letters evolved from a basic form of communication
into a
significant public literary style. Epistolary writing by such authors as Margaret Cavendish
and Mary
Wortley Montagu elevated the style, contributing to the creation of the epistolary novel
genre and to the
development of fiction itself. These and other letters by women are currently studied not
only for their
social and historical commentary, but for their literary merits as well.
Nancy Cotton has traced the contributions of women playwrights to the fourteenth
century, noting that the first known woman playwright in England, Katherine of Sutton,
rewrote traditional liturgical plays between 1363 and 1376. Cotton credits the Countess
of Pembroke, with herAnton ie printed in 1592, as the first woman in England to publish
a play. Angela J. Smallwood examines eighteenth-century British theater, and notes that
the second half of the century was a "heyday of genteel comedy for female as well as
male writers." A playwright as well as a novelist, Aphra Behn is known as the first
woman to earn her living entirely from writing. Her novels, especiallyOro o n o ko
(1688) are widely studied to this day, as are the romantic works of Madeleine de Scudéry,
and both authors were highly influential in the further development of literature. Women
also participated heavily in the poetry of the era. As poetry writing changed from an act
practiced by the aristocracy to one available to women of all classes, working-class
women such as Ann Yearsley and Hannah More joined noble-women such as Anne
Finch, Countess of Winchilsea, as published poets. Women made significant
contributions to a wide variety of literature and literary periods, from the rise of the
periodical in the sixteenth century to the rise of literary criticism.
Modern analyses of women's literature from 1500 to 1800 investigate the effects of
social, economic,
and political conditions under which women lived, in addition to studying the literary
merits of their
works. For instance, Marion Wynne-Davies demonstrates how women's very lack of
status and financial
independence served as an important impetus to publish, since they recognized their
literary skills as a
means to earn money. Elaine Hobby contends that women were more suited than men to
write religious
meditations, due to the "specifically female advantages of abandoning the world," and its
"concerns of
state." Margaret J. M. Ezell explains that women's literature was historically neglected by
scholars,
except in the area of nineteenth-century novels, but that literary historians, particularly
since the 1970s,
have recovered many previously unknown texts and manuscripts. Isobel Grundy analyzes
the many
elements involved in recovering a particular text and explores why a text might have been
suppressed in
the past. The recovery of such texts enables the study of early female writers, and the
critical study and
popular appeal of these authors continues to grow.
Women in the 19th Century | Introduction
European and American women in the nineteenth century lived in an age characterized
by gender
inequality. At the beginning of the century, women enjoyed few of the legal, social, or
political rights
that are now taken for granted in western countries: they could not vote, could not sue or
be sued, could
not testify in court, had extremely limited control over personal property after marriage,
were rarely
granted legal custody of their children in cases of divorce, and were barred from
institutions of higher
education. Women were expected to remain subservient to their fathers and husbands.
Their
occupational choices were also extremely limited. Middle- and upper-class women
generally remained
home, caring for their children and running the household. Lower-class women often did
work outside
the home, but usually as poorly-paid domestic servants or laborers in factories and mills.
The onset of industrialization, urbanization, as well as the growth of the market economy,
the middle
class, and life expectancies transformed European and American societies and family life.
For most of
7

the eighteenth century through the first few decades of the nineteenth century, families
worked together,
dividing farming duties or work in small-scale family-owned businesses to support
themselves. With the
rapid mercantile growth, big business, and migration to larger cities after 1830, however,
the family
home as the center of economic production was gradually replaced with workers who
earned their living
outside the home. In most instances, men were the primary "breadwinners" and women
were expected to
stay at home to raise children, to clean, to cook, and to provide a haven for returning
husbands. Most
scholars agree that the Victorian Age was a time of escalating gender polarization as
women were
expected to adhere to a rigidly defined sphere of domestic and moral duties, restrictions
that women
increasingly resisted in the last two-thirds of the century.
Scholarly analysis of nineteenth-century women has included examination of gender
roles and resistance
on either side of the Atlantic, most often focusing on differences and similarities between
the lives of
women in the United States, England, and France. While the majority of these studies
have concentrated
on how white, middle-class women reacted to their assigned domestic or private sphere in
the nineteenth
century, there has also been interest in the dynamics of gender roles and societal
expectations in
minority and lower-class communities. Although these studies can be complementary,
they also
highlight the difficulty of making generalizations about the lives of women from different
cultural,
racial, economic, and religious backgrounds in a century of steady change.
