Before They Could Vote: American Women's Autobiographical Writing, 1819–1919Sidonie Smith, Julia Watson The life narratives in this collection are by ethnically diverse women of energy and ambition—some well known, some forgotten over generations—who confronted barriers of gender, class, race, and sexual difference as they pursued or adapted to adventurous new lives in a rapidly changing America. The engaging selections—from captivity narratives to letters, manifestos, criminal confessions, and childhood sketches—span a hundred years in which women increasingly asserted themselves publicly. Some rose to positions of prominence as writers, activists, and artists; some sought education or wrote to support themselves and their families; some transgressed social norms in search of new possibilities. Each woman’s story is strikingly individual, yet the brief narratives in this anthology collectively chart bold new visions of women’s agency. |
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... things of you . " What could I say except that I cared more for her opinion than any one else's , that the thing she wanted was the one thing I had dreamed of - that I would try and show her that I was worthy of her confidence and trust ...
... thing called President . He had long ears , he had big eyes and long legs , and a head like a bull - frog or some- thing like that . I could not think of anything that could be so inhuman as to do such a thing , -send people across ...
... thing across a meadow , or a dull lake pitted by the glancing drops , dissolving as it drives . Such rains relieve like tears . The same season brings the rains that have work to do , ploughing storms that alter the face of things ...
Contents
An Authentic Statement of the Case and Conduct | 23 |
A Narrative of the Life of Mrs Mary Jemison | 37 |
The Life and Religious Experience of Jarena | 124 |
Copyright | |
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Before They Could Vote: American Women's Autobiographical Writing, 1819–1919 Sidonie A. Smith,Julia Watson No preview available - 2006 |