Ecofeminism aims to establish a community ecology that is sustainable for both human and nonhuman beings, deconstructing the oppressor/oppressed identities that are prevalent in patriarchal society. Anticipating this proposition of ecofeminism, Mary Austin, a woman who became everything-a nature writer, a playwright, a poet, a short-story writer, a novelist, as well as a social activist-inspired many other women of her generation as well as those in the contemporary world, laying the foundations of ecofeminism. She rejected the nineteenth-century middleclass conventions of True Womanhood and embraced the twentieth-century New Womanhood, feminism, and environmentalism, serving as a link between the centuries. She embroiled herself in activism for the Owens Valley water during the California Water Wars (1902-07), a series of controversies between the city of Los Angeles and the farmers of the valley about the acquisition of water rights of Owens Valley. With a view to portraying such an eventful chapter in American history and disseminating her ecofeminist land ethic, Austin wrote her 1917 novel The Ford, blending her female identity as an activist with her literary talents. As a proto-ecofeminist, she depicts in The Ford how land speculation deprives people of their most essential need, water. 1 Suggesting a harmonious relationship between rivers and their beneficiaries, she questions ownership to the land-as she criticizes the patriarchal hegemony over women-and proposes to utilize rivers to make a living, yet being aware of the possibilities and limits of the landscape. All in all, with The Ford, she hints at what occurs when this fragile understanding is broken, and how the abuse of the river leads to the destruction of ecological parameters. Born in 1868 in Carlinville, Illinois, as Mary Hunter, Mary Austin (1868-1934) graduated from college in 1888. Her mother, a widowed woman, decided to move her family to the West, where they established a homestead in the San Joaquin Valley in California. John P. O'Grady (1993, 123-125) views Mary Austin as a "reluctant pilgrim," who moved from a Midwestern town to the Southwest with her mother and brother against her will. The wild western wilderness, for her, was nothing like the green landscapes of the East, and definitely contradicted the virtues of the Cult of True Womanhood-piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity. Austin took the opportunity to design her own fate, which opposed social norms. In 1891, she married Stafford Wallace Austin, a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, and lived in Inyo and Mary Austin's proto-ecofeminist land ethic 41 Independent Counties. She poured her love and care for the land and its people into The Land of Little Rain (1903), a collection of short essays that discusses the Mojave Desert and its importance to indigenous peoples. Evoking an earlier version of ecofeminist spirituality, she gave life to the desert, viewing it as feminine, seductive, and bountiful, while calling for environmental conservation and the ...
Women's literary activity during the first two decades of the twentieth century, fuelled by the progressive spirit, served as a form of cultural lobbying through which they could articulate social and political problems and propose solutions. This article focuses on the struggle that enfranchised women by examining two long-forgotten suffrage novels, written in a period when grassroots activism, suffrage parades and house-to-house canvassing were a means of propaganda: Marietta Holley's Samantha on the Woman Question (1913) and Elia Peattie's The Precipice (1914). With her use of satire, Holley familiarizes her middle-class audience with women's suffrage and politics. By presenting the plight of different women in a vernacular style, Holley addresses the older generation of anti-suffragist women, illuminating how countless unfortunate women are oppressed by a political system that does not acknowledge their presence. On the other hand, in The Precipice, Elia Peattie appeals to the younger generation of New Women, portraying the life of a twentieth-century social reformer, who tries to balance her career as a municipal housekeeper with the traditional roles and values of her day. The article argues that both novels functioned as catalysts to bring about social change at a time when, on the federal level at least, women still could not vote or hold an elected office. Thus, even before women were enfranchised, these novels influenced the beliefs and opinions of female audiences, for whom reading fiction was a favourable pastime. Without marginalizing female protagonists or blatantly alienating readers by transgressing socially accepted gender norms, these authors were able to find a middle ground, successfully creating role models who try to change society from within. By rendering the New Woman unthreatening, they challenged the ideology of separate spheres and prepared the public for the great changes ahead.During the Progressive Era, a widespread concern over social justice unavoidably shaped American politics. Although progressive women played a prominent role in the regulatory policies enacted, they remained peripheral to the progressive movement as they had not attained their political rights-in particular, the right to vote. By virtue of their domestic roles as housekeepers and