Where generalizations can be made, however, "the woman question," as it was called in
debates of the
time, has been seen as a tendency to define the role of women in terms of private
domesticity. Most
often, depictions of the lives of nineteenth-century women, whether European or
American, rich or poor,
are portrayed in negative terms, concentrating on their limited sphere of influence
compared to that of
men from similar backgrounds. In some cases, however, the private sphere of nineteenth-
century women
had arguably more positive images, defining woman as the more morally refined of the
two sexes and
therefore the guardian of morality and social cohesion. Women were able to use this
more positive
image as a means for demanding access to public arenas long denied them, by publicly
emphasizing and
asserting the need for and benefits of a more "civilized" and "genteel" influence in
politics, art, and
education.
The same societal transformations that were largely responsible for women's status being
defined in
terms of domesticity and morality also worked to provoke gender consciousness and
reform as the roles
assigned women became increasingly at odds with social reality. Women on both sides of
the Atlantic,
including Angelina and Sarah Grimké, Sarah Josepha Hale, Charlotte Brontë, George
Eliot, Elizabeth
Gaskell, and Frances Power Cobbe, both expressed and influenced the age's expectations
for women.
Through their novels, letters, essays, articles, pamphlets, and speeches these and other
nineteenth-
century women portrayed the often conflicting expectations imposed on them by society.
These women,
along with others, expressed sentiments of countless women who were unable to speak,
and brought
attention and support to their concerns. Modern critical analyses often focus on the
methods used by
women to advance their cause while still maintaining their delicate balance of propriety
and feminine
appeal by not "threatening" men, or the family unit.
Women's Literature in the 19th Century | Introduction
8

Modern critical analysis of nineteenth-century women's literature seeks, in part, to

understand the
underlying reasons that women authors, especially in America, Britain, and France, were
able to gain
such widespread exposure and prominence in an age known for its patriarchal and often
dismissive
attitude toward the intellectual abilities of women. In addition, scholars have examined
the broad
thematic concerns that characterize much of the literary output of nineteenth-century
women writers,
many arguing that it was in the nineteenth century that gender-consciousness and feminist
attitudes first
came to the forefront of the literary imagination, changing forever how the works of
female authors
would be written and regarded.
The number of published women authors was greater in the nineteenth century than in
any preceding
century. Women's access to higher education increased exponentially during the century,
providing them
with skills that they could use to develop their art. The growth of market economies,
cities, and life
expectancies changed how women in Europe and the United States were expected to
conform to new
societal pressures, and made many women more conscious of their imposed social, legal,
and political
inequality. Finally, the many social reform movements led by nineteenth-century women,
such as
religious revivalism, abolitionism, temperance, and suffrage, gave women writers a
context, an
audience, and a forum in which they could express their views. While most scholars
agree that many
women writers expressly or tacitly accepted the separate sphere of domesticity that the
age assumed of
them, they also argue that as the century progressed, an increasing number of women
began to express,
in their writing, their dissatisfaction with gender relations and the plight of women in
general.
Throughout the Victorian era, the "woman question" regarding woman's true place in art
and society was
a subject that was hotly debated, spurred in large part by the rapid rise in literature by and
for women.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, women writers were largely confined to the
genres of
children's literature and poetry. The emotionalism of poetry, particularly poetry in which
depth of feeling
and sentiment, morality, and intuition were expressed and celebrated, was considered a
"feminine
genre," suitable for women writers. As nineteenth-century women increasingly began to
write fiction,
however, critical reviews of the age often derided the inferior talents of women novelists,
faulting what
they perceived as women's lack of worldly experience, critical judgment, and rationality
—traits thought
to characterize men—and dismissing their works as little better than pulp designed to
appeal to the
unrefined tastes of an ever-expanding female readership. Many of the century's greatest
novelists,
including Charlotte Brontë, George Eliot, Mary Shelley, and George Sand, never
completely escaped the
condescension of critics whose negative assessments of their works were often based on
the author's
gender. Scholars argue that the legacy of this sexism has been a historic dismissal of the
work of many
of the age's most popular, gifted, and influential women writers, consistently judged as
unworthy of
academic study.
Some modern critics have continued to disregard the contributions of nineteenth-century
women
authors, while others have noted that by the end of the century, women novelists were
more prevalent,
and often more popular, than male novelists. Others have focused on representations of
women in
literature written both by men and women to illuminate the full spectrum of expectations
of and
perspectives on women and their perceived roles in society. Commentators have also
compared the
thematic concerns of women writers in England, France, and the United States,
recognizing in these
three cultures intersecting movements toward creative and feminist literary expression. In
recent
decades, critics have examined the contributions of African American and Native
American women
authors, as well as the influence of the nineteenth-century periodical press, analyzing the
increasing
radicalism of journals and essays edited and written by feminist pioneers such as Frances
Power Cobbe
and Sarah Josepha Hale.
