The Reception of the Bluestockings by Eighteenth-Century German Women Writers

Abstract

Enlightenment Germany had no contemporary equivalent to the English Bluestocking circle: a network of well-regarded, scholarly women who sought to further women's interests through their social and literary activities. The impact of the Bluestockings and their writings on German women writers is assessed here for the first time, with specific reference to Sophie von La Roche (1730-1807) and Julie Clodius (1750-1805). La Roche and Clodius translated Bluestocking texts for the particular benefit of their countrywomen. They were careful to present their translations in a manner that would make them acceptable to their day while, crucially, not sacrificing all of the feminist ideals that the English texts express. (HB)