Lives of their own : rhetorical dimensions in autobiographies of women activists / Martha Watson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Watson, Martha, 1941-

Series:

Studies in rhetoric/communication

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Autobiography--Women authors.

Autobiography.

Biography as a literary form.

Women social reformers--United States--Biography.

Women social reformers.

United States.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

x, 149 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Columbia, S.C. : University of South Carolina Press, [1999]

Summary:

Lives of Their Own tells of the written life stories of Frances Willard, Anna Howard Shaw, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Emma Goldman, and Mary Church Terrell. Although they were not among the first women to cut a path into the mainstream of American life or the only women of their era to lead movements for social change, they were among the first to publish narratives of their lives. Martha Watson provides glimpses not only of the women themselves but also of the autobiographical genre as a dimension of public rhetorical discourse.

Watson examines the experiences that motivated these "new women" to break social and rhetorical barriers in writing their life stories, the impact of their activism and public reputations on the autobiographies, and the readership -- both supportive and skeptical -- for their works. Linking the autobiographies to the development of a feminine consciousness, she suggests that the activists used the writings to assert themselves as women and to articulate a model of selfhood for others to emulate.

In addition, Watson looks closely at the autobiographies as extensions of public advocacy that complemented the more explicitly agitative and argumentative discourse of these women on behalf of their respective causes. She examines how they defended their ideological commitments, dealt with the sometimes competing goals of championing a movement and writing a compelling narrative, and negotiated the boundaries of "womanliness" in their efforts to garner support for their convictions.

Contents:

Autobiographies as persuasion : a rhetorical perspective on personal historical narratives

The nature of autobiography

Emma Goldman as a liberated woman : a feminist writes an anarchist life

Frances Willard as protector of the home : the progressive, divinely inspired woman / James Kimble

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Anna Howard Shaw as womanly leaders : consciousness, commitment, and character

Mary Church Terrell as a colored woman in a white world : demonstration and evidence in autobiography

When and where I enter : autobiographies as public rhetoric.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 136-144) and index.

ISBN:

1570032009

OCLC:

38055838