블루스타킹: 여성공동체를 꿈꾸다 (Bluestocking: Dreaming Women's Utopia)

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초록

Bluestocking: Dreaming Women's Utopia

Lee, Jin-Ok


The present paper aims at exploring the cultural society of the 18th century England through Bluestocking Circle that consisted of women intellectuals. The existing literature argues that there were only few women's societies at the time. However, my findings suggest that there were much more than that had been perceived before, and further more, women made their own circle by themselves and helped each other by a patronage system which they had themselves developed. After all, they led the public opinion and constituted themselves as ‘main' cultural trend or power in the 18th century London.
My paper also analyses the reasons of the historical neglection on that Circle. The suggested reasons for being: first of all, the Circle was led and managed mainly by women. Secondly, the Circle lasted comparatively shorter than other literature circles. Differently from the existing literature, I have a great emphasis on the historical role of the Circle in the feminist movement, and thus the way in which the women organizers worked to develop the Circle and the main members and the detailed projects of the Circle.
The origin of the Circle is a spa friendship meeting in Bath among the wealthy upper class or aristocratic women. They have a normative meeting to read certain books and to discuss the themes of them instead of wasting time gossiping and gambling. After the holidays, they would meet again in London to develop their ‘noble' relationship. But most of all, the purpose of the Circle is to argue for the women's intelligence and their ability to write something valuable to the society, like men did at the time. Moreover, they supported other women who were able but poor.
The Object of Bluestocking Circle is to develop their relationship and to build their own society in a real world. Historically speaking, Christine de Pizan's ‘The City of Ladies' and Mary Astell's ‘a Protestant Convent' could be put in that category. ‘Millenium Hall' by Sarah Scott, who was also a member of the Bluestockings and the sister of Montague, also showed a visionary society of women, which was to a great extent a manifesto of Bluestocking's feminism. In sum, I argue that ‘Millenium Hall' was a Utopia for the Bluestockings in that period.

영어초록

Bluestocking: Dreaming Women's Utopia

Lee, Jin-Ok


The present paper aims at exploring the cultural society of the 18th century England through Bluestocking Circle that consisted of women intellectuals. The existing literature argues that there were only few women's societies at the time. However, my findings suggest that there were much more than that had been perceived before, and further more, women made their own circle by themselves and helped each other by a patronage system which they had themselves developed. After all, they led the public opinion and constituted themselves as ‘main' cultural trend or power in the 18th century London.
My paper also analyses the reasons of the historical neglection on that Circle. The suggested reasons for being: first of all, the Circle was led and managed mainly by women. Secondly, the Circle lasted comparatively shorter than other literature circles. Differently from the existing literature, I have a great emphasis on the historical role of the Circle in the feminist movement, and thus the way in which the women organizers worked to develop the Circle and the main members and the detailed projects of the Circle.
The origin of the Circle is a spa friendship meeting in Bath among the wealthy upper class or aristocratic women. They have a normative meeting to read certain books and to discuss the themes of them instead of wasting time gossiping and gambling. After the holidays, they would meet again in London to develop their ‘noble' relationship. But most of all, the purpose of the Circle is to argue for the women's intelligence and their ability to write something valuable to the society, like men did at the time. Moreover, they supported other women who were able but poor.
The Object of Bluestocking Circle is to develop their relationship and to build their own society in a real world. Historically speaking, Christine de Pizan's ‘The City of Ladies' and Mary Astell's ‘a Protestant Convent' could be put in that category. ‘Millenium Hall' by Sarah Scott, who was also a member of the Bluestockings and the sister of Montague, also showed a visionary society of women, which was to a great extent a manifesto of Bluestocking's feminism. In sum, I argue that ‘Millenium Hall' was a Utopia for the Bluestockings in that period.

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