After a painting by F. Padilla.
]
In the literature of the 19th Century =Anne Louise Germaine Necker,
Baroness de Stael-Holstein=, held a singular position. Many of her
contemporaries exalted her as “the founder of the romantic movement” who
gave “ideas” to the world. To-day she is almost forgotten, and her
novels and plays, among them “Corinne” and “Sophie and Jane Grey” lie
undisturbed and dusty on the library shelves.
Perhaps her most remarkable contribution to literature was her book
“L’Allemagne,” which was announced in 1810. It gave a most intelligent
exposition of the science, literature, arts, philosophy, and other
characteristics of the Germans, gathered from the author’s own
observations. The work, written with a spirited independence, quite at
variance with the deadening political influence of Napoleon, irritated
the emperor to such a degree that he ordered the minister of police to
seize and destroy the whole edition of 10,000 copies. Besides this he
exiled the author from France. When, after the overthrow of Napoleon,
she returned to Paris, she had her book printed again, and had the
satisfaction of seeing it eagerly read by millions of Frenchmen.
Of all French authoresses of the 19th Century =Armantine Lucile Aurore
Dudevant=, or “=George Sand=,” holds the supreme rank. In the long line
of her thoughtful, concentrated and meditative novels “Valentine,”
“Indiana,” “Lelia,” “Mauprat,” and “Le Meunier d’ Angibault” are real
gems of fiction, whose influence can be traced in many later works by
writers of France and other nations.
Of her contemporaries =Louise Révoil Colet=, =Eugenie de Guérin=,
=Pauline de la Ferronay Craven=, and, above all, =Delphine de Girardin=
must be mentioned, whose “Letters Parisiennes” as well as her poems,
novels, dramas and comedies belong to the most excellent productions of
the 19th Century. By her dramatic pieces “L’Ecole des Journalistes,”
“Judith,” “Cleopatra,” “C’est la faute du mari,” “Lady Tartufe,” and
others she reaped a wide popularity. In the literary society of her time
she exercised no small personal influence. Balzac, Alfred de Musset,
Gautier, and Victor Hugo were among the frequenters of her salon.
* * * * *
Among the British woman writers of the latter part of the 18th Century
=Jane Austen= was the most distinguished. Her novels “Sense and
Sensibility,” “Pride and Prejudice,” “Emma,” “Northanger Abbey” and
“Persuasion” have been likened to the carefully-executed paintings of
the Dutch masters for their charming pictures of quiet, natural life.
=Ann Ward Radcliffe= wrote three novels unsurpassed of their kind in
English literature: “The Romance of the Forest,” “The Mysteries of
Udolpho,” and “The Italian.” They are distinguished for originality,
ingenuity of plot, fertility of incident, and skill in devising
apparently supernatural occurrences capable of explanation by human
agency and natural coincidence.
=Mary Russell Mitford= edited several volumes of sketches of rural
character and scenery, delightful and finished in style, and unrivalled
in her manner of description. It is by these sketches of English life
that she obtained the greatest share of her popularity. She wrote also
an opera called “Sadak and Kalasrade,” and four tragedies, “Julian,”
“Foscari,” “Rienzi,” and “Charles the First.” All were successful;
“Rienzi,” in particular, long continued a favorite.
=Elizabeth Inchbald’s= two novels “The Simple Story” and “Nature and
Art,” have long ranked among standard works. Besides novels she wrote a
number of dramas, some of which were very successful.
=Maria Edgeworth= published a new work almost every year from the
beginning of the 19th Century to 1825. The novels “Castle Rackrent,”
“Belinda,” “Vivian.” “Harrington and Ormond,” and many others followed
each other rapidly, and all were welcomed and approved by the public.
Her best and last work of fiction, “Helen,” appeared in 1834.
=Mary Shelley=, the wife of the famous poet Percy Shelley, is renowned
as the author of the romances “Frankenstein,” “Valperga, or the Life and
Adventures of Castruccio, Prince of Lucca”; “Falkner”; “Lodore,” and
“The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck.” A most peculiar work is “The Last
Men,” a fiction of the final agonies of human society owing to the
universal spread of pestilence.
Among the dramatists of the 19th Century =Joanna Baillie= was the
foremost. In her “Plays of Passion” she illustrates each of the deepest
and strongest passions of the human mind, such as Hate, Love, Jealousy,
Fear, by a tragedy and a comedy. Other dramas were “The Family Legend”;
“Henriquez”; “The Separation,” and other plays, which show remarkable
power of analysis, and observation. They are all written in vigorous
style.
Of the numerous novelists of the 19th Century =Charlotte Bronté= was
received with universal delight. Her novels “Jane Eyre,” “Shirley” and
“Villette” have all the vigor and individuality of poetic genius. She
was “a star-like soul, whose genius followed no tradition and left no
successors.”
=Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell= will be remembered for her intensely
interesting books “Mary Barton,” “North and South,” the exquisitely
humorous “Cranford,” and “Cousin Phyllis,” which has been fitly called
an idyll in prose.
