Women and education in 19th century English Literature

Abstract

This paper will focus on the analysis of several ideas that Mary Wollstonecraft addressed in her “Vindication of the Rights of Woman” (1792) by illustrating them with examples extracted from different novels of the first half of the 19th century, mostly those written by Jane Austen. Additionally, these ideas will be contrasted with Diane Long Hoeveler’s account on the notion of “gothic feminism” (1998) as to discern which of the two ideologies was more plausible and influential. A general outline on the conditions of women and women writers will be given in order to contextualise better the difficulties that women faced at the time.