Copyright by Jessica Elise Shafer 2014

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Copyright by Jessica Elise Shafer 2014 Copyright by Jessica Elise Shafer 2014 The Dissertation Committee for Jessica Elise Shafer Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Reading Female Learning in the mid-Victorian Novel Committee: Carol MacKay Supervisor Linda Ferreira-Buckley Neville Hoad Philippa Levine Jerome Bump Reading Female Learning in the mid-Victorian Novel by Jessica Elise Shafer, B.A.; M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May 2014 Acknowledgements At every stage of this project I have learned from and been encouraged, challenged, and supported by a number of people. I am honored to thank them here. My first thanks must go to Professor Carol MacKay, who--in innumerable ways--made this dissertation possible. She opened countless opportunities to me throughout my graduate career. Her guidance has been essential to my success and to my growth as a scholar. I am immensely grateful for her unfailing generosity in matters scholarly, institutional, professional, and personal. Professor Linda Ferreira-Buckley has also been critical to the development of this project and to my development as a scholar and teacher. Her enthusiasm for my ideas and for helping me to improve in the classroom and on the page have heartened and inspired me. To Professor Neville Hoad I am grateful for his incisive but always generous engagement with my work. His involvement as I drafted the prospectus especially helped me to focus my inquiries and arguments, for which I am greatly appreciative. To Professor Philippa Levine I am thankful for her insightful reading of this project’s historical arguments as well as for her care in discussing ideas and answering questions about a wide range of topics, Victorian and otherwise. Professor Jerry Bump shared his extensive knowledge of the Alice books with me, which was both a scholarly aid and a treat. I am thankful for his insights and the kindness with which he invariably offers them. I count myself lucky to have such excellent models of what work and collegiality in the academy look like. I count myself equally lucky in my friends and family, who have influenced and supported me in countless ways. I am grateful for the kindness of my friends at UT, especially Melissa, Jen, and Amanda, in sharing work, experiences, advice, and free time with me. To Jake I owe an enormous debt of gratitude. He introduced me to Charlotte Yonge, returned books, read hundreds of emails, and cannonaded my writing. More than that, I am thankful for his friendship. I have benefitted immensely from his smart, conscientious scholarship and from his willingness to talk, scheme, and laugh with me. Life and this project would not have been the same without him. iv Jackie has been a voice of reason, a sounding board, and a distraction during this process- -in short, everything a dear friend should be. Thanks to Lisey and Paul for their support. Lisey was always happy to cheer me on, and Paul’s influence and encouragement have been exactly what a learning girl wants from her brother. Writing this dissertation on the same computer on which he wrote his has been a fitting expression of the brother-sister bond that I treasure. For my parents, my love and gratitude is immeasurable. Their love, example, and encouragement have made me who I am. My thanks to them for always supporting my reading and learning: if I am blooming in my own garden, it is one that they have allowed me to find and helped me to tend. Finally, my husband Brian deserves more thanks than I have room for here. This dissertation would not exist without his support, patience, and love. He reassured me when I needed it, pushed me when I needed it, and always made his faith in me clear. So much has happened in our life together during the course of this project, and I look forward to new adventures as we end this one. I am so grateful for his love and our partnership: they make everything and every day better. v Reading Female Learning in the mid-Victorian Novel Jessica Elise Shafer, Ph. D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2014 Supervisor: Carol MacKay “Reading Female Learning in the mid-Victorian Novel” considers depictions of learning girls and learned women in English novels between 1848 and 1870 as dramatizing the varied relationships between femininity and learning during an era of great educational change. In analyzing novels by Charlotte Yonge, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Brontë, George Eliot, and Lewis Carroll in the context of their cultural-historical conditions, this project examines the significance of education to understandings and performances of Victorian femininity. Its readings identify a pervasive vision of middle-class femininity as incompatible with scholarly learning or educational ambition. “Reading Female Learning” surveys shifting contemporary perceptions and practices of education for girls and women, demonstrating that female education remained a central concern over the course of the nineteenth century in England. Close readings track how novels portray how education affects the female learner as well as how novels construct, consider, and resolve (or not) the perceived incompatibility between femininity and learning. This dissertation reads narratives of girls’ progress to womanhood in novels by Yonge and Dickens as modeling the effects of learning on individual women and broader concepts of womanhood. It investigates how Brontë’s Villette and Carroll’s Alice books represent the impact of education and ambition for learning on the female body. It examines how Eliot’s The Mill on the Floss represents the influence of learning on individual female identity in relation to society. As a whole, the project