On a mission : Grace Ellison's An Englishwoman in a Turkish harem

This thesis, entitled “On A Mission: Grace Ellison’s An Englishwoman in a Turkish Harem,” closely analyzes the rhetoric that is used within Ellison’s text. Ellison writes about her adventures in Turkey from a uniquely British perspective. Her discourse addresses such issues as the veil, the harem and women’s rights. Ellison’s socio-political concerns, she claims, are centered on the Turkish women. Often times though, her discourse shifts to address the progress and needs of Englishwomen of the early twentieth century. This intimate study of An Englishwoman in a Turkish Harem reveals Ellison’s progressive feminist ideas as well as the fervent nationalistic propaganda that she espouses in order to champion her cause

Venturesome women: Nineteenth-century British women travel writers and sport

This dissertation analyzes the travel writings of Isabella Bird Bishop, Mary Kingsley, Florence Douglas Dixie, and Isabel Savory. While away from England, these women writers participated in cultural exchanges which led to reevaluations of British womanhood. British women travel writers operated not only within the power structures of gender but also within the structures of empire, class, and race. Women travel writers blazed the trail for the New Woman of the end of the century. Before cycling and cigarette smoking were allowed, daring women such as Isabella Bird Bishop and Mary Kingsley crisscrossed the globe in defiance of patriarchal tradition and in search of their own pleasure --- later both hallmarks of the New Woman. Contrary to conservative hopes, women travel writers increased in popularity, inspired young women to be daring and challenged the Victorian status quo by writing of the dangerous pleasures they experienced while abroad. As inspiration for the New Women, women travel writers reveled in danger and athletics, and in time, reshaped England\u27s image of womanhood. Because of the positive accounts of athleticism provided by women travelers, female health became a prominent topic in society. By the early twentieth century, women had increased access and acceptability to physical pursuits

Venturesome women: Nineteenth-century British women travel writers and sport

This dissertation analyzes the travel writings of Isabella Bird Bishop, Mary Kingsley, Florence Douglas Dixie, and Isabel Savory. While away from England, these women writers participated in cultural exchanges which led to reevaluations of British womanhood. British women travel writers operated not only within the power structures of gender but also within the structures of empire, class, and race. Women travel writers blazed the trail for the New Woman of the end of the century. Before cycling and cigarette smoking were allowed, daring women such as Isabella Bird Bishop and Mary Kingsley crisscrossed the globe in defiance of patriarchal tradition and in search of their own pleasure --- later both hallmarks of the New Woman. Contrary to conservative hopes, women travel writers increased in popularity, inspired young women to be daring and challenged the Victorian status quo by writing of the dangerous pleasures they experienced while abroad. As inspiration for the New Women, women travel writers reveled in danger and athletics, and in time, reshaped England\u27s image of womanhood. Because of the positive accounts of athleticism provided by women travelers, female health became a prominent topic in society. By the early twentieth century, women had increased access and acceptability to physical pursuits

Consuming China: Imperial Trade and Global Exchange in Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park

In the late eighteenth century, Britain attempted to expand trade with China and satisfy the demand for Eastern luxuries at home. This essay examines how Jane Austen’s novel Mansfield Park uses global trade with China to criticize a British class system rooted in imperialism. Austen’s novel presents a story of domestic trade as Fanny Price negotiates with her wealthy relatives the Bertrams by means of the exchange of Eastern commodities and transforms their imperial worldview through her creation of a global network at Mansfield Park. By examining how the British consume China, Austen provides a new conception of middle-class identity based on meritocracy and upward mobility. She further comments upon Britain’s involvement in the East by encouraging successful diplomacy through international connection. Situating the novel within a global framework enlarges previous postcolonial readings of her work and redefines her as a worldly writer