9

Toward the end of the century, nineteenth-century women writers expanded their subject
matter, moving beyond highlighting the lives and hardships suffered by women locked in
domestic prisons. Instead, they increasingly expressed their individualism and demanded
more equal partner-ships—in marriage, public life, law, and politics—with men.
United States Suffrage Movement in the 19th Century | Introduction
For two days in July 1848, a convention of women and a number of male supporters met
in Seneca
Falls, New York, to publicly address a number of grievances related to the subjugation of
women. The
culmination of this gathering was the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions,
modeled directly on
the language of the 1776 Declaration of Independence, and it called for gender equality in
relation to
marriage, property rights, legal status, contract law, child custody matters, and, most
radically, voting
rights. Undeterred by the chorus of criticism they received from the press and the public
at large, women
leaders from the Seneca Falls Convention, among them Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia
Mott, Julia
Ward Howe, and Lucy Stone, began a lifetime crusade to win voting rights for American
women. Most
of these early suffragists, including Susan B. Anthony, and Sojourner Truth, would not
live long enough
to enjoy the right for which they fought so long. Only in 1920, with the ratification of the
Nineteenth
Amendment, were women given federal access to the polling booth.
The most common explanation for why the Seneca Falls convention took place has to do
with the
outrage that American women abolitionists felt when they were denied positions as
delegates at the
World Anti-Slavery Convention held in London in 1840. They were forced to sit behind a
curtain during
the official proceedings, silently listening to the arguments of men. Spurred by this event,
as well as
countless jeers from an audience that overwhelmingly believed it unseemly for a woman
to speak in
public, nineteenth-century abolitionists vented their anger about their imposed inferiority
in their
declarations of woman's rights at the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention. There, in the
hometown of
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, women demanded that they be given rights traditionally enjoyed
only by
property-owning, white men—especially the right to vote, which Stanton argued was the
most important
obstacle in the path of true gender equality. The following year, in 1849, the National
Woman's Rights
Association was formed, its membership firmly committed to winning voting rights for
American
women.
For the remainder of the century, women's suffrage gradually gained support from an
ever-skeptical
public that often argued that American social and national stability would be undermined
if women were
allowed to vote. After the American Civil War ended in 1865, momentum for women's
suffrage
increased as questions related to whether former slaves should be allowed to vote
consumed the nation's
attention. While nearly all suffragists had supported the extension of citizenship, civil
rights, and
liberties to freed blacks in the Fourteenth Amendment, their leadership split over whether
to support the
Fifteenth Amendment as it was proposed—guaranteeing citizens the right to vote,
regardless of their
race—or to campaign for the inclusion of gender in the equal protection clause. In 1869
suffragists
divided into two organizations over this debate: the American Woman Suffrage
Association, led by
Howe and Stone, which supported ratification, and the National Woman Suffrage
Association, led by
Anthony and Stanton, which argued that although black men should be allowed to vote,
any
constitutional amendment which excluded women could not in good conscience be
supported. After
passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, the rival suffrage organizations continued their
work. In 1869 the
National Woman Suffrage Association held its first convention in what would become an
annual event
for the next fifty years to build grassroots support for a federal amendment to the
constitution, granting
women voting rights. The American Woman Association increasingly turned its attention
to state
congresses in hopes of winning female enfranchisement state by state. Their first victory
came quickly10

in 1869 when the Territory of Wyoming became the first place where women were
allowed to vote; in
1870 Utah followed suit. Other western states and territories would continue this trend
over the next two
decades, probably due to social conditions in frontier regions where women often
assumed roles that
were not available to them in eastern states.
After 1870, women suffragists also became increasingly militant in their tactics to win
voting rights.
