Could one say that novels were busy with women in the 18th century? Was there an increase to write about women?
In the novel of the 18th century, women appeared as a common focus. But what changed in the 18th century that women could suddenly be written about? This does not mean that women have never been written before; They were simply not written extensively about it.
One main reason for this change was the result of socio -economic transformations in the 18th century. This includes the institution of marriage, the in -depth class distinction, religion and growth in pressure culture. All of these transformations influenced the broad category of “women”, especially their presentation in the period of time.
A “new” woman
These novels were strongly about ideas of “social behavior” and “virtue”, which were two concepts that were strongly connected to women, especially during this time. These were not new ideas in themselves; In fact, they were also widespread in the 16th century (and to this day). However, what changed in the 18th century was the reaction to these ideas. Many novels during this time showed a comparatively “freer” woman who had a certain level of agency and was not as suppressed as in the 16th century or before. This agency was often portrayed as a woman under the lower class who married a man out of the upper class and thus obtained mobility to the social leaders.
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However, what is ironic is that most of these women were privileged in many ways, e.g. where they have strong morality and own virtue.
It is clear through the plot and the form of writing that these women were “superior” and the control over themselves were depicted, but they were actually caused to keep the same ideals they had to do before. The only difference was that they were not shown as shown “Dangerous” or a “threat” to society; They were depicted as “free”, but they were made to comply with more or less the same norms that they had to comply with before.
According to Marlene Legates, this method is a “new reaction to the old problem”, the old “problem” is the sexuality of women and how to control it. This view came from Denker after the Enlightenment, which meant that ideas of purity and chastity together with Christianity were closely linked and connected to the behavior of women. The legates also mentioned that these thinkers considered women to be “sexually unstable”, but at the same time tried to give them more autonomy more than earlier centuries. The woman was now “modernized”, but not to the extent to which she was overwhelmed by the broader, largely patriarchal system that had been founded and practiced by men.
An example of this can be observed in Pamela; Or, virtue rewarded, which was written by Samuel Richardson. Pamela Andrews, the fifteen -year -old protagonist, keeps sexual intercourse with Mr. B (her employer, who is much older) until after marriage to Mr. B (her employer, who is much older). For the reader, the presentation is so framed that she could “control” herself and exercise her power to prevent Mr. B from taking her virginity until she wanted it. However, your character is simply made to succumb to the ideas of morality, virtue and behavior, which state that sexual intercourse should only take place after marriage.
Men write women
Although women were often the protagonists and it was their story that the readers normally followed, they were almost always written in relation to men. In view of the fact that most of these novels have become popular by men, this visibilization and invisibility of women were not surprising. However, it would be wrong to generalize a deliberate involvement of women in these novels, as writers like Daniel Defoe existed, who had quite radical ideas for the time. In his newspaper Defoe, John Crawford quoted Defoe as a difference between the sexes. He wrote that Defoe questioned the fact that if God does not distinguish between the sexes: “Why should man?”
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The narrator’s voice, the nature of the character and how she thinks in cases of men who write about women would come from predicted ideas of a woman who either wish or criticize society. This can be seen as a way to make women about women or about how women were seen by society during this time. These novels lead to a representation of how the sexuality of women under the guise of “self -control” was checked when it was almost always imposed on them.
In John Cleland’s Fanny Hill; Or memoirs of a woman of pleasureFor example, Fanny Hill experiences sexual attacks by Miss Phoebe (her employer) at the beginning of the novel. The former was sexualized and depicted as if she were enjoying it. Fanny’s reaction was not an immediate paralysis or fear or horror; It was a slight confusion. In addition, writing this scene showed it as if it were even enjoying or trying to enjoy the act, which is an extremely unusual reaction to express it. The aim is to emphasize that the author has taken a freedom to take over a comfortable undisturbed reaction from a woman to her attack.
Finally, although novels had women as protagonists in the 18th century, they were not necessarily “represented” as a group of people who asked for equality with men in various areas of society. There was also only a fraction of “women” who occupied space in these novels. Although it was not completely ignored, the class became most often a convenient point of action. There were ways how the woman was used as a central figure to repeat the hierarchy of power between men and women. During this time, a visibility was awarded by men who could have supported them in a way, but also involve their real concerns in a way. Her private life was made so public that both balls of their lives seemed to be dictated by men and the patriarchal structure.