A history of their own

614 Pages·1988·37.994 MB·English

by  Bonnie S. Anderson, Judith P. Zinsser

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‘\-{ Discarpeo )8 Y OF
THEIR OWN
WOMEN IN aseabs
FROM PREHISTORY
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[BONNIE SA NDERSON
[JUDITH P ZINSSER
ISBN: 0-0b-015899-4 >$29.95 —
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THEIK OWN
The Renaissance, the French Revolution,
World War II—where were the women? How
did they spend their days? Volume II of A
History of Their Own completes the original and
revolutionary synthesis of European women's
history begun in Volume |. The womens activi-
ties and concerns explored range from those of
seventeenth-century Venetian courtesans to
nineteenth-century English factory workers,
from those .of Catherine the Great to Simone
de Beauvoir. Both volumes use the newest re-
search in the field to provide a vivid and excit-
ing view of women's lives.
Volume II examines women in the noble and
royal courts, middle-class and upper-class
women in the salons and parlors, and working-
class women in the vast cities of the modern
era. It concludes with a history of feminism in
Europe.
Volume | focuses on peasant women through
the twentieth century, women of the churches,
noblewomen of the castles and manors, and
women in the walled towns. It begins with a
survey of traditions about women inherited
from cultures before 800 A.D.
LO&8N
| NALTLENC O UNT INI
|PUBL IC LIBRARY
| 31833 0
3115107
|3 05.4094 An2h v.2
Anderson, Bonnie S.
A History of Their Own
|
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
FORT WAYNE, INDIANA 46802
OE