Victoria Woodhull ran for president in 1872 despite the fact that she and the women she
hoped to
represent could not vote. Also in 1872, Anthony tested voting rights in New York by
placing her ballot in
a local election. She was promptly arrested for illegal voting, and the following year she
was
pronounced guilty in a trial in which she was not allowed to testify in her own defense
because she was
a woman. Anthony's eloquent and forceful denunciation of that verdict after the judge
asked her if she
had anything to say about her sentence and fine became a lightning rod for fellow
suffragists. Over the
next decades, numerous women intentionally challenged the law against voting, using
their acts of civil
disobedience and the guilty verdicts they invariably received to showcase the injustice of
unequal voting
rights. For the remainder of the nineteenth century, suffragists continued to work for
voting rights. In
1890 the American Woman Suffrage Association and the National Woman Suffrage
Association merged
to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association. As many scholars have
noted, their tactics
in the last decade of the century were often aimed at gaining popular support for their
movement by
making the cause seem less radical than it was commonly perceived. This was done in a
variety of ways,
some women stressing that woman's supposed moral superiority would prove itself a
boon for social
reform and regeneration through the ballot box. Others argued that women needed the
vote to gain
power in relationships too often dominated by drunken, abusive husbands.
Scholars continue to study the language, strategies, and influence of the nineteenth-
century woman
suffrage movement, examining in particular the outspoken articulations of women's
increasing demand
to be given rights traditionally denied them. These studies have also begun in the past
three decades to
focus on lesser-known voices for gender equality and woman suffrage, especially from
black women
who suffered the prejudices of both gender and race, even from white women who often
excluded black
women from their delegations and conventions either as a result of their own or the
perceived prejudices
of their audiences.
Women in the Early to Mid-20th Century (1900-1960) | Introduction
The dawn of the twentieth century witnessed changes in almost every aspect of the day-
today lives of
women, from the domestic sphere to the public. The women's movement, with its
emphasis on advocacy
of equal rights, newly formed women's organizations, and the rise of a new generation of
female artists,
photographers, and professionals, transformed the traditional patriarchal social structure
across the
globe. Followed closely by the advent of World War I, these social shifts, which had been
set in motion
at the beginning of the century, developed further as women were propelled into the
workforce,
exposing them to previously male-dominated professional and political situations. By the
midpoint of
the twentieth century, women's activities and concerns had been recognized as a
significant element of
the literary, scientific, and cultural landscape of several countries, marking a
revolutionary change in the
social and domestic roles of women.
The end of the nineteenth century saw tremendous growth in the suffrage movement in
England and the
United States, with women struggling to attain political equality. The suffragists—who
were often
militant in their expressions of protest—presented a sometimes stark contrast to the
feminine ideal of the
era, which portrayed women as delicate, demure, and silent, confined to a domestic world
that cocooned
them from the harsh realities of the world. Despite many challenges English and
American women
11

eventually won the right to vote, in part due to the changed perception of women's
abilities following
World War I. As men were called to war, companies that had previously limited
employment in better-
paying jobs to white males found themselves opening their doors to white women and
women and men
of color. Racial and gender tensions escalated during this time, and many jobs were in
fact permanently
redefined as "women's work," including teaching, nursing, secretarial work, and
telephone operations.
As well as functioning in the workforce, women actively participated in the political and
cultural life of
England and the United States. The early decades of the twentieth century, often referred
to as the
Progressive Era, saw the emergence of a new image of women in society which had
undergone a marked
transformation from the demure, frail, female stereotype of the late Victorian Era. The
women of the
Progressive Era, according to Sarah Jane Deutsch, were portrayed as "women with short
hair and short
skirts … kicking up their legs and kicking off a century of social restrictions."
Progressive women
smoked, danced in public, held jobs, and generally did most things that nineteenth-
century women were
barred from doing. However, Deutsch asserts that this image of the 1920s "flapper" was
restricted to
certain portions of the population, namely white, young, and middle-class communities.
Women
elsewhere, particularly women from other ethnic backgrounds, such as African-
Americans, Asian-
Americans, and Hispanics, lived much differently, struggling in their new roles as
mothers and
professionals. The number of women who worked outside the home in the 1920s rose
almost 50 percent
throughout the decade. While women still constituted a small number of the professional
population,
they were slowly increasing their participation in more significant occupations, including
law, social
work, engineering, and medicine.
The presence of a large class of young working women after World War I was reflected
in what had
become a major cultural force—the film industry. Nevertheless, films of the era
continued to reinforce
outdated stereotypes about women's place in society. While early cinematic storylines
often featured
poor women finding success and contentment through marriage to rich men, the films of
the 1920s
depicted young, feisty working women who, like their predecessors, could attain true
happiness only by
marrying their bosses. Such plotlines helped many to cope with the growing fear that the
domestic and
family structure of society was being eroded by the emergence of the new, independent
woman. Rarely
did depictions of women in mass media, including film, radio, and theater, convey the
true
circumstances of working women. Instead, audiences were presented with images of
flappers or visions
of glorified motherhood and marriage.
