📚 Women in Literature
Discrimination still exists in many areas, is literature one of those?
During some downtime this week, I sat watching the movie The Suffragettes. Although a history fan even, I was unaware of the extent of these women's suffering. Yet, I was also in awe at the amount of legislation and change they brought about for women.
The discrimination against women is none more evident than looking at women in literature.
Robinson Crusoe was the first book to succeed in England; the first published was Orinoko. After the success of Robinson Crusoe, Samuel Richardson decided to write a novel to appeal to women. Pamela tells the story of a young servant's resistance to the advances of her predatory employer. The book is a novel about power and its abuse.
From the publication of this novel, women started devouring novels. Reading became a female pastime.
One of literature's most famous classic novels, Frankenstein, was written by a woman. It is thought of as being one of the first science fiction novels.
No Surrender tells the story of two women's right to vote. One a mill girl, and one a minor aristocrat, the book portrays their struggle to gain the right to equality. In addition, the novel was used to raise awareness and provide knowledge to women worldwide.
Despite this history, females were still treated as a poor comparison to men. When the Bronte sisters first published their masterpieces, the author was credited as 'A Women.' They also published work using male pseudonyms.
Mary Ann Evans chose the pseudonym of George Eliot when she wrote all her novels, feeling that a man would be better received.
Virginia Woolf's novel A Room With a View tells of a woman's need for writing space. A book heavily criticised at the time.
Little Women was first published using the name of A.M. Barnard—a name she had used to write male literature. However, the literature was considered unsuitable for female readers.
Even today, many writers use initials to hide their gender when publishing.
E Nesbitt
E.L James
P.D James
J.K Rowling
J.K Rowling chose a male pseudonym to write her adult series, branding herself as Robert Galbraith. When we look at income from writing. The average wage for female authors is 89 cents compared to a dollar for men doing the same job.
There are still clear divisions between women and men in literature. Some males look down on female writing, whether you write blog posts, fiction or poetry. This is why I urge you this week to support a female writer and take a moment to think about the thousands of women imprisoned fighting for equality for all.
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Until next week stay safe
Sam 😊
Quote of the week
Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world. - Harriet Tubman
