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A review by rociog
Daughters of Decadence: Women Writers of the Fin de Siecle by Elaine Showalter
4.0
In the 1880s and 1890s, the so-called ‘woman question’ —does society owe women the same liberties and advantages afforded to men?— was brought to the forefront of British and American fiction. Short stories by and about 'New Women', women who were upfront about their desires, unhappiness and genius,began to crowd literary publications.
This collection brings together many such stories. It includes the classic ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ alongside many other tales of stifled female freedom. I particularly enjoyed the horrors of Charlotte Mew’s ‘ A White Night’ and the quiet heartbreak of ‘The Buddhist Priest’s Wife’ by Olive Shreiner.
An interesting thread running through some of these stories is the precarious situation of the woman author within the male republic of letters. Tales of appropriated work, appropriated lives and unappreciated talent from Mabel Wotton’s devastating ‘The Fifth Edition’ and the unassuming sadness of ‘Miss Grief’ by Constance Fenimore Woolson, to Vernon Lee’s delightful send-up of Henry James in ‘Lady Tal’. Of these, my favorite was Edith Wharton's 'The Muse's Tragedy', which touches on the loneliness of a life immortalized by a great poet.
Though not usually a fan of heavy-handed symbolism, I rather enjoyed the feminist allegories at the end of the volume. According to Showalter in the introduction, Schreiner's in particular were favourites of imprisoned suffragettes. In their lowest moments, they turned to these fables for strength, to renew their faith in the world they wanted to build for women.
This collection brings together many such stories. It includes the classic ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ alongside many other tales of stifled female freedom. I particularly enjoyed the horrors of Charlotte Mew’s ‘ A White Night’ and the quiet heartbreak of ‘The Buddhist Priest’s Wife’ by Olive Shreiner.
An interesting thread running through some of these stories is the precarious situation of the woman author within the male republic of letters. Tales of appropriated work, appropriated lives and unappreciated talent from Mabel Wotton’s devastating ‘The Fifth Edition’ and the unassuming sadness of ‘Miss Grief’ by Constance Fenimore Woolson, to Vernon Lee’s delightful send-up of Henry James in ‘Lady Tal’. Of these, my favorite was Edith Wharton's 'The Muse's Tragedy', which touches on the loneliness of a life immortalized by a great poet.
Though not usually a fan of heavy-handed symbolism, I rather enjoyed the feminist allegories at the end of the volume. According to Showalter in the introduction, Schreiner's in particular were favourites of imprisoned suffragettes. In their lowest moments, they turned to these fables for strength, to renew their faith in the world they wanted to build for women.