Women in the early twentieth century were perhaps most active and influential as writers
and artists. The
advent of the new century did witness a change in the style and content of women's
writing, as well as
an increase in the depiction of feminine images and themes in literature. Male authors
such as D. H.
Lawrence and W. D. Howells explored issues pertaining to sexuality and the newly
redefined sexual
politics between men and women. Women authors such as Dorothy Richardson, May
Sinclair, and
Katherine Mansfield focused on topics pertinent to women, bringing attention to the
myriad difficulties
they faced redefining their identities in a changing world. Other major women writers of
the period
included Gertrude Stein, Virginia Woolf, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Edith Wharton.
In the arena of
art, the early twentieth century provided growing opportunities for women to exhibit their
work. In
1914, for example, the National Academy of Design first allowed women to attend
anatomy lectures,
thus providing them with a chance to study draftsmanship and develop drawing skills in a
formal setting.
Such artists as Emerson Baum and photographers like Alfred Steiglitz helped promote
exhibitions of
women's art, including the works of Imogen Cunningham and Georgia O'Keefe. Many
female artists—
among them Dorothea Lange and Claire Leighton—used their talents to highlight the
social realities of
their times, and some of the most powerful images of this period, including stirring
portrayals of coal
miners and farmers, were produced by these women.
12

By the mid-twentieth century, women throughout the Western world had completely
redefined their roles in almost every social, political, and cultural sphere. While the fight
for equal rights and recognition for women would continue into the 1950s and beyond,
the first major steps towards such changes began at the advent of the twentieth century,
with women writers, photographers, artists, activists, and workers blazing a new trail for
generations of women to follow.
Suffrage in the 20th Century | Introduction
Before suffragists began arguing for legislation that would guarantee women the right to
vote,
governments assumed that women's interests should be and were represented by their
husbands, fathers,
or brothers. In the last decades of the nineteenth century the movement for women's right
to vote
gathered momentum. Led by such charismatic figures as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth
Cady Stanton, and
Christabel, Emmeline, and Sylvia Pankhurst, many women organized into groups, the
largest of which
were the National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA), the Women's
Social and Political
Union (WSPU), and the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). Such groups
participated in
public demonstrations, parades, marches, and meetings, and circulated literature designed
to call
attention to their cause and demand equal treatment under the law. Despite strong
opposition from those
opposed to suffrage and the suffragists's own wide-ranging differences in interests,
beliefs, methodology,
and ideology, women around the world were successful in increasing awareness of and
support for equal
treatment of women under the law, as well as for labor reform and other social issues.
Because of the efforts of members of the WCTU, women of European descent in
Australia gained
suffrage in 1902. Susan B. Anthony established the International Woman Suffrage
Alliance in Berlin,
Germany, in 1904, and Finnish women gained suffrage and the right to hold public office
in 1906.
Between 1900 and the beginning of World War I in 1914, British suffrage groups such as
the WSPU, led
by Christabel and Emmeline Pankhurst, engaged in militant tactics to enact social and
legislative
change. They interrupted political meetings, held public demonstrations, and subjected
themselves to
hunger strikes, arrest, and imprisonment. The British movement was divided mainly
along class lines,
with some suffragists calling for support of working-class issues and others focusing on
the issue of
suffrage alone, but there were also disagreements over politics (particularly socialism),
and peaceful,
lawful protests versus militant, sometimes violent protests. These divisions deepened as
Great Britain
entered World War I. Members of the WSPU and other groups left to form other special-
interest groups,
such as the Women's Peace Army, founded by Sylvia Pankhurst and Charlotte Despard,
while the WSPU
focused its efforts primarily on supporting the war, rather than on women's suffrage.
Women in the
United Kingdom were granted suffrage in 1918.