The prolific =Catherine Grace Gore= gives in the novels “The Banker’s
Wife,” “Cecil, or the Adventures of a Coxcomb,” “Greville,” and
“Ormington,” masterful pictures of the life and pursuits of the English
upper classes.
=Caroline Elizabeth Norton=, after having given in her novel “The
Undying One” a version of the legend of the Wandering Jew, became in her
book “A voice from the Factories” a most eloquent priestess of reforms.
She condemned especially child labor, the darkest blot on the social
conditions of England.
In the middle of the 19th Century =Mary A. Evans= became famous under
her nom de plume “=George Eliot=.” Having translated in 1844 David
Strauss’ brilliant work “Das Leben Jesu,” and Spinoza’s “Ethics,” she
published in 1858 her novel “Adam Bede,” which placed her at once in the
front rank of modern authors. Her later novels “The Mill on the Floss,”
“Silas Marner,” “Romola” and “Felix Holt” proved so many contributions
to her fame.
In recent times the works of =Mary Edgeworth=, =Charlotte R. Lenox=,
=Anne M. Fielding Hall=, =Mary Braddon=, =Elizabeth Sheppard=, =Louise
de la Ramée= (Ouida), =Matilde Blind=, =Anna Seward= and =Charlotte M.
Younge= have won much appreciation.
Of the woman-authors born in Scotland, =Margaret Oliphant= wrote
“Chronicles of Carlingford” and the charming novels “Merkland”; “The
Quiet Heart”; “Zaidee,” all of which are exquisite delineations of
Scottish life and character. Another Scottish woman-author deserving of
mention is =Mary Ferrier=, whose novels “Marriage,” “The Inheritance,”
and “Destiny” breathe much originality and humor.
Of the Irish novelists =Julia Kavanagh= and =Margaret Hamilton
Hungerford= must be mentioned, the former for her volumes “French Women
of Letters”; and “English Women of Letters,” as well as for her novels
“Adele”; “The Pearl Fountain”; “Sibyl’s Second Love”; and “Daisy Burns.”
Marg. Hungerford’s novel “Molly Brown” has been much admired.
=Mary Augusta Ward=, born in Tasmania, became favorably known through
her principal novel “Robert Elsmere,” which delineates effectively the
modern spiritual unrest and attempts to proclaim an ideal religion.
Another noteworthy author of Tasmania is =Louisa Anne Meredith=.
England has of course also a long roll of able poetesses, among them
=Sarah Flower Adams=, who wrote the beautiful hymn “Nearer, My God, to
Thee.” =Alison Cockburn=, =Anne Barnard= and =Caroline Oliphant= are the
authors of many fine Scotch songs and ballads, among them the famous
poems “Flowers of the Forest” and “Auld Robin Gray.”
In recognition of the grace and delicacy of her lyrics =Elizabeth
Barrett Browning= has been called “the most distinguished poet of her
sex that England ever produced,” but at the same time “the most
unreadable.” Her fame rests chiefly on her “Drama of Exile,” the “Casa
Guidi Windows,” and “Aurora Leigh.” The latter is a social epic, which
contains many noble passages that give evidence of great originality and
power.
=Sarah Coleridge= has been much admired for the gracefulness and the
beautiful language of her poems “Phantasmion, a Fairy Tale”; “Sylvan
Stay,” and “One Face Alone.”
The poems of =Felicia Hemans= have been the result of a fine imagination
and temperament, and of a life spent in romantic seclusion. Many of
them, as for instance “Homes of England,” “The Treasures of the Deep,”
“The Better Land,” and “The Wreck” rank among the best ever produced.
=Adelaide Ann Proctor=, =Catherine Fowler Philips=, =Christina Rosetti=,
=Mary Blackford Tighe=, and =Caroline Oliphant= have been the
authoresses of many poems, still cherished for their beauty and nobility
of thought.
The United Kingdom has also several woman historians, among them
=Catharine Macaulay=, whose “History of England,” in six volumes,
appeared in 1763.
The love and reverence she was taught from childhood to cherish for the
queens of her country induced =Miss Agnes Strickland=, of Roydon Hall,
Suffolk, to write her great work “The Lives of the Queens of England.”
Its twelve volumes appeared at intervals from 1840 till 1848. In 1850
she began to publish a similar series about the “Lives of the Queens of
Scotland,” completing it in eight volumes in 1859. Unresting in her
industry, she wrote likewise “The Lives of the Last Four Stuart
Princesses,” published in 1872.
=Harriet Martineau= too deserves an honorable place among English women
of letters. Her series of tales designed as “Illustrations of Political
Economy” and “Illustrations of Taxation” brought her at once into great
prominence. Later on she produced an amazing quantity of works, relating
to the laws of man’s nature and development, mesmerism, travel, and
other subjects.
* * * * *
In American literature woman’s activity began with =Anne Bradstreet=,
the daughter of Governor Bradstreet of Massachusetts. To him she
dedicated the first volume of poetry published on the Western
hemisphere. Printed in 1642, it had the somewhat verbose title: “Several
Poems, compiled with great variety of wit and learning, full of delight;
wherein especially is contained a complete discourse and description of
the four elements, constitutions, ages of man, seasons of the year,
together with an exact epitome of the three first monarchies, viz.: the
Assyrian, Persian, Greecian, and Roman Commonwealth, from the beginning
to the end of their last king, with divers other pleasant and serious
poems. By a Gentlewoman of New England.” Three editions of this
collection appeared.