explores the relationships between individual women and society, paying particular attention to how novels implicitly or explicitly position the learning female character as a example for women inside and outside the text. Looking beyond the governess and the “New Woman” to the diverse concepts and experiences of female education in mid-Victorian England, “Reading Female Learning” presents the learning or learned woman as a valuable lens through which to investigate education’s potentials for and effects on individual and gender development. vi Table of Contents Introduction: Reading Female Learning ..................................................................1 Femininity or Intellectuality ...........................................................................4 Brothers and Sisters ........................................................................................6 Chapter Descriptions .....................................................................................10 Chapter 1: Renaissance and Revolution: Female Education in Nineteenth-Century England .........................................................................................................16 Education 1800 to 1848 ................................................................................17 Education 1848 to 1860 ................................................................................25 Education 1860 to 1870 ................................................................................38 Education 1870 to 1900 ................................................................................54 Conclusion ....................................................................................................69 Chapter 2: “As good for household matters as for books”: Learning Femininity in Yonge’s The Daisy Chain and The Clever Woman of the Family ................72 “I have always viewed myself as a sort of instrument for popularizing church views”: Yonge on Learning and Literature ..........................................75 “[A]s good for household matters as for books”: Maturing into Feminine Womanhood in The Daisy Chain .........................................................86 “Proving the ‘very womanhood’ of his Clever Woman”: Re-educating the Learned Lady in The Clever Woman of the Family ...........................103 Brotherly Influence and Womanly “home usefulness” ..............................115 Chapter 3: Home Learning: Education and Models of Femininity in Dickens’s Bleak House and Hard Times ................................................................................125 An “instance of patient womanly devotion”: Dickens, Femininity, and Education ...........................................................................................128 “The obligations of home”: Learning Femininity in Bleak House .............134 “I don’t know what other girls know”: Distorted Femininity in Hard Times156 Chapter 4: “Quieter on the surface”: Schooling the Female Mind and Body in Brontë’s Villette ..........................................................................................181 “[T]he limits proper to my sex”: Learning and Femininity ........................182 vii Lucy’s Education: Learning and Teaching Self and Others .......................192 “[A] strange fever of the nerves and blood”: the Mutual Influence of Female Mind and Body ..................................................................................206 “[O]n the surface only the common gaze will fall”: the Legible Body and Reading for Mastery ..........................................................................218 Chapter 5: Learning Self and Society: Negotiating Education’s Double-Bind
Recommended publications
  • By Emily Davies This Volume, First Published in 1866, Discusses the State of Female Education After the Ages of 16-18
    Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} The Higher Education of Women (Cambridge Library Collection - Education) by Emily Davies This volume, first published in 1866, discusses the state of female education after the ages of 16-18. Davies explores the contemporary differences between male and female education and advocates women's entry into higher education, providing specific suggestions on how this could occur and the benefits it could bring to both men and women. Aside from being a pioneer for women's suffrage in England, Emily Davies also sought out the rights to university access for women. The same year that Davies became involved in women's suffrage,... Mar 06, 2009 · The higher education of women by Davies, Emily, 1830-1921. Publication date 1973 Topics Women Publisher [New York, AMS Press Collection americana Digitizing sponsor Google Book from the collections of University of Michigan Language English. Book digitized by Google from the library of the University of Michigan and uploaded to the Internet ...Pages: 199People also askWhen did Emily Davies become mistress of Cambridge?When did Emily Davies become mistress of Cambridge?Davies served as Mistress of the College in 1873–1875. In 1877, Caroline Croom Robertson joined the management team as secretary to reduce the load on Emily Davies. The College (and the rest of Cambridge University) would only begin to grant full Cambridge University degrees to women in 1940.Emily Davies - Wikipedia Jul 01, 1988 · The Higher Education of Women, 1866 book. Read reviews from world’s largest community for readers. This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a...2.6/5(5)The higher education of women (1866) | THE CUSU WOMEN'S ...https://www.womens.cusu.cam.ac.uk/resources/...The Higher Education of Women by Emily Davies, first published in 1866, makes a forthright and vigorous case for the extension of professional and university education to women.
