Browsing by Author "Karpe, Ashna"

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    Seeing Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) Through a Romantic Lens
    (Rice University, 2020) Daly, Carolyn; Karpe, Ashna
    This paper analyzes Mary Wollstonecraft’s life and fourteen major literary works. It argues that her legacy should be considered in the context of romanticism. Romanticism is usually defined in a traditional, masculine sense: as an emotional escape from repression and rationalism. Eighteenth-century societal norms, however, categorized women as purely emotional and did not allow them to express their rationality. This paper uses Wollstonecraft’s work to argue for an expansion of the traditional Romantic canon that includes female romantics’ focus on reason, sense rather than sensibility, women’s rights, and gradual societal change. Wollstonecraft’s works demonstrate she was a romantic by both the masculine and feminine definitions. It is unfortunate that until recent years, literary historians did not consider Wollstonecraft or other female writers part of the canon of romanticism. Wollstonecraft and writers like her added important ideas to the canon; their ideas should take their place alongside those of traditional romantics.