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LITR 4326
Early American Literature Research Posts 2016 (research post assignment) Research Post 2 |
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Ashley Cofer
Judith Sargent Murray: A Voice for Women
Growing up, I always heard the saying ‘it’s a man’s world’. When I was a
kid, I learned that women used to be seen as being beneath men. Their role was
to have children and clean and cook for their husbands. When women began
working, they could only get certain jobs and they did not make the same amount
of money as men. In the modern day work force, women have the same rights as
men. I decided to research the early ideas of women’s rights in America and the
people that helped to develop equality for women. I found out that these ideas
began with people like Judith Sargent Murray taking a stand for women’s rights.
How did she influence women’s rights?
At the beginning of my research, I came across the website
https://www.nwhm.org/education-resources/biography/biographies/judith-sargent-murray/.
I learned that Murray believed that women were not receiving proper education.
“She felt that the typical chores of women’s lives did not offer any
intellectual stimulation and that if women did not find more uses for their
intellect, they would use it for ill purposes.” She wanted women to use their
intelligence to better themselves instead of them using it to do mundane things
such as housekeeping. I came across one of her more famous quotes: “Will it be
said that the judgment of a male of two years old, is more sage than that of a
female's of the same age? … the one is taught to aspire, and the other is early
confined and limited.” She was one of the first to propose the idea that women
are equal to men.
Upon further research, I learned that besides expressing her views on
women’s rights verbally, she also wrote about them. While searching on
http://www.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/judithsargentmurray.html, I
read that in 1784, Murray published her first essay, "Constantia's" essay
"Desultory Thoughts upon the Utility of Encouraging a Degree of
Self-Complacency, especially in Female Bosoms". In this essay, she writes, “"I
would, from the early dawn of reason address [my daughter] as a rational being"
and "by all means guard [my daughters] against a low estimation of self." Murray
is advocating for protecting the self-esteem of girls and women since they were
constantly led to believe that they could not accomplish much because of their
gender. I became curious about other essays she wrote and came across
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/judithsmurray/p/judith_murray.htm.
Murray’s essay, "On the Equality of the Sexes," was written in 1779 and she is
recognized an early American feminist due to its content.
She also wrote essays for the Massachusetts Magazine. This website came
up when I was looking for more detail.
http://college.cengage.com/english/lauter/heath/4e/students/author_pages/eighteenth/murray_ju.html.
“Her writings reflect the firm ideas she held on education, the equality of the
sexes, literary nationalism, federalism, and Universalism.” The three-volume
edition of her Gleaner essays, published in 1798, attracted over 700
subscribers, among them President Adams and George Washington. I was surprised
to learn how much attention she got for her writing during this time considering
her being a woman. Her essays and other works paved the way for other feminist
writers to have new thoughts and ideas. Without her advocating and believing in
women’s rights, there would not have been female authors until much later on.
Work Cited
Smith, Bonnie Hurd. “Judith Sargent
Murray”. Unitarian Universalist
Association.
http://www.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/judithsargentmurray.html
9 August 2006.
http://college.cengage.com/english/lauter/heath/4e/students/author_pages/eighteenth/murray_ju.html
https://www.nwhm.org/education-resources/biography/biographies/judith-sargent-murray/
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/judithsmurray/p/judith_murray.htm
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