The American suffrage movement was also somewhat fragmented: women of color,
women trade
workers, and women advocating temperance pushed for more activism in support of
racial equality,
temperance, and labor reforms in addition to pursuing suffrage, and suffragists disagreed
over both
ideology and overall strategy. The right to suffrage was divided along geographic lines as
well, as
women in the western United States gained suffrage much earlier than women in other
parts of the
country. In 1913, Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, who had been active in militant protests
with British
suffragists and who disagreed with NAWSA leadership over the most effective course of
action, formed
the Congressional Union of Woman Suffrage, a branch of NAWSA that became an
independent
organization the following year. Paul and Burns led many protests, including one in front
of the White
House, and a well-publicized hunger strike that brought widespread public attention to
the suffragists's
cause. They formed the National Women's Party in 1916, the same year that NAWSA
President Carrie
Chapman Catt delivered a speech entitled "The Crisis," in which she revealed what she
called her
"winning plan" to focus the group's efforts on a national campaign (versus separate, state-
wide
13

detachment toward a more emotion-laden subjectivity in confessionalism. During the first

half of the
twentieth century many male and female authors also turned to the novel to sketch and
satirize the
materialism and anomie of the modern condition. Important novelists of the period
include Theodore
Dreiser, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ernest Hemingway, along with well-known female
novelists Edith
Wharton, Katherine Anne Porter, and Gertrude Stein, whose experimentalism defied
classification.
A growing number of women writers from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds also
emerged during
this time. Drawing upon their varied experiences as Asians, Africans, and Native
Americans, many of
these female writers addressed issues of gender and ethnic identity from new and
compelling
perspectives. Together, such women provided insight into the lives of women in general
and the often
denigrated minority populations of which they were a part. In particular, African-
American writers came
to prominence as part of the literary and artistic movement known as the Harlem
Renaissance, which
reached its peak during the 1920s and 1930s. This movement provided opportunities for
many African-
American women writers, including Zora Neale Hurston, Nella Larsen, and Jessie
Redmon Fauset, to
address issues of race and gender in their works. Such writers also gained appreciation
for their
declaration of cultural independence and their contribution to the development of an
indigenous
American language and literature.
While women writers and artists participated in the thriving arts and literary movements
during these
years, many of them struggled deeply as creators. The world wars had a profound effect
on the
generation of writers that witnessed them, particularly women who bore the brunt of the
social and
cultural changes that resulted from these conflicts. Caught between their own aspirations
as writers and
artists, but confronted with a reality that provided little in terms of equal opportunity or
rights, many
female authors felt frustrated during these years. In addition, female literary achievement
was largely
downplayed in academic institutions due to the negative backlash against the suffragists
and, more
broadly, because of a patronizing and dismissive view of female intellectuals among male
cultural elites.
Contemporary critic Elaine Showalter has drawn attention to the conflict, repression, and
even decline
suffered by many women writers during the early twentieth century. According to
Showalter and other
scholars, the years following the end of World War I were difficult for female novelists
and poets in
particular, who were regarded as writers of little substance. Yearning to write about
serious issues facing
their times but pushed to the periphery, poets such as Teasdale, H. D., Lowell, and Edna
St. Vincent
Millay were unable to find suitable literary models in past female poets. Additionally, the
notion of
poetry as an art form that transcends personal and emotional experience, a view
expounded by male
poets such as Eliot and Pound, led many female poets to feel that their work was being
marginalized.
Faced with stiff reaction against the type of personal and lyrical poetry many of them
wanted to write,
Millay and others found it increasingly difficult to continue writing. Some female writers
curtailed their
creative work and turned their energies to political causes instead, using alternate means
such as
journalism and reporting to express their opinions. Some writers found ways to
incorporate political
activism in their fiction and established a model for women writers of the 1960s and
beyond.
15

The Feminist Movement in the 20th Century | Introduction

The feminist movement in the United States and abroad was a social and political
movement that sought
to establish equality for women. The movement transformed the lives of many individual
women and
exerted a profound effect upon American society throughout the twentieth century.
During the first two
decades of the century, women's groups in the United States worked together to win
women's suffrage,
culminating in the ratification of a constitutional amendment in 1920 that guaranteed
women the right
the vote. During the later twentieth century, women's groups would again band together,
this time to
formulate and advocate for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Though this proposed
constitutional
amendment ultimately failed to gain approval in the late 1970s, it became a rallying point
for diverse
women's groups and drew national attention to the feminist cause.
The period between 1917 and the early 1960s was marked by two world wars and a
subsequent
economic boom that brought many American women into the workplace, initially to
provide labor
during the war, and then to help achieve and maintain a new higher standard of living
enjoyed by many
middle-class families. However, as women joined the workforce they became
increasingly aware of their
unequal economic and social status. Women who were homemakers, many with college
educations,
began to articulate their lack of personal fulfillment—what Betty Friedan in her
enormously influential
The Feminine Mystique (1963) called "the problem that has no name."