    [Show full text]
  • The Strategies of the Kensington Society in the Mid- Victorian Women's Movement
    DISSENT, DISCUSSION AND DISSEMINATION: THE STRATEGIES OF THE KENSINGTON SOCIETY IN THE MID-VICTORIAN WOMEN’S MOVEMENT REBEKAH JULIA FAIRGRAY CURRER ORCID: 0000-0002-6276-3586 SUBMITTED IN TOTAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (ARTS) SCHOOL OF HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE FEBRUARY 2020 That from Discussion’s lip may fall What Life, that, working strongly, binds – Set in all lights by many minds, To close the interests of all. Lord Alfred Tennyson, Love Thou Thy Land, 1842, as quoted in the English Woman’s Journal, Vol. II, No. 9 (Nov. 1858) 159. ABSTRACT This thesis investigates the strategic communication of mid-nineteenth century British feminism through the activism and networking of the Kensington Society (1850-1890). Collectively and individually, the sixty-eight members of Britain’s first female-only discussion society practised a range of intellectual communication strategies to reform the position of women in society. In combining literary historical and communication approaches, it also aims to readdress the intellectual heritage of the Kensington Society, asking why it was established, and how it was utilised to spark a wider discussion on women’s rights in mid-nineteenth century Britain. To do so, the thesis investigates the political and religious dissenting heritage of the sixty-eight members; their English Woman’s Journal; discussion through private letters and publications, and their involvement in founding Britain’s first women’s tertiary college, Girton College, Cambridge. Through a historicist examination of the communication of the Kensington Society, it specifically examines the pivotal role the Society played in the individual reforms of its members, and the wider women’s movement of Victorian England.
    [Show full text]
  • Morrell 1999 Housing
    RADAR Research Archive and Digital Asset Repository Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/ or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Published paper after page 391 has been removed. When referring to this work, the full bibliographic details must be given as follows: Morrell, C. (1999). Housing and the women's movement, 1860-1914. PhD thesis. Oxford Brookes University. WWW.BROOKES.AC.UK/GO/RADAR HOUSING AND THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT, 1860-1914 Caroline Morrell A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Oxford Brookes University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy March 1999 Published papers not copied on instruction from the university ABSTRACT This thesis sets out to explore the links between the women's movement and the housing reform movement in Britain in the period 1860 to 1914. Both these movements have been well-documented, but the role which women played in housing has received little attention from historians of housing, and conversely, the issue of housing has largely been overlooked by historians of the women's movement. Definitions of home and housing are explored, together with the way in which the dominant ideology of the home, and women's role within it, was constructed in the period.
    [Show full text]
  • 'Girton Girl' and 'Lady Doctor' : Women, Higher Education and Medicine in Popular Victorian Fiction by Women
    This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from the King’s Research Portal at https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/ The 'Girton Girl' and 'Lady Doctor' : women, higher education and medicine in popular Victorian fiction by women. Carr, Rachel The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without proper acknowledgement. END USER LICENCE AGREEMENT Unless another licence is stated on the immediately following page this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You are free to copy, distribute and transmit the work Under the following conditions: Attribution: You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Non Commercial: You may not use this work for commercial purposes. No Derivative Works - You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. Any of these conditions can be waived if you receive permission from the author. Your fair dealings and other rights are in no way affected by the above. Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 10. Oct. 2021 The 'Girton Girl' and 'Lady Doctor': Women, Higher Education and Medicine in Popular Victorian Fiction by Women In Memory of The Revd Emma Hawkins, 1964-1 990 'The history of every woman's movement is the history of a great fight.