Women's literary activity during the first two decades of the twentieth century, fuelled by the progressive spirit, served as a form of cultural lobbying through which they could articulate social and political problems and propose solutions. This article focuses on the struggle that enfranchised women by examining two long-forgotten suffrage novels, written in a period when grassroots activism, suffrage parades and house-to-house canvassing were a means of propaganda: Marietta Holley's Samantha on the Woman Question (1913) and Elia Peattie's The Precipice (1914). With her use of satire, Holley familiarizes her middle-class audience with women's suffrage and politics. By presenting the plight of different women in a vernacular style, Holley addresses the older generation of anti-suffragist women, illuminating how countless unfortunate women are oppressed by a political system that does not acknowledge their presence. On the other hand, in The Precipice, Elia Peattie appeals to the younger generation of New Women, portraying the life of a twentieth-century social reformer, who tries to balance her career as a municipal housekeeper with the traditional roles and values of her day. The article argues that both novels functioned as catalysts to bring about social change at a time when, on the federal level at least, women still could not vote or hold an elected office. Thus, even before women were enfranchised, these novels influenced the beliefs and opinions of female audiences, for whom reading fiction was a favourable pastime. Without marginalizing female protagonists or blatantly alienating readers by transgressing socially accepted gender norms, these authors were able to find a middle ground, successfully creating role models who try to change society from within. By rendering the New Woman unthreatening, they challenged the ideology of separate spheres and prepared the public for the great changes ahead.During the Progressive Era, a widespread concern over social justice unavoidably shaped American politics. Although progressive women played a prominent role in the regulatory policies enacted, they remained peripheral to the progressive movement as they had not attained their political rights-in particular, the right to vote. By virtue of their domestic roles as housekeepers and
Ecofeminism aims to establish a community ecology that is sustainable for both human and nonhuman beings, deconstructing the oppressor/oppressed identities that are prevalent in patriarchal society. Anticipating this proposition of ecofeminism, Mary Austin, a woman who became everything-a nature writer, a playwright, a poet, a short-story writer, a novelist, as well as a social activist-inspired many other women of her generation as well as those in the contemporary world, laying the foundations of ecofeminism. She rejected the nineteenth-century middleclass conventions of True Womanhood and embraced the twentieth-century New Womanhood, feminism, and environmentalism, serving as a link between the centuries. She embroiled herself in activism for the Owens Valley water during the California Water Wars (1902-07), a series of controversies between the city of Los Angeles and the farmers of the valley about the acquisition of water rights of Owens Valley. With a view to portraying such an eventful chapter in American history and disseminating her ecofeminist land ethic, Austin wrote her 1917 novel The Ford, blending her female identity as an activist with her literary talents. As a proto-ecofeminist, she depicts in The Ford how land speculation deprives people of their most essential need, water. 1 Suggesting a harmonious relationship between rivers and their beneficiaries, she questions ownership to the land-as she criticizes the patriarchal hegemony over women-and proposes to utilize rivers to make a living, yet being aware of the possibilities and limits of the landscape. All in all, with The Ford, she hints at what occurs when this fragile understanding is broken, and how the abuse of the river leads to the destruction of ecological parameters. Born in 1868 in Carlinville, Illinois, as Mary Hunter, Mary Austin (1868-1934) graduated from college in 1888. Her mother, a widowed woman, decided to move her family to the West, where they established a homestead in the San Joaquin Valley in California. John P. O'Grady (1993, 123-125) views Mary Austin as a "reluctant pilgrim," who moved from a Midwestern town to the Southwest with her mother and brother against her will. The wild western wilderness, for her, was nothing like the green landscapes of the East, and definitely contradicted the virtues of the Cult of True Womanhood-piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity. Austin took the opportunity to design her own fate, which opposed social norms. In 1891, she married Stafford Wallace Austin, a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, and lived in Inyo and Mary Austin's proto-ecofeminist land ethic 41 Independent Counties. She poured her love and care for the land and its people into The Land of Little Rain (1903), a collection of short essays that discusses the Mojave Desert and its importance to indigenous peoples. Evoking an earlier version of ecofeminist spirituality, she gave life to the desert, viewing it as feminine, seductive, and bountiful, while calling for environmental conservation and the ...
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.