Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Influence, Agency, And The Women Of England: Victorian Ideology And The Works Of Sarah Stickney Ellis, Ashley Lynn Carlson

English Language and Literature ETDs

This dissertation discusses the works of Sarah Stickney Ellis in the context of Victorian culture and argues that Elliss ideas about women, which have frequently been described as 'anti-feminist' by twentieth and twenty-first century scholars, were often progressive and even proto-feminist. The first chapter discusses Ellis's writings on education, where she argues that girls require moral, physical, and intellectual training. This chapter demonstrates that Ellis, though not necessarily radical, is more liberal than she has been given credit for in terms of her educational scheme for women. The second chapter focuses on Ellis's views on courtships and engagements. Rather than …