English Feminism, 1780-1980

by Caine, Barbara

• ISBN13: 9780198204343
• ISBN10: 0198204345
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-09-18
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Barbara Caine's fascinating analysis of feminism in England examines the relationship between feminist thought and actions, and wider social and cultural change over tow centuries. Professor Caine investigates the complex question surrounding the concept of a feminist 'tradition', and showshow much the feminism of any particular period related to the years preceding or following it. Though feminism may have lacked the kind of legitimating tradition evident in other forms of political thought, the ghost of Mary Wollstonecraft was something which all nineteenth- and twentieth-centuryfeminists had to come to terms with. Her story was a constant reminder of the connection between the demand for political and legal rights, and its conflation with the issues of personal and sexual rebellion. Like Wollstonecraft, every woman pioneer into the public arena faced assaults on her honouras well as on her intellectual position. The author also addresses the language of feminism: the introduction and changing meanings of the term 'feminist';the importance of literary representations of women; and the question of how one defines feminism, and establishes boundaries between feminismand the 'woman question'. She ends with a discussion of the new emphasis, post-1980s, on the need to think about 'feminisms' in the plural, rather than any single kind of feminism. analysis of feminist organizations, debates, and campaigns shows a keen sense of the relationship between feministthought and actions, and wider social and cultural change. The result is a fascinating study with a new perspective on feminists and feminist traditions, which can be used both as an introductory text and as an interpretative work. Professor Caine examines the complex questions surrounding theconcept of a feminist 'tradition', and shows how much the feminism of any particular period related to the years preceding or following it. Though feminism may have lacked the kind of legitimating tradition evident in other forms of political thought, the ghost of Mary Wollstonecraft is seen here assomething which all nineteenth- and twentieth-century feminists had to come to terms with. Her story was a constant reminder of the connection between the demand for political and legal rights, and its conflation with the issues of personal and sexual rebellion. Like Mary Wollstonecraft, every womanpioneer into the public arena was faced with assaults on her honour as well as on her intellectual position. Professor Caine also addresses the language of feminism: the introduction and changing meanings of the term 'feminist'; the importance of literary representations of women; and the questionof how one defines feminism, and establishes boundaries between feminism and the 'woman question'. She ends with a discussion of the new emphasis, post-1980s, on the need to think about 'feminisms' in the plural, rather than any single kind of feminism.

Table of Contents

Chronology	xiii
Introduction	1	(10)
1. Feminism and the Rights of Women	11	(42)
Social Change and Sexual Difference in the Late Eighteenth Century	13	(10)
Mary Wollstonecraft and the Origins of Modern Feminism	23	(20)
Feminism and the Woman Question	43	(10)
2. Feminism and the Woman Question in the Early Nineteenth Century	53	(35)
Men in Feminism: William Thompson and the Unitarian Radicals	57	(9)
The Tragic Tale of Caroline Norton	66	(4)
Harriet Martineau and the Slow Development of Feminist Consciousness	70	(12)
Feminism, Evangelicalism, and `Women's Sphere'	82	(6)
3. Mid-Victorian Feminism	88	(43)
The Langham Place Circle and the Ghost of Mary Wollstonecraft	93	(9)
Feminism, Liberalism, and the Problem of Sexual Oppression	102	(13)
Feminist Campaigns and Feminist Strategies	115	(8)
Nation and Empire in Victorian Feminism	123	(8)
4. The 'New Woman' and the Militant	131	(42)
Feminism and the New Woman	134	(13)
Feminism, the Labour Movement, and Working-Class Women	147	(11)
Militancy	158	(10)
Feminism and Imperialism	168	(5)
5. Feminism and the Woman Citizen in the Interwar Years	173	(49)
The Legacy of War	178	(4)
A Feminist Programme	182	(15)
Training Women for Citizenship	197	(5)
Feminist Questions and Party Politics	202	(7)
From Politics to Culture: Feminist Theory in the 1920s and 1930s	209	(8)
Feminism and Internationalism	217	(5)
6. The Postwar World	222	(33)
The Impact of War	227	(7)
Feminist Organizations and the Feminist Agenda	234	(6)
The Woman Question in the 1950s and the 1960s	240	(15)
Afterword: From Feminism to Feminisms	255	(17)
Notes	272	(43)
Select Bibliography	315	(16)
Index	331