Other events in the United States, notably the civil rights movement, contributed to the
rise of the
feminist movement. During the early 1960s, the civil rights movement gathered
momentum, aided by
new anti-racist legislation, and reached a major goal in 1964 with the passage of the Civil
Rights Act.
Many feminists interpreted the ban on racial discrimination, established by the Civil
Rights Act, to apply
to gender discrimination as well. The student movement was also at its height in the
1960s, leading
many younger citizens to question traditional social values and to protest against
American military
involvement in Vietnam. Feminist groups followed the example set by these movements,
adopting the
techniques of consciousness raising, protests, demonstrations, and political lobbying in
order to further
their own agenda.
The founding of the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1966 marked the
formation of an
official group to represent and campaign for women's concerns. Leaders such as Friedan,
Bella Abzug,
Shirley Chisholm, and Gloria Steinem pressured politicians to become aware of women's
concerns and
to work on legislation that would improve the quality of women's lives. At the same time,
many other
organizations emerged to deal with feminist causes, including the National Abortion and
Reproductive
Rights Action League, National Displaced Homemakers, the battered women's
movement, the Women's
Equity Action League, Women Organized for Employment, and Women Office Workers.
In the early
1970s feminist leaders also established a detailed program of proposed political and legal
reforms, and
in 1975 the National Women's Agenda was presented to President Gerald Ford, all state
governors, and
all members of Congress. In 1977, feminists organized a National Women's Conference
in Houston,
where they drafted an action plan that included twenty-six resolutions; the plan was
subsequently
distributed to government officials to remind them of their responsibility to female
constituents. NOW
and the newly organized National Women's Political Caucus worked to influence
politicians and
legislators while continuing their effort to keep women's issues prominent in the media.
During the 1980s, American society was colored by an increasingly conservative political
climate and
the feminist movement experienced a backlash within their ranks and from anti-feminist
detractors.
Feminism had always been criticized for being a predominantly white, upperclass
movement and for its
failure to adequately understand and represent the concerns of poor, African-American,
and Hispanic
women. The movement had already splintered in the 1970s along the lines of liberal
feminists, who
16

focused on the rights of women as individuals; radical feminists, who aligned themselves
with
revolutionary groups, viewing women as a disenfranchised class of citizens; and lesbians,
who had been
very much a part of the early feminist movement, but now found more in common with
the gay
liberation movement. Legislative gains achieved in the 1970s—notably Congress's
passing of the ERA
amendment and key judicial decisions, chief among themRoe v. Wa d e , which
guaranteed women's
reproductive rights—were under attack by conservative and religious antiabortion
coalitions and an
organized anti-ERA effort led by Phyllis Schlafly. Some state legislatures backtracked
under pressure,
overturning or diluting court decisions made in the previous decade. President Ronald
Reagan also made
his opposition to the ERA public. Due to a combination of political and social factors, the
amendment
failed to pass in the individual states. In addition, some women who had subscribed to the
tenets of the
feminist movement now voiced their displeasure at being negatively labeled anti-male
and expressed
regret at the loss of personal security that traditional women's roles offer. Their concerns
echoed in the
neoconservative writings of authors such as Naomi Wolf, Susan Faludi, and Camille
Paglia.
Nevertheless, feminists pressed on, maintaining pressure on legislators to address
women's issues such
as reproductive rights, pay equity, affirmative action, sexual harassment, and the handling
of rape
victims in the courts. In retrospect, the early 1960s has been termed the "first wave" of
the feminist
movement, and the activists of the 1970s and 1980s have been called the "second wave."
In the 1990s
there emerged a "third wave" of feminists, still concerned with many of the same
problems as their
predecessors, but now wishing to work from within the political and legal establishments
rather than
criticizing them from the outside. This mostly younger generation of feminists would also
stress the
need to broaden the scope of feminism, emphasizing global networking, human rights,
worldwide
economic justice, and issues pertaining to race, gender, and class.
