Hannah More, the Conventionalist, and Mary Robinson, the Radical: Differing Feminist Perspectives on 19th Century Women's Progress, Purity, and Power

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Date
2007-06
Authors
Mandaglio, Lia A.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Lethbridge Undergraduate Research Journal
Abstract
During the Romantic literary period, British feminist writers assumed drastically different stances when advocating for female empowerment and autonomy. Hannah More and Mary Robinson demonstrate these different feminist approaches in their writing, as More advocates for women's spiritual purity as a means of attaining social equality, while Robinson endorses an assertion of female intellectual capacities. Through their distinct feminist polemics, More and Robinson expose how both an allegiance to and a rejection of traditional gender conventions can function as mechanisms for female social mobility and gender equality. This study explores the differences between More's feminist ideas in her poem "The Story of Sinful Sally. Told by Herself" and Robinson's A Letter to the Women of England. This paper also discusses the implications of these women's opposing feminist philosophies in contemporary western culture and the ways in which their views can be reconciled through their application to modern female social scripts.
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Keywords
Feminism -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century , Feminist women writers
Citation
Mandaglio, Lia A. (2007). Hannah More, the Conventionalist, and Mary Robinson, the Radical: Differing Feminist Perspectives on 19th Century Women's Progress, Purity, and Power. Lethbridge Undergraduate Research Journal, 2(1).