A HISTORY
OF THEIR OWN
Women in Europe from Prehistory
to the Present
BONNIE S. ANDERSON
JUDITH P. ZINSSER
VOLUME II
1817
HARPER & ROW, PUBLISHERS, New York
Cambridge, Philadelphia, San Francisco
London, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Sydney
Illustration credits follow the Index.
Fic Fctn c.c uWnalyyn e,P uubbileai ic anLLii ab raty
A HISTORY OF THEIR OWN, VOLUME II. Copyright © 1988 by Bonnie S. Anderson and Judith P.
Zinsser. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be
used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address Harper & Row, Publish-
ers, Inc., 10 E. 53rd Street, New York, N.Y. 10022. Published simultaneously in Canada by Fitzhenry
& Whiteside Ltd., Toronto.
FIRST EDITION
Designer: Sidney Feinberg
Copyeditor: Rick Hermann
Indexer: Auralie Logan
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Anderson, Bonnie S.
A history of their own.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Women—Europe—History. 2. Feminism—Europe—History. I. Zinsser, Judith P. II. Title.
HQ1587.A53 1988 305.4'094 87-11933
ISBN 0-06-015850-6 (v. 1)
ISBN 0-06-091452-1 (pbk.: v. 1)
ISBN 0-06-015899-9 (v. 2) 88 89 90 91 92 CC/HC 10987654321
ISBN 0-06-091563-3 (pbk.: v. 2) 88 89 90 91 92 CC/HC 10987654321
Contents
Acknowledgments viii
Introduction xi
VI. WOMEN OF THE COURTS
RULERS, PATRONS, AND ATTENDANTS
_ The World of Absolute Monarchs from the Fifteenth to the
Eighteenth Centuries 3
_ The Life of the Courtier 7
The Courtier’s Roles and Rewards — The Court Setting, Costumes,
and Activities
_ The Traditional Life in 4a Grand Setting: Wife and Queen Consort 26
The Ideal — Education—Marriage Arrangements — Childbearing —
The Relationship Between Wives and Husbands
. Women Rulers 44
The Combination of Circumstances — Queen Mother and Regent —
Royal Heir and Monarch
_ New Opportunities 62
Performers and Composers — Painters — Courtesans — Writers
_ The Legacies of Renaissance Humanism and the Scientific Revolu-
tion 83
Renewed Access to Learning — The Querelles des Femmes
(The Debate over Women) — Science Affirms Tradition
Vi CONTENTS
VII. WOMEN OF THE SALONS AND PARLORS
LADIES, HOUSEWIVES, AND PROFESSIONALS
. Women in the Salons 103
The Creation and Institution of the Salon in France — Salons and
Saloniéres in England and Germany — The Decline of the Salon —
Mary Wollstonecraft and Hannah More
. Women in the Parlors 129
The Impact of a Rising Standard of Living — The
Nineteenth-Century Lady: Her Life and Tasks — The
Nineteenth-Century Lady: Ideals and Restrictions — The
Domestication of the Queen
. Leaving the Parlors 167
Writers, Artists, and Musicians — Charity Workers and Social
Reformers — The Battle for Education and Professional Training
. Opportunities and Limits: Change and Tradition in
the Twentieth Century 197
The Impact of World War I — Traditions Reasserted — The Mixed
Blessings of Psychology — From Domesticity to Gracious Living:
Privileged Women Since 1945
VIII. WOMEN OF THE CITIES
MOTHERS, WORKERS, AND REVOLUTIONARIES
Family Life 227
Two Lives — Moving to the Cities — Partnership with a Man —
Raising Larger Families — Illegitimacy and Unwanted Children
Earning Income 248
Child Labor — Single Women — Women with Children — Old
Women — Women and Religion
Revolutions and Reforms 278
Urban Women in 1789, 1848, and 1871 — The Impact of a Rising
Standard of Living — Women in World War I and the Russian
Revolution — Women in the 1930s
Continuity and Change: Women in World War II and After 308
Women in World War II — Working-Class Women Since 1945
f : “~< o
Contents Vii
IX. TRADITIONS REJECTED
A HISTORY OF FEMINISM IN EUROPE
. Feminism in Europe 333
_ Asserting Women’s Humanity: Early European Feminists 341
Christine de Pizan — Early European Feminists—Mary
Wollstonecraft
_ Asserting Women’s Legal and Political Equality: Equal
Rights Movements in Europe 350
Feminism and Liberalism — Feminism and Christianity — Women’s
Rights Movements — The English Women’s Rights Movement:
1832-1928 — Achievements and Limitations of Equal Rights
Feminism
_ Feminist Socialism in Europe 371
Feminism and Socialism — Early Feminist Socialists: Owenites and
Saint-Simonians — Marriage, Sex, and Socialism — Feminist
Socialism in Europe: 1875-1925 — Related Causes, 1 925-1945:
Social Welfare, Pacifism, and Anti-Fascism
_ The Women’s Liberation Movement 406
From Consciousness-Raising to Political Action — Asserting
Women’s Right to Control Their Own Fertility — Asserting
Women’s Right to Determine Their Own Sexuality — Toward a
Woman-Centered World
Notes 433
Bibliography 509
Index 535
Illustrated sections follow pages 8, 106, 230, and 338.
Acknowledgments
This work—Volume I and the present book—took ten years to create. During
that time, we were encouraged and supported by groups and individuals
whom it is now a pleasure to thank.
In common, we are in debt to many outstanding women and two excep-
tional men. Without the women’s,movement, which provided the courage
and confirmation necessary for us even to contemplate a project of this
audacity, we could not have written this history. Without Murray D. List,
we would never have had such a successful partnership. He envisioned more
for us than we dared to hope for ourselves. Hugh Van Dusen, our editor and
publisher, never faltered in his trust and support for the project. Without his
quiet assurance over the years, and the help of his able assistant, Stephanie
Gunning, our task would have been much harder. The rest of our thanks are
separate.
Bonnie S. ANDERSON
As a woman who came to work in women’s history in the early 1970s, I
have been fortunate to be part of the supportive and sustaining networks of
feminist scholars that make New York City such a marvelous place to be. The
Curriculum Committee of the Columbia University Women’s Liberation
Movement enabled me to become a feminist; the CCWHP (Coordinating
Committee of Women in the Historical Profession), New York City branch,
enabled me to become a feminist historian of women. There I met Joan Kelly,
whose vision and energy were inspiring. She supported this project in its early
stages, as she nurtured so many other endeavors in women’s history. Her
scholarship helped shape my own and I have missed her deeply.
The New School of Liberal Arts and the Women’s Studies Program at
Brooklyn College first provided me with an academic home in which I could
teach women’s history and meet with other feminist scholars. During the