Women and the Alphabet: A Series of Essays

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Higginson, Thomas Wentworth, 1823-1911

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"Woman and the Alphabet: A Series of Essays" by Thomas Wentworth Higginson is a collection of essays written in the late 19th century that engages with the educational and social status of women. The essays explore themes such as women's rights, education, and the societal expectations surrounding femininity. Higginson argues for women's access to education, using the metaphor of the "alphabet" to represent knowledge and power, thereby advocating for women's liberation and equality in a world that has traditionally relegated them to subordinate roles. At the start of this collection, Higginson introduces his first essay, "Ought Women to Learn the Alphabet?" by referencing a satirical proposal from Napoleon's time, which humorously suggested that women should be prohibited from learning to read and write. He critiques the historical injustices women have faced due to societal perceptions of their inferiority and academia's neglect to recognize women as equals. Higginson discusses the pressures and prejudices that have historically kept women from accessing knowledge, emphasizing the need for change and encouraging women to aspire to and claim their rightful place in society. The beginning effectively sets the tone for a critical examination of gender roles and advocates for the intellectual advancement of women, establishing a foundation for the essays that follow. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Contents:

Ought women to learn the alphabet?

Physiology

Temperament

The home

Society

Study and work

Principles of government

Suffrage

Objections to suffrage.

Credits:

E-text prepared by Judith B. Glad and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team

Notes:

Reading ease score: 62.8 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read.

Release date is 2004-09-15