From the way the woman was describing her life I could tell she was a white women from a privileged background. Her views were very first wave feministic. She pointed out a lot of the inequalities between men and women and how even though she was more educated than a lot of men she was still not taken seriously. Not by men and not by other women ("'I thought those things were taught by the professors...I mean a man.'" pg 283). This was written at some point before 1906 (since that was when it was first published), which seems a little early for these ideas to have been voice in print. I was left to wonder after reading her story of who she was and what background she came from that allowed her to get where she was in life and with her frame of mind about rights for women.
Were you guys surprised by this as much as I was?
I found this interesting video about women activism around the time Holt's book was published. Maybe he was influenced by events such as this in putting this story in his collection. What do you guys think?
I think I was surprise at this too because most of the women that wrote anything in the 1800's and early 1900's usually were very submissive and had to do whatever a man told her to do just like in the "Story of a Farmer's Wife" we don't even know her name. All along she just wants to read and write but she has to have her husband's approval and consent or else she won't do it. This is more like how women were so to hear the story that brought on feminists views is quite surprising for the time.
I also found this really surprising and a very understandable explanation for why there is no information given about the author. I think that this story is perhaps the earliest feminist criticism I have seen that is so blunt. Whoever wrote this is way ahead of her time and very brave.
I think I was surprise at this too because most of the women that wrote anything in the 1800's and early 1900's usually were very submissive and had to do whatever a man told her to do just like in the "Story of a Farmer's Wife" we don't even know her name. All along she just wants to read and write but she has to have her husband's approval and consent or else she won't do it. This is more like how women were so to hear the story that brought on feminists views is quite surprising for the time.
ReplyDeleteI also found this really surprising and a very understandable explanation for why there is no information given about the author. I think that this story is perhaps the earliest feminist criticism I have seen that is so blunt. Whoever wrote this is way ahead of her time and very brave.
ReplyDelete