Of several poems, directed to her husband, we give the following lines:
“If ever two were one, then surely we;
If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;
If ever wife were happy in a man,
Compare with me, ye women, if ye can!”
=Hannah Adams=, born in 1755, was the first American woman who made
literature her profession. Interested in religious controversy she
compiled a “View of Religions,” in three parts. After that she wrote
“Evidences of Christianity,” a “History of the Jews,” and a “History of
New England.” As far as pecuniary matters went, she was, however,
singularly unsuccessful, probably from her want of knowledge of
business, and ignorance in worldly matters. At the time when she was
engaged in compiling her books, so rare were woman-writers in America,
that she was looked upon as one of the wonders of her age.
In 1790 appeared a novel, “Charlotte Temple,” a story of love, betrayal,
and desertion, by =Mrs. Susanna Haswell Rowson=, a book of which more
than a hundred editions are known.
With the beginning of the 19th Century the number of American
authoresses increased rapidly. =Catharine= and =Susan Sedgwick= wrote
their “New England Tales,” which were received with such favor, that
Catharine in 1824 published a novel in two volumes, entitled “Redwood,”
a work which met with great success, was republished in England, and
translated into French and Italian. It was followed by a large number of
other novels, which were greatly appreciated for their purity of
language and grace of style.
Somewhat later =Lydia Maria Child= developed as one of the first and
foremost progressive writers. Having commenced her literary life with
“Hobomok, a Story of the Pilgrims,” she later on devoted herself to the
cause of woman and the abolition of slavery. She wrote a “History of
Woman,” which was followed in 1833 by a strong “Appeal for that Class of
Americans Called Africans,” the first anti-slavery work ever printed in
book form in America. In 1841 she moved to New York and assisted her
husband in editing “The National Anti-Slavery Standard.”
As is very generally known, her contemporary, =Harriet Beecher Stowe=,
too, was interested in the question of abolition. In 1850 she wrote for
the “National Era,” an anti-slavery paper, a serial entitled “Uncle
Tom’s Cabin.” When this novel was republished in book form it met with
tremendous success. In the United States between 300,000 and 400,000
copies were sold within three years, and the printing press had to run
day in and out to meet the demand. In Europe the book was devoured with
the same deep interest. There are thirty-five different editions in
English, and translations in at least twenty different languages. As the
novel was also dramatized in various forms, it became a great factor in
the abolishment of slavery.
Of the later stories by Mrs. Stowe “The Minister’s Wooing,” a tale of
New England life in the latter part of the 18th Century, has been
pronounced to be her best. But her reputation, while it lasts, will rest
chiefly upon “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”
=Sarah Margaret Fuller= too belongs to those authors who espoused the
cause of woman’s rights. In “The Dial,” a little quarterly journal, the
organ of the transcendentalists and of the famous community at Brook
Farm, she first published “The Great Lawsuit.” It formed the nucleus of
a larger volume entitled “Woman in the Nineteenth Century.” Far in
advance of the ideas of her times, it is with its noble sentiments and
valuable hints a spirited plea for the rights of the female sex.
=Elizabeth Ellet= is favorably known for her valuable work “The Women of
the American Revolution,” published in 1848 in three volumes. It was
followed in 1850 by the “Domestic History of the American Revolution,”
designed to give an inside view into the spirit of that period, and to
describe the social and domestic conditions of the colonists and their
feelings during the war.
=Ann Sophia Stephens=, and =Emma D. Southworth= were likewise immensely
popular fiction writers during the first half of the 19th Century. So
was =Maria S. Cummins=, who in “The Lamplighter” achieved a success
comparable to that of Mrs. Stowe’s “Uncle Tom.”
The many short stories and novels of =Mary Virginia Terhune=, who wrote
under the pseudonym of Marion Harland; the romances of =Harriet Prescott
Spofford=, =Miriam Coles Harris=, =Elizabeth Barstow Stoddard=, and
=Adeline Whitney=, are now almost forgotten. Also the novels of =Lydia
Sigourney= of Norwich, Connecticut, who holds the record of being one of
the most prolific female writers in America. She produced not less than
fifty-seven volumes, among them “Letters to Mothers”; “Water-Drops,” a
contribution to the temperance-cause; “Pleasant Memories in Pleasant
Lands”; “Pocahontas”; and “Traits of the Aborigines of America,” a
descriptive poem in five cantos.
=Elizabeth Stuart Phelps= enjoyed with her “Sunny Side” and other tales
a phenomenal success. Her daughter, =Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward=, was
in her time regarded as the greatest American woman novelist, who has
most influenced the women of the United States. “The Silent Partner”;
“Hedged In”; “Dr. Zay”; “The Story of Avis” as almost all other stories
of the Phelps are laid in New England and exquisitely describe its
nature, past, and present conditions.
