Personal Moments in the Lives of Victorian Women: Selections From Their Autobiographies (Book 2)

admin — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:27:00 +0000

In her biography of May Duignan—better known as the notorious "Chicago May"—the late Irish writer Nuala O'Faolain notes that cemeteries are full of women whose life stories died with them, and that women's autobiographies are a critical part of lost history. I can't help but think that she would be pleased with the publication of this book (as well as its first, companion volume), which shares excerpts from the autobiographies of multiple women—some well-known and some unknown.

Grouped by themes such as career, family, and religion, some sections are more interesting than others, but all are valuable glimpses of how women lived and were treated during England's Victorian era. Reading through the selections, you're given a look at the lives of quite a range of women—from the literary and rich to those struggling to pay debts to the very religious who have isolated themselves from society.

More interesting still are the details you glean from the period of time in which the selections were written. The blatant sexism, how ever much the reader anticipates it, will still piss you off. One women writes of a chance meeting with a man she hasn't seen for years; his first question is to ask how many children she has had. When he learns she is childless he demands, "Then what have you been doing with your time?"

More horrific are casual references of women without means literally starving to death, and the bizarre lack of legal rights that married women had to the custody of their children. In short, it's a good reminder of how far we've come, as a gender, despite the fact that we're still fighting for full equality.

My only gripe about this book is the fact that it picked up straight where the first volume left off. While each section has a short introduction, there's no foreword or much information—short of one line per author about when they were born and died, and where they came from—about who the women were or why their stories were selected for inclusion in the volume. This is not only disjointed, but also left me with unanswered curiosity.

Having only read the second volume of this collection, I can't help but think that I would have enjoyed it more if I had first read book one.

Written by: M.L. Madison, April 13th 2009

Personal Moments in the Lives of Victorian Women: Selections from Their Autobiographies (Book 1)

admin — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:27:00 +0000

Edited by Abigail Burnham Bloom

Edwin Mellen Press

I have to admit that when I received my copy of Personal Moments in the Lives of Victorian Women, I wasn't exactly excited to snuggle up and read it from start to finish. The cover art is not particularly appealing, as it depicts an antique black and white photo of a rather serious and unhappy looking woman, and makes the book look about as inviting as a textbook. However, as I read the preface I quickly realized Abigail Burnham Bloom's compilation of Victorian women's autobiographies would be more interesting and revealing than I had originally expected.

In the preface, Gina Luria Walker, a professor of women's studies at The New School, writes, "women do not have formal tradition of writing about themselves because they have long been considered unreliable and potentially disruptive." Walker goes on to point out that "Bloom's scholarly production...demonstrates the compelling need of women from disparate parts of that culture to tell their stories, despite the prevailing cultural mores that a woman not have an inner life or unusual adventures to write about." This collection was like a Victorian Vagina Monologues—well, minus the orgasms.

The autobiographical selections of women like Elizabeth Barrett and Frances Hodgson Burnett are categorized by subject—such as youth, marriage, and career. Many selections from this book made me grateful to live in a modern America, where most women are developed to be more than just attractive wives. In the Victorian era "girls were encouraged to learn languages, dancing, art, geography, music, and other subjects that would make them attractive to potential husbands. Generally speaking, parents wanted their daughters to be cultured, but not to be intellectuals." We have come a long way since then, and Bloom's collection gives us a look at just how much we've evolved.

After finishing the book, I learned the woman on the cover is actually Bloom's grandmother, Grace Isabelle Clarke. It important that the voices of women like Grace are heard because they are an essential part of feminist history. Women's studies professors, add this to your curriculum; it captures a time in women's history that is not often examined.

I found Personal Moments in the Lives of Victorian Women rather difficult to get through (and I can't say I'm going to pick up Book 2), but let's be honest: no one really chooses to read a textbook in her spare time. Nevertheless, its worth taking a look at. Bloom obviously put a great deal of passion into her research of Victorian women, and I believe it would make a valuable addition to anyone's library.

Written by: Samara Sousa, April 13th 2009