Against finality: Darwin, Mill and the end of essentialism

Richardson, Angélique

doi:10.1111/j.1467-8705.2011.02020.x

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…However, Darwin’s argument is not based on an essentialist position of there being one fixed, unchangeable nature for women. As Angelique Richardson (: 25) argues, the very concept of evolution with its fluid boundaries between species, origins, and extinctions is in itself anti‐essentialist. Darwin’s (1859) On the Origin of Species undermined the whole idea of fixed species and ideal essences, so although he saw current differences between male and female as being a result of their evolutionary history, in particular sexual selection, he did not see these differences as fixed or unchangeable.…”

Section: New Amazonia: the Government Of Women Over Menmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, she did not question Darwin’s basic hypothesis of sexual divergence, preferring to concentrate on complementarity and partnership between the two sexes. She also saw evolution as supporting arguments for social changes to the position of women through the supposition that women were evolving towards greater complexity (Richardson : 36). Darwin’s Descent of Man also proposed an important role for sympathy in the survival of social groups, a trait that was seen as being innate to women through their role as mothers, an element that was picked up by Gamble in her argument for women’s superiority.…”

Section: Evolution and Female Superiority In Mary E Bradley Lane’s Mmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Eugenics in Late 19^th‐Century Feminist Utopias

Lake¹

2018

American J Econ Sociol

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Late 19 th -century feminist utopian fiction provides empowering examples of societies governed by women. However, these imaginary societies only exist through radical changes to women's reproductive roles. At the same time, these societies also anticipate feminist interest in eugenics through proposals to regulate marriage, eliminate unhealthy members of society, and adopt measures for the moral improvement of the human race. Elizabeth Corbett's New Amazonia (1889) argues that a state governed only by women would achieve high moral standards, while eugenics and strict scientific regulation would guarantee improvements in health and longevity. Mary E. Bradley Lane's Mizora (1880-1881) proposes an entirely separatist world where the elimination of men, following the development of an asexual process of reproduction, would lead to a scientifically perfect society. Alice Ilgenfritz Jones and Ella Merchant's Unveiling a Parallel (1893), on the other hand, questions the idea of the intrinsic immorality of men, showing a utopia wherein women behave as badly as men given the same societal freedom. Instead, eugenic selection has supported evolution to a higher state of morality in which children are no longer conceived through sexual acts.

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Section: New Amazonia: the Government Of Women Over Menmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Evolution and Female Superiority In Mary E Bradley Lane’s Mmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eugenics in Late 19^th‐Century Feminist Utopias

Lake¹

2018

American J Econ Sociol

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Caird, Mona

Richardson

2015

The Encyclopedia of Victorian Literature

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Mona Caird (1854–1932) was a polemical feminist and New Woman novelist and essayist who interrogated the social and legal subordination of women in her novels, short stories, and contributions to the periodical press. An animal rights supporter, she also campaigned against vivisection. Examining oppressive discourses around Victorian marriage and motherhood, she inspired the debate “Is Marriage a Failure?” in the Daily Telegraph in 1888. Drawing on the liberal philosophy of John Stuart Mill and the evolutionary ideas of Charles Darwin, Caird exposed the fallacy of biological determinism both in respect of class and gender. In this, she took a position opposite to many New Woman writers, notably Sarah Grand and George Egerton, and increasingly exposed the misapplication of science to justify political and social conflict and oppression. Most known for her bestselling novel The Daughters of Danaus (1894), at the heart of her work and vision lies the importance of civil liberty.

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