=Jane Goodwin Austin=, =Rose Terry Cooke=, =Annie Trumbull Slosson=,
=Clara Louise Burnham=, =Alice Brown= and =Mary E. Wilkins Freeman=
belong also to the woman-authors whose works deal with colonial and
present-day life in the New England States.
Of the woman-authors, who realized the possibilities of the romantic
life and history of the early settlers and pioneers, =Mary Johnston= and
=Mary Hartwell Catherwood= were the most successful. To the former we
are indebted for the romances “Prisoners of Hope,” and “To Have and to
Hold”; to the latter for the novels “The Lady of Fort St. John,” “The
White Islander,” “Old Kaskaskia,” “Lazarre” and others.
Under the pen name of Charles Egbert Craddock =Mary Noailles Murfree=
published a series of highly interesting short stories “In the Tennessee
Mountains.” Displaying an intimate knowledge of the mountaineers of
Eastern Tennessee, and full of life, these stories attracted at once
wide attention. They were followed later on by a large number of other
novels, of which “The Prophet of the Great Smoky Mountains,” “In the
Clouds,” “The Frontiersmen” and “The Storm Centre” have secured to Miss
Murfree a place of honor among present-day writers.
=Alice French= under her well-known pen name Octave Thanet sketched in
her short stories life in Iowa and Arkansas; =Ruth McEnery Stuart= wrote
amusing stories of negro life in Louisiana.
=Gertrude Franklin Atherton= achieved a wide reputation with her
charming romances of early Californian life, among which “The
Doomswoman” and “The Californians” are the most remarkable. Of her later
novels “The Conqueror” and “A Whirl Asunder” need to be mentioned.
=Mary Hallock Foote=, having likewise studied the conditions of the Far
West, in her admirable stories “The Led-Horse Claim,” “Cœur d’Alene,”
and “The Chosen Valley” carries the reader into the romance of Western
mining camps and of the virgin wilderness.
=Helen Hunt Jackson=, whose literary productions, over the signature “H.
H.,” began to attract attention about 1870, offered a truly native
flower to American literature in her poetic book “Ramona.” Intensely
alive and involving the reader in its movement, it yet contains an idyl
of singular loveliness. “Ramona,” says Helen J. Cone in an essay about
American literature, “stands as the most finished, though not the most
striking, example that what American women have done notably in
literature they have done nobly.”
The various works of =Constance Fenimore Woolson=, a grand-niece of
Fenimore Cooper, also enjoyed general approval. In her best known
novels: “East Angels,” “Jupiter Lights,” and “Horace Chase” she attained
a high standard of excellence.
=Frances Hodgson Burnett= created in her book “Through One
Administration” a pathetic story of the intricate political life in
Washington. Furthermore she gave in “Louisiana” and in “The Pretty
Sister of José” charming pictures of Southern conditions.
=Mrs. Burton N. Harrison= and =Edith Wharton= delighted their many
readers with highly interesting novels and short stories of New York
City Life, full of local color. Of the former author’s works “The
Anglomaniacs,” “Golden Rod,” and “The Circle of a Century” show her
great skill in the dialogue. Of the many novels and short stories of
Miss Wharton “The House of Mirth,”, “The Greater Inclination,”
“Sanctuary,” and “Crucial Instances” are perhaps the best.
Among the American novelists of our present days =Margaret Deland= is
without question one of the most popular. Her novels “John Ward,”
“Sidney,” “Tommy Dove,” “Philip and His Wife,” “The Wisdom of Fools,”
“Dr. Lavendar’s People,” and “The Awakening of Helen Richie” rank among
the best in American fiction.
The literary work of =Anna Katherine Green=, =Kate Douglas Wiggins=,
=Molly Elliot Seawell=, =Ellen Glasgow=, =Mary Shipman Andrews=, =Leona
Dalrymple=, =Margaret Sherwood=, and many other woman authors, excellent
as much as it is, can only be referred to summarily.
To enrol the names of those American women who since the days of Anne
Bradstreet have expressed their thoughts and emotions in poetry, would
be a task far exceeding the limits of this volume. Confining ourselves
to the most noteworthy, we mention first the sisters =Alice= and =Phœbe
Cary=. Among their many splendid poems and novels “Hualco, a Romance of
the Golden Age of Tezcuco,” is founded upon adventures of a young
Mexican chief, as related by several Spanish historians of the time of
the conquest. Of Alice Cary exist several hymns, one of which is almost
a classic in the purity of its sentiment.
The poetic spirit of =Julia Ward Howe= found expression in “Passion
Flowers” (1854) and “Lyrics” (1866). Her most memorable poem is the
“Battle Hymn of the Republic,” which breathes fervent patriotism and
gives expression to the deep moral purpose of the Civil War.
The poetry of =Helen Jackson= unquestionably takes rank above that of
any American woman. Emerson rated it above that of almost all American
men. Her works include simple poetry of domestic life as well as
love-poems of extraordinary intensity and imaginative fullness,
furthermore, verses showing most intimate sympathy with external nature;
and lastly, a few poems of the highest dignity and melody in the nature
of odes, such as “A Christmas Symphony” and “A Funeral March.”
