Simon-Martin, Meritxell Phd HARDCOPY Submission RKE
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THE UNIVERSITY OF WINCHESTER Faculty of Education, Health & Social Care Barbara Bodichon’s Bildung : Education, Feminism and Agency in Epistolary Narratives Meritxell Simon-Martin Doctor of Philosophy November 2012 This Thesis has been completed as a requirement for a postgraduate research degree of the University of Winchester. 1 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF WINCHESTER ABSTRACT FOR THESIS Barbara Bodichon’s Bildung : Education, Feminism and Agency in Epistolary Narratives Meritxell Simon-Martin Faculty of Education, Health & Social Care Doctor of Philosophy November 2012 Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon (1827-1891) was a mid-Victorian English feminist, philanthropist and artist. She is mostly known among women’s and gender historians as the charismatic leader of the Langham Place Circle and as an accomplished watercolourist long resident in Algeria. Through analysis of her personal correspondence, this thesis investigates the significance of letters in the development of Bodichon’s education – studied here in the sense of Bildung (self- cultivation). Reading letter-writing as a performative autobiographical act of self- formation, it argues that Bodichon developed her self-cultivation during her lifetime by innumerable daily habits and life choices – a phenomenon not directly accessible to historians. Simultaneously, she projected an epistolary articulation of her Bildung through the signifying practice of self-narrating by means of her epistolary “I” – within norms of cultural intelligibility and determined by the features of the epistolary genre. The analysis of Bodichon’s epistolary dialogues suggests that letters acted as educational instruments – as sources of Bildung . They functioned as forums where she acquired knowledge and exercised her critical thinking; she carved out her identity at the intersection of her feminist, philanthropic and artistic endeavours; and negotiated her autonomy – here understood as her capacity to act in accordance with her evolving self-conception. As such, this thesis claims letters as sources of agency. By reading Bodichon’s personal correspondence through the lens of Bildung , this study seeks to provide a nuanced portrait of this thoroughly studied historical figure and thus to contribute to Bodichon studies. It proposes a critical examination of the limits of her feminist outlook. In terms of the history of women’s education, the use of Bildung as a thinking tool enables light to be thrown on informal sources of education especially for women in the context of nineteenth-century Britain. In studying letter-writing as a performative autobiographical act, this thesis also seeks to problematise the use of letters in historical investigation and thus to contribute to epistemological debates about the production of historical knowledge. 3 4 List of Contents List of Contents.....................................................................................................5 List of Illustrations ................................................................................................7 Declaration and Copyright Statement..................................................................9 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................11 1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………… 13 2 Bodichon Studies: Literature Review…………………………………………………………… 19 Introduction........................................................................................................19 2.1 Bodichon in the Existing Literature.....................................19 2.2 Bodichon Revisited..............................................................33 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................38 3 Education as Bildung …………………………………………………………………………………….41 Introduction........................................................................................................41 3.1 Middle-Class Women’s Education in the Victorian Era.......42 3.2 Bildung as Conceptualized by Wilhelm von Humboldt.......48 3.3 Bodichon’s Epistolary Bildung .............................................56 3.3.1 A Narrative Model of Bildung .............................................57 3.3.2 Bildung and the Unitarian Philosophy of Education ...........59 3.4 A Critical Revision of Bildung ..............................................68 3.4.1 Autonomy............................................................................73 3.4.2 Power ..................................................................................76 3.4.3 Harmonious Self..................................................................78 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................79 4 Methodology………………………………………………………………………………………………..81 Introduction........................................................................................................81 4.1 Theoretical Debates in Feminist Historiography.................81 4.2 An Epistolary Study of Bodichon.........................................89 4.2.1 Bodichon’s Archive..............................................................90 4.2.2 A Revised Conceptualization of Letters ..............................93 4.2.3 A Threefold Combination of Methods ..............................101 4.2.4 Other Primary Sources......................................................104 4.3 The Cultural Practice of Letter-Exchange..........................107 Conclusion ........................................................................................................119 5 Knowledge Acquisition and Critical Thinking ………………………………………………121 Introduction......................................................................................................121 5.1 Bildung in Bodichon’s ‘Peculiar Education’.......................122 5.2 Bodichon’s Epistolary Learning .........................................128 5.2.1 Engaging Readings ............................................................135 5.2.2 Stimulating Informal Educational Activities......................146 Conclusion ........................................................................................................158 6 Identity……………………………………………………………………………………………………….161 Introduction......................................................................................................161 6.1 Bildung ’s Self-Alienation in Bodichon’s Travel Letters......162 6.2 An Intrepid and Politically Committed Artist ....................167 6.3 A Traveller Expert in Art and Social Reform......................182 Conclusion ........................................................................................................197 5 7 Autonomy…………………………………………………………………………………………………..199 Introduction......................................................................................................199 7.1 Bildung ’s Self-Determination in Bodichon’s Letters .........200 7.2 Bodichon’s Artistic Self-Conception..................................202 7.3 Bodichon’s Philanthropic Projects ....................................214 7.4 Bodichon on Marriage.......................................................226 Conclusion ........................................................................................................237 8 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………….239 Introduction......................................................................................................239 8.1 An Assessment of Bodichon’s Epistolary Bildung .............240 8.2 A Cross-Epistemological Study of Bodichon......................247 8.3 Contribution and Further Research ..................................254 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………………………..259 6 List of Illustrations Figure 1 Letter from Bodichon to Bessie Parkes, [undated], 112 GCPP Parkes 5/170 (The Mistress and Fellows, Girton College, Cambridge) Figure 2 Letter from Bodichon to Mrs. Mudie, 18 May 1866, 113 GCPP Bodichon 4/1 (The Mistress and Fellows, Girton College, Cambridge) Figure 3 Bodichon, ‘Ye Newe Generation’, c.1850, 208 GCPP Bodichon 8/6 (The Mistress and Fellows, Girton College, Cambridge) 7 8 Declaration and Copyright Statement No portion of the work referred to in the Thesis has been submitted in support of an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or other institute of learning. I confirm that this Thesis is entirely my own work. Copyright in text of this Thesis rests with the author. Copies (by any process) either in full, or of extracts, may be made only in accordance with instructions given by the author. Details may be obtained from the RKE Office. This page must form part of any such copies made. Further copies (by any process) of copies made in accordance with such instructions may not be made without the permission (in writing) of the author. Meritxell Simon-Martin November 2012 9 10 Acknowledgements I would like to express my unending thanks to my supervisors, Dr Stephanie Spencer and Professor Joyce Goodman. This research project would not have progressed without their helpful guidance and constant encouragement. Their advice and support have been invaluable to me. I would like to acknowledge Joyce for her suggestion that I explore Bodichon’s letters as Bildung. I am grateful to the University of Winchester for providing the studentship that has allowed me to undertake my PhD as a full-time researcher. Financial support from the University Paris IV-Sorbonne