to develop in a growing and changing world. Wollstonecraft encourages
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women to develop their minds in the vindication. One way of doing this is
by reading and writing this shows how some women were responding to
being controlled in writing and by writing in forms such as pamphlets and
letters it is apparent that there is a political stance being taken here.
Wollstonecraft is a woman talking to women here she is rebelling against
what women in this society are accepting as that social norm that women
should be passive in the way that they express their selves in literary form..
Women were voicing their opinions by writing as well as acknowledging the
sociological and political events that were taking place, they continued to
do this even though they were encouraged to keep out of the public sphere
there were tensions that were built between men and women writers. These
tensions may have added to the problems that women had when writing the
female gender would often determine they way that response was given and
interpreted especially by their male peers.
Anna Barbauld also used her writing to challenge women’s positions her
first line’ From works’ is ‘yes injured woman, rise thy right’ the first
suggestion that you would have of this line is that she is encouraging
women to assert themselves. Barbauld has written this as response to
Wollstonecraft’s Vindication while starting out on a positive note that all
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women should project their right in society as well as in their writing. As
you look more closely as the poem goes on you will see that regardless how
strongly she stars of with her opinion on this she eventually reverts to they
‘abandon each ambitious thought.’ and separate right’s are lost in mutual
love’. Is Barbauld then not agreeing with women’s right’s but then on the
other hand asserting right’s straight back to men? This can be considered a
prime example of constraints on women.
By Barbauld pulling it back to a ‘ mutual love’ she could seen as being an
anti-feminist not wanting to women to lose their naturally given roles in
society. On the other hand it could be that because of the way women’s
writing was conceived it was more important for Barbauld to be careful
about how she put across her opinion. Women needed to ‘discover ways to
negotiate these boundaries that would not endanger their precarious position
in the public sphere’(Fay:60) as both subject and style were an obstacle and
could hinder a woman’s reputation.
So many women who wanted to write would therefore have kept themselves
well within what would considered as appropriate subjects for them to write
about such as love and children. Writers such as Barbauld and
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Wollstonecraft had to step out of the what has been as the safeguard for
women a woman writer. Many women had to come out into the public
domain in order to write about the issues that they wanted to and in order to
get published. In order to avoid being ridiculed about such topics as politics
women would make it an extension of what would be seen as a woman’s
issue. A letter was one form that would be used as Jane Austen often used in
her novels for example when using it in Mansfield Park when Fanny
received letters whilst her brother was in the navy. This however small was
a way of touching on issues that were considered unfeminine. Women’s
‘status in society and the roles they assumed had much to do with the form
and content of fiction as well as with the moral atmosphere’.(Altick:50)
Poetry was seen as the highest form of literary expression and with most
genres in the Romantic times dominated by men. Writings were mainly
centred around six main poets which ranges from Wordsworth to Blake the
canon of the time was dominant with men. alongside poetry ,essays and
history were also seen as more prestigious genres, the novel however, was
an easier way for women to become authors as it had a lower status. The
novel was attractive to women as it was not a genre dominated by men.
Women who continued to write novels were often ridiculed by critics of the
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time such as J.W Croker who described women writing in their thirties as
‘epuisee’(Johnson:xv) There was an increase in hostility from males against
women that learned . Poets such as Wordsworth wanted to keep hold on
genres such as poetry. He famously stated that ‘a poet is a man speaking to
men’. (Bygrave:184)
Poetry was not only seen as a division of gender in writing it was also
considered as a form of writing that segregated the classes. Poetry being
seen as a more prestigious form, women in higher classes that did not earn
from writing were those who wrote poetry not those in other classes.
Barbauld did stick to the traditional form of writing for women at the
beginning of her career but changes as time went on. Herself along side
Wollstonecraft were heavily criticised not only by men but at times from
their female peers. Hannah More was an example of this as she was
concerned about females entering the public domain this view was spread
amongst others who felt that a woman’s name could threatened ‘ a woman’s
reputation as well as her social position’. (Copland and Manchester:13) As
long as a woman wrote in her correct forms such a hymn of the appropriate
topic of love they would be published respectably.
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Although there was a clear public sphere it did non stop women wanting to
continue writing. Women were making careers for themselves in writing
regardless of what form or topic that they wrote in and as Mellor point out
‘women openly and frequently published their free and reasoned opinions
on a range of topics’. (Mellor:2) However, it can also be considered that
many women did stick to feminine subjects and form such as the novel even
with its low status being due to the majority of readers and writers of the
novel being female. This being the general consensus , it was still not seen
as appropriate for the female to write. Writers like Wollstonecraft who were
openly out in the public sphere were seen as influencing and feeding women
with unnatural desires that they had no business being in. Women as well as
responding to constraints in writing started to take up reading newspapers
and magazines. This helped to keep other females informed about issues
around the world.
One Wollstonecraft’s major problems was the lack of education that
Women received ‘what they learned is rather by snatches ; and as learning is
with them only a secondary thing. Barbauld to in her response is looking at
the women’s place in society in her poem she is suggesting that women
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move away from male rule ‘make treacherous man thy subject and not thy
friend’ Wollstonecraft is again encouraging women to go against what a man
considers as a women’s natural place.
Although women did face ridicule by both men and women on the choice of
topic and form that they wrote in. Women did show their union by
supporting other women through their writings. Women were writing for
other females leisure and ways for improving their way of life women were
writing diaries and keeping journals for their private space which helped,
many people believed to increase their spirituality. They focused on
childcare in order to improve their own sex and enhance motherhood in
poems and letters they praised each others efforts. Women were
courageously responding to the constraints that were put on them by
supporting them with other and helping each other to understand
One an others views.
Wollstonecraft by choosing to write the vindication in the for of a letter
did so ‘in order to create a public voice for herself’ (Fay:58) Hence.
Allowing her to be as outspoken as she was whilst allowing her to gain
audience. Barbauld also did this by using poetry and within the poetry has
pg10
used words such as ‘angel pureness’ and soft melting tones’ allowing her
contemporaries to openly analyse her writing while keeping her audience it
also has highlighted the points that she wanted to make against
Vindications. Wollstonecraft has crossed the public sphere in the
Vindications. Critics may have viewed her writing as having masculine
views due to the tone of the piece. Unlike other writers such as Austen,
Wollstonecraft while masking her transgressions in her writing showed that
women were affected by the shift in boundaries within society at the time.
As I have discussed in this essay women continued to write throughout the
romantic period regardless to being penalised if they stepped out of what
was considered suitable for them. It important to mention that there were
many women who while not actively being published were still contributing
to the iterature at the time. Many women were circulating their literature as
a social practise so women were constrained in their choice of topic and
form throughout the Romantic period but women did not let this deter them
from wanting to continue participating in voicing their opinions alongside
men during this political unrest. The view of female intelligence in
comparison to men’s were considered as weak women however, viewed
themselves as having other purposes in society and that they were able to
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offer other things to society that men could not. Other women writers other
then Wollstonecraft and Barbauld challenged the view of masculinity such
as Mary Shelly creating Frankenstein and again in doing show going against
the views that were taking by men. So in all as I said at the beginning of my
essay women regardless of being constrained in choice of topic and form in
the writing they continued to write in all genres and in many topics.
Regardless of how they got their views across some women kept within the
public sphere as they did this other women were open and came out into the
public regardless women were writing in the Romanic period.