The numerous lyrics of =Elizabeth Oakes Smith=, =E. O. Kinney=, =Frances
S. Osgood=, =Anne L. Botta=, =Sarah Helen Whitman=, =Maria Lowell=,
=Harriet W. Sewall=, =Emily Judson= and many other women poets of the
last half century show a development corresponding to that traceable in
the field of American fiction.
In recent times a large number of gifted women have contributed to the
general chorus new notes of unusual strength and beauty. Many names
deserve a place upon the honor roll; among them =Margaret J. Preston=,
=Elizabeth Allen=, =Julia Dorr=, =Mary E. Bradley=, =Nora Perry=, =Mary
C. Hudson=, =Margaret Sangster=, =Charlotte Bates=, =May Riley Smith=,
=Edna Dean Proctor=, =Elizabeth Stuart Phelps=, =Alice Wellington
Rollins=, =Edith Thomas=, =Emma Lazarus=, =Kate Osgood=, and =Ella
Wheeler Wilcox=.
In other branches of literature, to which comparatively few women have
chosen to devote themselves, as for instance in history, several
American women have shown remarkable talent and thoroughness.
First among these historians stands =Mrs. Mercy Otis Warren=, the same
who with Mrs. Abigail Smith Adams, the wife of President John Adams,
shared the belief that the Declaration of Independence should consider
not the freedom of man alone, but that of woman also. Having warmly
entered the contest between England and America, Mrs. Warren had
corresponded with many of the leading men of the time; these often
consulted her, and acknowledged the soundness of her judgment on many of
the important events before and after the war. The most valuable of her
writings appeared in 1805, under the title “The History of the Rise,
Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution, interspersed with
Biographical, Political, and Moral Observations.” The three volumes of
this work, dedicated to George Washington, are valuable as a true record
of the events and feelings of those great times.
To =Martha Lamb= the citizens of the metropolis on the Hudson River are
indebted for a comprehensive “History of New York City.” =Agnes Laut=
penned a series of articles about the discovery of the farthest
Northwest. =Ellen Mackay Hutchinson= compiled with Edmund Clarence
Stedman “A Library of American Literature,” which in 1888 appeared in
ten volumes; it shows excellent judgment, knowledge and care. =Ida
Tarbell= produced among many other works a “Life of Abraham Lincoln” and
an exceedingly interesting “History of the Standard Oil Company.”
=Katherine Coman= published the “Industrial History of the United
States.”
“A Century of Dishonor” is the title of a sensational book, written by
=Helen Hunt Jackson=, and published in 1881. During her extensive
travels in the Far West the author became deeply interested in the much
maltreated Indians. Disgusted by the shameless robberies and lawless
acts committed by many Indian Agents on the reservations, Mrs. Jackson
wrote her book, which is one of the strongest indictments ever directed
against the Government. Through this volume she succeeded in doing much
to ameliorate the unfortunate conditions of the Red Race.
=Mrs. John A. Logan= compiled a valuable volume, entitled “The Part
taken by Women in American History.”
Woman’s status in the laws of the forty-eight states belonging to the
United States of America has been treated by =Rose Falls Bres= in the
valuable book “The Law and the Woman,” published in 1917 at New York.
The great movement for Women Suffrage found of course likewise its
historians. Four of the most prominent leaders and best authorities:
=Elizabeth Cady Stanton=, =Susan B. Anthony=, =Matilda Joslyn Gage=, and
=Ida Husted Harper= combined for the difficult task of collecting,
sifting, and putting together the immense mass of material. Their
“History of Woman Suffrage,” published in five huge volumes, is not only
a noble record, but at the same time a magnificent monument to women’s
courage, indefatigability and perseverance.
A considerable number of women have also contributed to the literature
about suffrage, social culture, labor questions, and kindred subjects.
=Anna G. Spencer= produced the book “Woman’s Share in Social Culture”;
=Charlotte P. Gilman= devoted a volume to “Home” and a second volume to
“Woman and Economics”; =Alice M. Earle= described “Childlife in Colonial
Times”; =Ellen Key= gave a study of “Love and Marriage”; =Mary Eastman=
published “Woman’s Work in America”; =Olive Schreiner= wrote “Woman and
Labor,” and =Elisabeth Butler= “Woman in the Trades.” To =Jane Addams=
the world is indebted for several well written works, among them:
“Democracy and Social Ethics”; “The Spirit of Youth”; “An Ancient Evil
and a New Conscience,” and “New Ideals of Peace.” She gave a record of
her great settlement work in Chicago in her delightful book “Twenty
Years at Hull House.”
* * * * *
For many centuries the Germans have been known as great writers, poets
and philosophers. Perhaps no other nation has contributed so much to the
world’s literature. Before the unfortunate year of 1914 the annual
output of Germany in works of science, art, philosophy, technics and
fiction far surpassed that of any other country, even that of France,
Great Britain and America combined.
In these contributions German women have a conspicuous share. Their
great interest in this line of activity can be traced back to the early
days of the Middle Ages, when nuns like =Hroswitha= glorified the deeds
of great emperors, or, like the =Abbess of Hohenburg=, undertook the
bold enterprise of compiling a cyclopædia of general knowledge.