    [Show full text]
  • Elisabeth M. Smith Phd Thesis
    TO WALK UPON THE GRASS: THE IMPACT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS' LADY LITERATE IN ARTS, 1877-1892 Elisabeth Margaret Smith A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 2014 Full metadata for this item is available in St Andrews Research Repository at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/5570 This item is protected by original copyright To walk upon the grass: the impact of the University of St Andrews’ Lady Literate in Arts, 1877-1892 Elisabeth Margaret Smith Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Institute of Scottish Historical Research School of History The University of St Andrews June 2014 For my parents, to whom this was long ago promised Contents Page List of Tables iii Abstract iv Acknowledgements v-vi Abbreviations vii-viii Chapter 1: A ‘greater liberty of choice’: the LLA in context 1 Reform and changing attitudes to female education in the nineteenth century 2 Continuity and progress: existing provision for girls and women in nineteenth-century England and Wales 8 Continuity and progress: existing provision for girls and women in nineteenth-century Scotland 13 The research context 18 The sources and their interpretation 25 Chapter 2: ‘To the highest pitch possible’: the origins and development of the LLA, 1877-1892 30 Politics and progress in the early years 30 The structure and development of the LLA 42 Chapter 3: ‘Lasses o’ pairts’ or a ‘leisured clientele attracted by scholarly ideals’: who
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of Women in Education of the Working Classes - 1870-1904 Thesis
    Open Research Online The Open University’s repository of research publications and other research outputs The role of women in education of the working classes - 1870-1904 Thesis How to cite: Martin, Jane (1992). The role of women in education of the working classes - 1870-1904. PhD thesis The Open University. For guidance on citations see FAQs. c 1991 The Author https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Version: Version of Record Link(s) to article on publisher’s website: http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21954/ou.ro.0000dff7 Copyright and Moral Rights for the articles on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. For more information on Open Research Online’s data policy on reuse of materials please consult the policies page. oro.open.ac.uk 6S7Ai JANE MARTIN B.A. (OPEN) M.A, (WARWICK) THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE EDUCATION OF THE WORKING CLASSES - 187o-lgo4 DEGREE APPLIED FOR - Ph.D CENTRE FOR SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIAL RESEARCH -r,+ a I D-/ SUBMITTED 1991 Ator osmLc 14I' 0 1 g c EX 12 HIGHER DEGREES OFFICE LIBRARY AUTHORISATION FORM STUDENT: .T M4.T ' SERIAL NO: K ) 7O DEGREE: T1TLEOFTHESIS: l CL C4 Gt1E( (N TrtE Coc PcT1cJ C. TU Ccgcç I confirm that I am willing that my thesis be made avaflable to readers and maybe photocopied, subject to the discretion of the Librarian. 1d17/ SIGNED: 'i. DATE: ?'-j ABSTRACT Focusing upon the twenty-nine female members of the London School Board, this thesis examines the position of women Involved with the institution of elementary education in late-Victorian and Edwardlan England.
    [Show full text]
  • English Middle-Class Girls' High Schools and 'Domestic Subjects'
    English middle-class girls’ high schools and ‘domestic subjects’ 1871-1914. Sayaka Nakagomi PhD thesis. Submitted to the UCL Institute of Education, University of London. Final version, April 2016. 1 I hereby declare that, except where explicit attribution is made, the work presented in this thesis is entirely my own. Word count (exclusive of appendices and bibliography): 85,287 words. 2 Acknowledgements. I would like to show my gratitude to many individuals and groups: Professor Jane Martin, my first supervisor at the Institute of Education, sincerely supported and helped me to find my research topic and approach during my first two years of the MPhil/PhD Course. Professor Miriam David, my second supervisor at the Institute of Education, warmly helped me to draft and revise the chapters in the later stage of my PhD Course. Professor Gary McCulloch and Professor Joyce Goodman, my thesis examiners, have given very careful and sharp comments to widen as well as to deepen my research scope. The archivists and librarians gave me great help when exploring the archival materials. I would especially like to thank Dr Christine A. Joy of Manchester High School for Girls Archive, Mrs Jean Longley of Camden School for Girls Archive and archivists of North London Collegiate School Archive. The first three years of my MPhil/PhD were funded by a Japan Student Service Organisation’s scholarship. The History of Education Society gave me various chances to present my research work, supported me with bursaries and enabled me to meet many friends who are also working on the history of education.
    [Show full text]