Women's Literature from 1960 to the Present | Introduction
In several lectures she gave during the 1930s and later, writer Virginia Woolf reflected
upon the
challenge she and her fellow female artists faced at the beginning of the century—Woolf
noted that
although women had been writing for centuries, the subjects they had written about and
even the style in
which they wrote was often dictated not by their own creative vision, but by standards
imposed upon
women by society in general. Advances in women's issues, such as the right to vote, the
fight for
reproductive rights, and the opportunities women gained during the first half of the
century in the arena
of work outside the home were major developments. Despite these changes, women
artists during these
years continued to feel restricted by imposed standards of creativity. It would take, notes
Elaine
Showalter in numerous essays detailing the growth and development of women's writing
in the twentieth
century, several decades before women would completely break the mold of
respectability under which
they felt compelled to write. Fuelled by the feminist movement of the early twentieth
century, many
women authors began to explore new modes of expression, focusing increasingly on
issues that were
central to their existence as women and as artists. By the end of the 1950s and the
beginning of the
1960s, with the rise of the second wave feminist movement, women artists began
expanding their
repertoire of creative expression to openly include, and even celebrate their power and
experiences as
women. Works such as Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique (1963), Sylvia Plath's
The Bell Jar
(1971), and others by authors like Germaine Greer, Gloria Steinem, and Marilyn French
all helped to
awaken the feminine consciousness, paving the way for later writers to explore the reality
of women's
experience in their writings openly and freely. Works of literature by women authors
during the 1960s
and later thus began to focus increasingly on women's viewpoints, with issues such as
race and gender,
sexuality, and personal freedom taking center stage. Additionally, these years also
witnessed the
emergence of feminist literary theorists, many of whom set about redefining the canon,
arguing for
inclusion of women writers who had been marginalized by mainstream academia in the
past. The latter17

half of the twentieth century also provided fertile ground for growing recognition of
women writers of color. Lesbian literature has also flourished, and women have openly
explored concerns about sexuality, sexual orientation, politics, and other gender issues in
their works.
Prior to the mid-1960s, women writers who ventured beyond the established feminine
stereotypes were
regularly characterized as "outcasts," denounced as vulgar or, in the case of Simone de
Beauvoir, even
"frigid." Nonetheless, many of them persisted in exploring new ways of expression, and
poets such as
Adrienne Rich, Audre Lorde, and others continued to write works articulating the
struggle they faced as
authors who could choose to "write badly and be patronized or to write well and be
attacked," according
to Show-alter. Another aspect of this struggle to gain respect as independent artists was
the fight
between women who felt compelled to "transcend" their femininity, opting to write as
androgynous
artists—Woolf chief among them—and others, including Erica Jong, who felt strongly
that unless
women could find the means to express themselves openly and clearly, they might as
well not write at
all. Eventually, many women writers in the 1960s and later broke through the
stereotypical and
restrictive paradigm of female authorship, creating and publishing works that abounded
in an open
celebration and exploration of issues that were central to women's existence, including
sexuality. By the
1990s, critical and academic opinion had shifted, and works such as Eve Ensler's The
Vagina
Monologues, which deals directly with women's physical and emotional experiences,
were hailed as
both innovative and literary.
A similar, yet different path to progress marks the writing of women authors of color,
who eventually
gained critical recognition for their efforts as chroniclers of their cultures, races, and
gender. Although
there were numerous black female authors writing during the early part of the century,
especially during
the heyday of the Harlem Renaissance, black feminist authors's exploration of both race
and gender
issues in their writing kept them outside the American feminist discourse that was
dominated by either
black male activists or white feminists. Scholars have also pointed to the fact that while
works such as
Friedan's The Feminine Mystique did much to draw attention to the emerging feminine
consciousness,
they did not address the needs and issues significant to women of color. Further, the
narrative strategies
used by such pioneering black authors such as Zora Neale Hurston, whose works focused
primarily on
the private and domestic domain, were, until the 1970s and 1980s, dismissed by both
white feminists
and black male intellectuals because of the perception that their focus was too limited and
narrow. Later
critical opinion, however, has reevaluated the writing style and strategies used by many
female authors
of color to recognize that the personal narrative is a powerful and uniquely expressive
mode of
extrapolating and commenting upon the state of the world inhabited by these writers.
Asian writers have
used these strategies particularly well to counter stereotyped images of their own culture
and gender. In
several anthologies published in the late-twentieth century, includingAiiieeeee!! Asian
writers, both
male and female have attempted to create new images of Asian American literature.
Asian women
writers have been faulted for creating what are perceived as unrealistic portrayals of
Asian American
culture, especially images of the Asian woman as powerful and dominant, often seen in
the works of
such writers as Maxine Hong Kingston and Amy Tan. Mitsuye Yamada has addressed
this conflict in her
writing, arguing for a cohesive creative vision and the space to express it.
Modern women's writing continues to explore new genres and means of expression, and
women writers
today participate fully in both the creative and scholarly process. Women's studies,
feminist literary
theory, and women's mode of writing and expressing are now established areas of
academic
environments, and women are exacting continued and growing control over their own
literary and social
spheres.