Germany had also the first periodicals for women, the earliest dating
back to 1644, much read and patronized by the members of the gentle sex.
Its title “Frauenzimmer-Gesprächspiele” (“Playful discussion for
ladies”) indicates that it was devoted exclusively to matters of the
“eternal feminine.”
A similar periodical was “Die vernünftigen Tadlerinnen” (“The reasonable
fault-finders”), edited by Johann Christoph Gottsched, professor of
philosophy and poetry at the University at Leipzig. The most faithful of
his assistants and collaborators was his wife, known in German
literature as =Louise Adelgunde Gottschedin=. To the “Deutsche
Schaubühne,” likewise published by her husband, she contributed several
translations of French Dramas and five comedies of her own, which are
still of interest as they illustrate the manners of the time, the middle
of the 18th Century.
=Meta Moller=, the wife of the famous poet Klopstock, =Friedericke C.
Neuber=, and =Rahel Levin=, the wife of the historian Varnhagen von
Ense, made similar use of their great literary abilities. The salon of
Mrs. Varnhagen in Berlin from 1814 to 1830 was the meeting place for the
most celebrated intellects of Germany, among them Humboldt, Fichte,
Schleiermacher, von Kleist, and Heinrich Heine.
The great poetess =Annette von Droste-Hülshoff= (1797–1848) wrote a most
powerful novel, “Die Judenbuche”, which is based on the belief that
murderers are forced by a mysterious power to return to the scene of
their crimes.
The prolific but now almost forgotten writers =Karoline Pichler=,
=Henriette Paalzow=, =Otilie Wildermut=, Countess =Ida Hahn-Hahn=,
=Fanny Lewald= and =Louise Mühlbach= were followed in the second part of
the 19th Century by =Eugenie John=, better known under her nom de plume
=Marlitt=. Her novels “Das Geheimniss der alten Mamsell” (“Old
Mamselle’s Secret”), “Heideprinzesschen” (“The Princess of the Moor”),
“Gold Else” (“Gold Elsie”) and others met with tremendous success and
have been in translations also enjoyed by many English and American
readers.
With like enthusiasm the women of Germany read the novels of =Wilhelmine
Heimburg=, =Louise von Francois= (“Die letzte Reckenburgerin”) and
=Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach=. The latter is regarded as the greatest of
all modern novelists of Germany, Paul Heyse not excepted. When the
University in Vienna bestowed upon her the degree of Doctor phil.
honoris causa, the enormous body of her readers heartily rejoiced. Her
most famous novel is “Das Gemeindekind” (“The child of the Parish”). She
also published a volume of “Aphorisms.”
=Wilhelmine von Hillern’s= once much read novel “Die Geierwally” has
been surpassed by far more valuable works of =Ilse Frapan=, =Ida
Boy-Ed=, =Helene Pichler=, =Margarete von Bülow=, =Bianca Bobertag=,
=Ossip Schubin=, =Helene Böhlau=, =Emma Vely=, =Emmy von Dinklage=,
=Dora Dunker=, =Marie von Bunsen=, =Sophie Junghans=, =Louise
Westkirch=, =Clara Blüthgen=, =Olga Wohlbrück=, =Carry Brachvogel= and a
number of other modern writers.
Among them =Enrica von Handel-Mazetti= and =Ricarda Huch= are
distinguished by their great ability in drawing strong characters as
well as deeply affecting situations. The first of the two authors
transports her readers in the two novels “Meinrad Helmpergers
denkwürdiges Jahr” and “Jesse und Maria” to the turbulent times of the
17th and 18th Centuries, when a superstitious world was upset by cruel
warfare between Catholics and Protestants. Ricarda Huch created works of
equal value in the novels “Erinnerungen von Ludolf Urslen dem Jüngeren”
(“Reminiscences of Ludolf Urslen, Junior”), “Aus der Triumphgasse”
(“From the Alley of Triumph”) and “The Verteidigung Roms” (“The Defense
of Rome”).
=Elizabeth von Heyking= carried the reader to the more recent times of
the Chinese Boxer War with her admirable novel “Briefe die ihn nicht
erreichten” (“Letters he did not get”).
=Clara Viebig= belongs likewise to the great novelists of modern times.
Having manifested in her first collection of short stories, “Kinder der
Eifel” (“Children of the Eifel Plateau”), a most extraordinary gift of
observation and description, she brought this talent to full development
in her splendid novels “Rheinlandstoechter” (“Daughters of the Rhein”),
“Das schlafende Heer” (“The sleeping army”) and “Absolve te.”
=Gabriele Reuter= treated in her novels “Aus guter Familie” (“Of good
family”), “Frau Bürgelin und ihre Söhne,” “Ellen von der Weiden,” and
“Liselotte von Reckling” various phases of the woman’s question. In the
first book she protests against the injustice created by custom and
tradition, which allows men to propose, while women are condemned to
remain silent.
