Morris, Pam 　著

目次

Volume 1; Excerpted texts: Mrs H Cartwright, Letters on FemaleEducation, addressed to a married lady (1777) pp. 1-82; [Joseph Towers],Dialogues concerning the ladies (1785) pp. 1-152; John Moir, Female Tuition;or, an address to mothers, on the education of daughters, 2nd edn (1786)Preface (3pp); pp. 1-47; 206-68; The writings in this volume highlight amajor shift in the intended readership of female conduct literature: frominstructing young women on their duties of chastity and obedience todirecting advice to mothers on the education of their children, especiallytheir daughters. This shift is apparent in Mrs Cartwright's Letters on FemaleEducation (1777), which is addressed to 'married ladies' as mothers whoseprecious charge is the education of their young children. While the concernwith moral training may appear to be little altered from earlier conductwriting for women, there is an important difference. In earlier texts theauthorial voice is almost invariably male and omniscient as it impartsincontestable rules of behaviour to the young inexperienced female reader. Inthe texts in this edition, not only do women outnumber men as authors, buteven male-authored texts invoke the mother as the location of properauthority and moral wisdom in the sphere of domestic education. Volume 2;Complete text: Robert Gillet, The Pleasures of Reason; or, the hundredthoughts of a sensible young lady (1796) 43 pp; Excerpted texts: [JohnBennett], Letters to a Young Lady, on a Variety of Useful and InterestingSubjects calculated to improve the heart, to form the manners and enlightenthe understanding, 2 vols (1789) Vol. 1: title page; dedication; table ofcontents; pp. 1-36; 154-76; 206-18; Vol. 2: pp. 1-25; 34-72; 76-88; 257-61;Richard Polwhele, Discourses on Different Subjects (1791), Discourse XVIIIand Discourse XIX 46pp; [Laetitia Matilda Hawkins], Letters on the femalemind, its powers and pursuits; with particular reference to the dangerousopinions contained in the writings of Miss H M Williams, 2 vols, 2nd edn(1793) Vol. 1: pp. 1-120; The texts in this volume demonstrate the moreexplicitly partisan reactionary writing that took place in the 1790s. Volumes3 and 4; Complete text: Elizabeth Hamilton, Letters on the ElementaryPrinciples of Education, 2 vols, 3rd edn (1803) 440pp and 452pp; Hamilton'sLetters are explicitly addressed to mothers as educators and, while sheostensibly affirms domestic responsibilities as women's ordained sphere ofinfluence, the range and level of intellectual interest and capacity sheassumes in her intended female readers is utterly at variance withconventional views of women's mental abilities. She draws extensively uponthe philosophical works of Locke and Hartley on the development of the mindas well as upon the Scottish 'common sense' school of philosophy as expoundedby Thomas Reid and Dugald Stewart, who was a personal friend. In addition tothis philosophical concern with ways in which the mind acquires knowledge ofthe world, Hamilton also developed the ideas of Rousseau and the progressiveSwiss educationalist Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi. While Letters on theElementary Principles of Education contains none of the revolutionary passionof Mary Wollstonecraft's Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792), it couldcertainly be argued that Hamilton's view of women is the more progressive.Wollstonecraft's text is largely addressed to men, arguing that theirsentimental treatment of women have rendered most of the female sex silly andvain. Hamilton addresses herself to women, unquestioningly assuming them tobe actively intelligent and responsible civil beings. This modern reprintingwill allow scholars to read her views on women and education alongside thoseof Wollstoncraft, Edgeworth, Barbauld, More and Hays and will engender areassessment of the significance of women within Scottish Enlightenmentthought. Volume 5; Complete texts: Miss S Hatfield, Letters on the importanceof the Female Sex; with observations on their manners, and on education(1803) 157pp; Lucy Aikin, Episties on Women, exemplifying their character andcondition in various ages and nations (1810) 106pp; Thomas Broadhurst, Adviceto Young Ladies on the improvement of the mind and the conduct of life, 2ndrevised edn (1810) 125pp; Aikin, Hatfield and Broadhurst argue for greateropportunities for women in terms of improved education, claiming women'sintellectual equality with men. Yet they defer to the view that women'sproper sphere of activity is domestic. Volume 6; Complete texts: Mrs AnnTaylor, Practical Hints to Young Females, on the duties of a wife, a mother,and a mistress of a family (1815) 168pp; Hannah More, The Wife Reformed(1800?) 23pp; [Anna Kent], The Kitchin Looking-Glass; or, a word of advice tofemale servants in dialogues, 2nd edn (1825) 53pp; Excerpted texts: MrsWilliam Parkes, Domestic Duties; or, Instructions to young married ladies onthe management of their households and the regulation of their conduct in thevarious relations and duties of married life (1828) title page; table ofcontents; pp. 1-20; 50-75; 128-43; 375-412; 429-37; Following the FrenchRevolution, there was increasing concern to impart moral responsibilities tothe lower orders. As a result, conduct writing began to address a newaudience of women: wives of labouring men and those of the servant class.This new direction in advice literature is represented in the pieces byHannah More and Anna Kent in this volume.