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The Resource In science's shadow : literary constructions of late Victorian women, Patricia Murphy

In science's shadow : literary constructions of late Victorian women, Patricia Murphy

Creator
Contributor
Summary
  • "Through close analysis of noncanonical Victorian-era literature by Thomas Hardy, Wilkie Collins, Charles Reade, Constance Naden, and Marianne North, Murphy reveals how women were often marginalized, constricted, and defined as intellectually inferior as a result of the interplay of sociohistorical trends driven by scientific curiosity and the 'Woman Question'"--Provided by publisher
  • "The Victorian era was characterized by great scientific curiosity{u2014}as exemplified by the publication of Darwin{u2019}s Descent of Man{u2014}as well as by new questions regarding the place of women in society. Patricia Murphy now explores the tenuous interplay of gender and science to show how the era{u2019}s literature both challenged and reinforced a constrictive role for Victorian women. Focusing on a specific body of literature involving women intensely associated with scientific pursuits, and examining selected noncanonical writings{u2014}both fictional and nonfictional representations of scientific women{u2014}Murphy demonstrates how these works informed the 2Woman Question3 by reinforcing or rejecting presumed truths about gender and science. Some of these texts offer lucid insights into the ways in which women were defined, marginalized, and excluded. In his novel Two on a Tower, Thomas Hardy presented science as a masculine realm threatened by female intrusion, while Wilkie Collins in Heart and Science depicted a woman interested in science as a villainous schemer who falls far short of the Victorian ideal of femininity. And although Charles Reade{u2019}s novel A Woman-Hater was more sympathetic in its portrayal of a female physician, it continued to reinforce Victorian stereotypes. In contrast, Murphy also shows us the poetry of science enthusiast Constance Naden, who used the language of the discipline to reflect its marginalization of women. Murphy also uses the travel memoirs of botanical painter Marianne North, which reveal her attempts to achieve a gender-neutral voice to position her work within the Victorian scientific realm. Through the words of these women, Murphy shows how popular notions of women{u2019}s inferiority and marginality were internalized and addressed. These close readings further elucidate the status of women in late-nineteenth-century England and show how prejudices about women{u2019}s intellectual inferiority infiltrated popular culture. In Science{u2019}s Shadow makes new inroads in the study of gendered scientific discourse while introducing readers to some little-known, but most revealing, literary works."--Publishers website
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
ix, 239 pages
Contents
  • Introduction : the gendered context of Victorian science
  • Fated marginalization : women and science in the poetry of Constance Naden
  • A problematic boundary : masculinizing science in Thomas Hardy's Two on a tower
  • Dangerous behavior : a woman's menacing avocation in Wilkie Collins's Heart and science
  • "Escaping" gender : the neutral voice in Marianne North's Recollections of a happy life
  • Evolutionary mediation : the female physician in Charles Reade's A woman-hater
Isbn
9780826216823
Instance
Label
In science's shadow : literary constructions of late Victorian women
Title
In science's shadow
Title remainder
literary constructions of late Victorian women
Statement of responsibility
Patricia Murphy
Creator
Contributor
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
  • "Through close analysis of noncanonical Victorian-era literature by Thomas Hardy, Wilkie Collins, Charles Reade, Constance Naden, and Marianne North, Murphy reveals how women were often marginalized, constricted, and defined as intellectually inferior as a result of the interplay of sociohistorical trends driven by scientific curiosity and the 'Woman Question'"--Provided by publisher
  • "The Victorian era was characterized by great scientific curiosity{u2014}as exemplified by the publication of Darwin{u2019}s Descent of Man{u2014}as well as by new questions regarding the place of women in society. Patricia Murphy now explores the tenuous interplay of gender and science to show how the era{u2019}s literature both challenged and reinforced a constrictive role for Victorian women. Focusing on a specific body of literature involving women intensely associated with scientific pursuits, and examining selected noncanonical writings{u2014}both fictional and nonfictional representations of scientific women{u2014}Murphy demonstrates how these works informed the 2Woman Question3 by reinforcing or rejecting presumed truths about gender and science. Some of these texts offer lucid insights into the ways in which women were defined, marginalized, and excluded. In his novel Two on a Tower, Thomas Hardy presented science as a masculine realm threatened by female intrusion, while Wilkie Collins in Heart and Science depicted a woman interested in science as a villainous schemer who falls far short of the Victorian ideal of femininity. And although Charles Reade{u2019}s novel A Woman-Hater was more sympathetic in its portrayal of a female physician, it continued to reinforce Victorian stereotypes. In contrast, Murphy also shows us the poetry of science enthusiast Constance Naden, who used the language of the discipline to reflect its marginalization of women. Murphy also uses the travel memoirs of botanical painter Marianne North, which reveal her attempts to achieve a gender-neutral voice to position her work within the Victorian scientific realm. Through the words of these women, Murphy shows how popular notions of women{u2019}s inferiority and marginality were internalized and addressed. These close readings further elucidate the status of women in late-nineteenth-century England and show how prejudices about women{u2019}s intellectual inferiority infiltrated popular culture. In Science{u2019}s Shadow makes new inroads in the study of gendered scientific discourse while introducing readers to some little-known, but most revealing, literary works."--Publishers website
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorDate
1951-
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Murphy, Patricia
Dewey number
820.9/356
Government publication
government publication of a state province territory dependency etc
Index
index present
LC call number
PR468.S34
LC item number
M87 2006
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/relatedWorkOrContributorName
University of Missouri Press
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • English literature
  • Literature and science
  • Sexism in science
  • Women in science
  • Women in literature
  • Sexism in literature
  • Prejudices in literature
  • Marginality, Social, in literature
Label
In science's shadow : literary constructions of late Victorian women, Patricia Murphy
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Introduction : the gendered context of Victorian science -- Fated marginalization : women and science in the poetry of Constance Naden -- A problematic boundary : masculinizing science in Thomas Hardy's Two on a tower -- Dangerous behavior : a woman's menacing avocation in Wilkie Collins's Heart and science -- "Escaping" gender : the neutral voice in Marianne North's Recollections of a happy life -- Evolutionary mediation : the female physician in Charles Reade's A woman-hater
Control code
71237343
Dimensions
23 cm
Extent
ix, 239 pages
Isbn
9780826216823
Isbn Type
(hard cover : alk. paper)
Lccn
2006028281
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other control number
9780826216823
Label
In science's shadow : literary constructions of late Victorian women, Patricia Murphy
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Introduction : the gendered context of Victorian science -- Fated marginalization : women and science in the poetry of Constance Naden -- A problematic boundary : masculinizing science in Thomas Hardy's Two on a tower -- Dangerous behavior : a woman's menacing avocation in Wilkie Collins's Heart and science -- "Escaping" gender : the neutral voice in Marianne North's Recollections of a happy life -- Evolutionary mediation : the female physician in Charles Reade's A woman-hater
Control code
71237343
Dimensions
23 cm
Extent
ix, 239 pages
Isbn
9780826216823
Isbn Type
(hard cover : alk. paper)
Lccn
2006028281
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other control number
9780826216823

Subject

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