Finally we must mention the noble woman who, most intensely realizing
the deep longing of mankind for peace, with her famous book “Die Waffen
nieder!” (“Lay down your arms!”) exerted probably the greatest influence
any author ever had through a single volume: the Austrian =Bertha von
Suttner=. The powerful appeal of this great book, which was translated
into more than twenty different languages, led Alfred B. Nobel, a rich
Swedish scientist and the inventor of dynamite, to bequeath the annual
interest of his great fortune to whoever has contributed most to the
peaceful progress of mankind during the year immediately preceding. It
was not more than just that the great merit of Madame von Suttner was
acknowledged by awarding to her in 1905 the Nobel Prize for peace.
Having devoted her whole life to the cause of peace, Bertha von Suttner
died in June, 1914, while engaged in preparations for an International
Peace Congress to be held in September of that same year in Vienna. Fate
spared her the bitter disappointment to see the outbreak of the most
cruel and destructive war in history. But her call “Lay down your arms!”
will live. It will remain the watchword and summons of all who with this
high-priestess of peace believe that war is the most unreasonable and
most criminal act men can commit.
Of course, German women have also contributed to the literature about
the woman’s question. Perhaps the most valuable work in this line is
=Dr. Kaethe Schirmacher’s= book “Die moderne Frauenbewegung,” giving a
history of the woman’s rights movement in all countries of the world. As
there has been no English book covering this broad subject, it was
translated by =C. C. Eckhardt= and in 1912 published at New York under
the title “The Modern Woman’s Rights Movement.”
* * * * *
Rich as German literature is in prose works of women writers, its poems
and lyrics written by women are no less noteworthy. There can be no
doubt that many of the beautiful folk songs of the Middle Ages were
created by women. For instance the following was discovered in a
collection of songs of the 13th Century, compiled by the nuns of a
convent at Blaubeuren, Bavaria:
Kume, kum, geselle min,
ih enbite harte din,
ih enbite harte din,
kume, kum, geselle min!
Süsser rosen-varmer munt,
kum und mache mich gesunt,
kum und mache mich gesunt,
süsser rosen-varmer munt!
That women took deep interest in folk-songs we know from the fact that
several of the most valuable collections of mediæval songs came down to
us through women like Clara Haetzler, a nun in Augsburg, and Katharine
Zell. The latter states that these lovely poems were sung by workmen and
vintages as well as by the mothers at the cradle, and by the servants
while they were washing the dishes.
It is not before the 17th Century that women authors of poems begin to
write under their names. Among them we find the countesses =Anna Sophie
von Hesse-Darmstadt= (1638–1683) and =Amalia Juliane von
Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt=. The latter was the author of about six hundred
songs, of which the funeral-hymn “Wer weiss wie nahe mir mein Ende” is
sung in all Protestant churches of Germany to-day.
The 18th Century produced a number of other women poets, among them
=Louise Adelgunde Gottsched=, =Dorothea, Countess von Zinzendorf=, =Anna
Louise Karsch=, =Sidonie Zäunemann=, and =Christine Marianne von
Ziegler=. The last two enjoyed the special patronage of the Emperor, who
bestowed upon them the title “Kayserlich gekrönte Poetinnen.”
With the beginning of the 19th Century appeared new groups of women
poets, among them =Bettina von Arnim=, =Karoline von Günderode=,
=Elisabeth Kulmann=, =Louise Brachmann=, =Betty Paoli=, =Louise von
Ploennies= and =Adelheid von Stolterfoth=, the “Philomele of the Rhine,”
so called for her lovely songs and tales in praise of that noble river.
In 1797 one of the greatest female poets of all times was born: =Annette
von Droste-Hülshoff=, a native of Westphalia. Compelled to lead a quiet,
secluded life by the delicate state of her health, she devoted herself
to study and literature, and wrote a number of masterful ballads of
which “The Battle in Loenerbruch” has few equals in powerful and
realistic description. Her poem “Die beschränkte Frau” is one of the
gems of German poetry.
Among the large numbers of German poets of the latter part of the 19th
and the beginning of the 20th Century =Isolde Kurz=, =Lulu von Strauss=,
=Margarete Beutler=, =Agnes Miegel=, =Tekla Lingen=, =Ricarda Huch=,
=Frieda Schanz=, =Anna Ritter=, =Hedwig Dransfeld=, =Wilhelmine
Wickenburg-Almasy=, =Hermione von Preuschen=, =Klara Müller-Jahnke=,
=Hedda Sauer=, =Maria Eugenie delle Grazie=, =Angelika von Hörmann=,
=Marie Janitschek=, =Ada Christen=, =Mia Holm=, =Alberta von
Puttkammer=, =Anna Klie=, are the names of a few of the many
distinguished poets of our present days.
Among American women of German descent we find likewise a number of
gifted poets. The two anthologies “Deutsch in Amerika” (Chicago, 1892)
and “Vom Lande des Sternenbanners” (Ellenville, N. Y., 1905) contain
many contributions of =Dorothea Boettcher=, =Elizabeth Mesch=, =Edna
Fern=, =Amalie von Ende=, =Marianne Kuenhold=, =Maria Raible=, =Minna
Kleeberg=, =Bella Fiebing=, =Henni Hubel=, =Martha Toeplitz=, and
others, distinguished in form as well as rich in imagination and
powerful in expression. Several German-American women also became
favorably known by valuable works in prose, as for instance =Therese
Albertine Louise Jacob=, the wife of Professor Robinson, of New York.
