Mary Wollstonecraft's Social and Aesthetic Philosophy examines attempts to revise representations of women to give them a more active role in public life. Combining history of ideas with close textual reading to position her in relation to other eighteenth century writers this book demonstrates how she is directly engaged in re-thinking key concepts in moral aesthetic and social philosophy, particularly where women are concerned. Bahar insists that Wollstonecraft's political claims cannot be separated from her desire to develop more convincing aesthetic representations of women.
Autorentext
SABA BAHAR teaches English Literature at the University of Geneva, Switzerland.
Zusammenfassung
Combining the history of ideas with close textual reading, Mary Wollstonecraft's Social and Aesthetic Philosophy examines Mary Wollstone-craft's attempts to revise representations of women to give them a more active role in public life. Bahar insists that Wollstonecraft's political claims cannot be separated from her desire to develop more convincing aesthetic representa-tions of women. Consequently, by steering away from distinctions between the 'public' and the 'private', this study highlights the ambiguous status of the 'public woman', whose very name invokes her sexuality. Against such a connotation, Wollstonecraft proposes a new figure of female virtue. The book also argues that she abandons the conventional sentimental scene of women in distress which invites a 'pity bordering on contempt' and tries to develop an aesthetics of solidarity. Her aesthetic revisions are crucial for acknowledging women's active participation in civic life and for inviting collective action to change the 'oppressed state of [her] sex'.
Inhalt
Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction 'An Eve to Please Me:' Mary Wollstonecraft and the 'Public Woman' The Old Abelard: Or, HéloIse Among the Immodest Philosopher Making Novel Creatures Wants of Women Conclusion Bibliography