Here's a dash of inspiration for all you frozen chicas out there!
Eve's Resurrection Issue
PowerChick
IS: (Drumroll, please....)
Charlotte Perkins Gilman:
Literary Diva Extraordinaire!
Vitals:
- Born: Hartford, Conneticut, 1860.
- First Pangs of Feminism: When Charlotte's father left her family, her mother decided to raise her child by herself, ignoring the Victorian taboo on divorce.
- What Changed Her Life: Charlotte married Charles Walter Stetson at the age of 23. She gave birth to a daughter, Katherine, in 1884. Unable to live a domestic life, she suffered a nervous breakdown.
- Creative Angst: Her short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper," (1899) was a largely-autobiographical account of her mental illness as well as her feelings of entrapment during her marriage.
- Distinguishing Work: In 1898, Charlotte published "Women and Economics," explaining the crucial link between financial and political independence and women's liberation. Women and Economics is commonly referred to as the "Feminist Manifesto."
- Feminist Ideals: She believed that women should be confident, and self-sufficient as well as sensitive, co-operative and nurturing. She rejected typical "male" values like competition and greed. She expressed her ideas in the feminist utopian novel, Herland (1915).
- A Hidden Gem: While Charlotte's work was popular during her lifetime, her work was forgotten until a renewed interest in feminist literature in the 50's made her staple of women's studies courses.
- Other Causes: Charlotte was an adamant advocate of education. She believed that the true value of education was the love of knowledge; the way to achieve a feminist society was through feminist education.
- ActivistGrrl: Aside from publishing "The Forerunner," a magazine of poetry and social commentary, Charlotte supported the sufragette movement and founded the Women's Peace Party in 1915, with Jane Addams.
- The End:Charlotte was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1932. Three years later, she committed suicide.
- Cool Quote, from Herland--a man describes the all-female society he encounters: "You see, they had no wars. They had had no kings, and no priests, and no aristocracies. They were sisters, and as they grew, they grew together-not by competition, but by united action."
Other Charlotte Perkins Gilman Works:
- The Living of Charlotte Perkins Gilman(1935)
- Concerning Children (1900)
- With Her In Our Land (1914)
- Moving the Mountain (1911)
- The Man-Made World or Our Androcentric Culture (1911)
- The Home: Its Work and Influence (1903)
For more info on Charlotte Perkins Gilman, check out these sites:
-A Detailed Bio
-Charlotte Perkins Gilman and the Feminization of Education by Deborah M. DeSimone
-A Short Bio
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