Under the name of Talvj, she wrote historical works about Captain John
Smith and the colonization of New England, and a “Historical Review of
the Language and Literature of the Slavic Nations, with a Sketch of
their Popular Poetry.” Of her many poems and translations Goethe spoke
with great admiration. Her novels are far superior to the average in
style and interest.
* * * * *
In the Netherlands the novels of =Elizabeth Bekker= were extremely
popular at the end of the 18th Century. She ranks high among Dutch
authors. Her “Historie van William Levend,” the “Historie van Sara
Burgerhart,” “Abraham Blankaart” and “Cornelia Wildshut” are her
greatest works. The poems of =Agathe Dekken= are to this day esteemed
masterpieces of Dutch poetry. During the 19th Century =Mrs.
Bosboom-Toussaint’s= novels, and =Helen Swarth’s= poems “Passiebloemen”
have been widely read.
The most eminent woman writer of Denmark was =Thomasine Kristine
Baroness Gyllembourg-Ehrensvärd=, who introduced into Danish literature
a novel vein of realism and domestic humor. Although she has had many
imitators, she is still without a rival. =Hadda Raonkilde= has exerted a
powerful influence upon Scandinavian literature.
The two most successful women-novelists of Norway are =Anna Magdalene
Thoresen= and =Jacobine Camilla Collet=, author of the excellent novel
“Amtmandens Döttre” (“The Governor’s Daughters”). In 1894 all Norway
celebrated her eightieth birthday as a national holiday.
The most eminent Swedish novelist of the 19th Century was =Frederika
Bremer=. Her “Sketches of Every Day Life” attracted immediate attention.
But this success was far surpassed by the novels “The H—— Family” and
“The Neighbors.” Both manifest the author’s purity, simplicity, and love
of domestic life. These books as well as almost all of the author’s
later works have been translated into English, German and French.
Another Swedish author of note was =Anne Charlotte Edgren=. Of =Emily
Carlen’s= novels “The Rose of Thistle Island” and “The Magic Goblet” are
most appreciated. =Anna Maria Lenngren= belongs likewise to the most
popular Swedish writers. The Swedish Academy ordered a medal cast in her
honor. And of the Swedish authors of the 20th Century =Selma Lagerloef=
was in 1909 awarded the Nobel Prize for her beautiful modern saga
“Goesta Berling.”
Finland and Poland too have noteworthy women-writers. Finland, “Country
of the thousand lakes,” was the birth-place of =Sarah Wacklin=,
=Wilhelmina Nordström= and =Helen Westermark=. The literature of Poland
was enriched by the poems and novels of =Elizabeth Jaraczewska=, =Lucya
Rautenstrauss=, =Narcyza Zwichowska= and =Comtesse Mostowska=.
Spain has produced in modern times several remarkable woman authors:
=Gertrudis de Avellaneda=, =Maria de Pinar-Sinues=, and =Angela Grassi=.
Italy has the excellent novelists =Rosa Taddei=, =Francesca Lutti=,
=Matilda Serao=, =Grazia Pierantoni-Mancini=, =Fanny Zampini-Salazar=,
and the Marchesa =Vincenza de Felice-Lancellotti=. Furthermore =Ada
Negri=, one of the most powerful poets of all times.
* * * * *
Having glanced at woman’s part in world’s literature, a few words should
be said about women journalists. During the middle of the last century
the publishers of several leading newspapers of England and America,
desiring to infuse new life into their papers, added a number of women
to their staffs. The complete success of this experiment was confirmed
by the rapid increase in the number of such women journalists. Whereas
in 1845 England had only 15 of them, this number grew to more than 800
in 1891. In the United States the number increased from 350 in 1889 to
2193 in 1910. Many of these women journalists received careful training
in the special schools of journalism at the universities of New York,
Philadelphia, and elsewhere.
Jeannette Gilder, herself a journalist, writes about her profession:
“Woman as a mere fashion writer is a thing of the past. To-day she
expects to rank with the man writer. In the future she will expect to be
his superior, for a woman is not stationary in her ambitions, she likes
variety. A man is wedded to his old clothes. He sighs when he has to
throw aside the old and comfortably fitting coat for a new one not so
comfortably fitting. A woman sighs when she has to wear an old dress.
She would like fashions to change every week instead of every three
months, as they do now. This love for variety in personal matters is
carried into her professional life. If she reports a Salvation Army
meeting to-day she hails with glee an opportunity to report an
automobile race to-morrow. With boundless ambition, with adaptability,
energy and a pleasing style, there is nothing to keep women from
monopolizing the journalistic profession if they put their minds to it.
The only trouble is they are apt to marry and leave the ranks. But, then
there are others standing ready to fill the vacant places. In the next
hundred years why may we not see all newspapers owned by women, edited
by women, written by women, with women compositors and women pressmen.
Already there is one such in France.”
[Illustration]