Women’s Unit “If we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting values, we must recognize the whole gamut of human possibilities” - Margaret Mead

Women fighting to be heard In the late 19 th century and early 20 th century, women were fighting for a voice in politics and literature. American women could not vote They had almost no political or legal power They could not own property

Women had few opportunities Education and career opportunities were limited (teachers, nurses, secretaries, and maids…and only if you did not have children) Little or no financial independence – you had to give your paycheck to your father or husband In most marriages, the husband made all the important decisions

The Right to Vote

The Suffrage (right to vote) Movement Susan B. Anthony leads movement in 1870s Four states gave women the right to vote by 1900 Suffragists held marches, protest rallies, and hunger strikes for their cause All women did not have the right to vote in the U.S. until 1920

Characteristics of Feminist Literature Women authors wanted to examine the effects of a patriarchal (male-dominated) society on women – women’s lack of “voice,” lack of decision-making opportunities, lack of control of own bodies, lack of financial independence, etc. Women authors presented women as fully realized characters with abilities, intelligence, desires, aggressions, lusts, and conflicts (just like men). Women authors often wrote about “domestic” topics – home, children, female friendship, religion, abolition, suffrage, and love

Reaction to Women Writing “America is now wholly given over to a d—d mob of scribbling women, and I should have no chance of success while the public taste is occupied with their trash-and should be ashamed of myself if I did.” Nathaniel Hawthorne

Difficulties for Women Writers Conflict over their desire to write and their role as mother/wife Work dismissed as “unimportant” Writing style criticized as too sentimental and “didactic” (preachy) Domestic topics not seen as “universal”

Sojourner Truth (Isabella Baumfree) “I could work as much and eat as much as a man…and ain’t I a woman?” Freed from slavery when New York abolished slavery in Began to lecture to spread God’s message Spoke for abolitionist and suffragist movements Famous “Ain’t I a Woman” speech was given unprepared at a women’s rights convention in 1851.

“Ain’t I a Woman?” Speech responds to male speakers who argued in favor of men’s superiority to women because of 1) men’s superior intellect 2) the manhood of Christ

Emily Dickinson First major American woman poet Completely unknown in her lifetime; most of her poems were found by her sister after her death Spent last 25 years of her life in seclusion Always dressed in white Prolific letter writer (over 1000) Loved to bake for the neighborhood kids

Dickinson’s Poetry Prolific – 1775 poems written (at least) Never wanted her poetry published; wanted it destroyed Her sister decided to ignore Emily’s wishes and published her poems Wrote about love, hope, success, nature, and DEATH Poetry famous for unusual imagery, slant rhyme, odd punctuation (such as dashes, capitalization)

Death Poetry Best friend died when she was 14 – Emily sat with her while she was dying Also lost both parents at an early age Victorian culture (late 1800s) very interested in death & eternity Daguerreotypes (early photos) of deceased family members were common

Charlotte Perkins Gilman “It is not that women are really smaller-minded, weaker-minded, more timid and vacillating, but that whosoever, man or woman, lives always in a small, dark place, is always guarded, protected, directed and restrained, will become inevitably narrowed and weakened by it.”

The “Rest Cure” After the birth of her daughter, Gilman suffered from postpartum depression which affects 10% of women who give birth Gilman was given the recommended treatment at that time, “the rest cure” – sleep, avoid intellectual activity, avoid excitement, do nothing creative This cure almost destroyed her

A Prolific Career Wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper” to challenge the “rest cure.” Also wrote novels, stories, essays and self- published a magazine (The Forerunner) All her work focused on women’s suffrage, economic independence, and friendship between women.

The Yellow Wallpaper 3 Critical views: 1) It’s a feminist story intended to show the oppression of women 2) It’s a psychological story about a woman’s mental breakdown 3) It’s a Gothic story intended to disturb and scare the reader

Important Quotations “And woman should stand beside man as the comrade of his soul, not the servant of his body.” “There is no female mind. The brain is not an organ of sex. Might as well speak of a female liver.” "A house does not need a wife any more than it needs a husband.”

Kate Chopin Prolific writer – two novels, over a hundred short stories, many poems and reviews. Began writing after the death of her husband; she had 6 children to support. Lived in New Orleans and wrote popular stories about Creoles, Cajuns, African- Americans Very successful as a writer of “local color” stories; published in some of the best publications of the time Master of irony – surprise twist at the end of the story

Until….The Awakening Published in 1899 The story’s topic, adultery, and the heroine’s actions, were viewed as scandalous. Heroine viewed as a bad mother, a fallen woman, a selfish human being Because the story questioned traditional views of women and their role, it ended Chopin’s career Her work was ignored until the resurgence of feminism in the 1970s

Alice Walker Contemporary (Born in 1944) Novelist, Poet, Feminist Active in the Civil Rights Movement Wrote The Color Purple which won the Pulitzer Prize

Feminist literature presents female characters as agents. These stories present women as fully realized characters with faculties, desires, aggressions, ires, lusts, and conflicts. To call forth an oft-used quotation by Cheris Kramarae, “Feminism is the radical notion that women are human.” Feminist literature treats these humans as interesting and worthy of novels and stories.