A Comparative Analysis of Society’s Perception on Female Authorship
Considering the theme of incorrectness mentioned in the poem ‘On being Charged with Writing Incorrectly’ by ‘The Amorous Lady’, La Femme auteur by Madame de Genlis illustrates the criticism towards female authorship. In addition to that, the book review written by George Eliot entitled “Silly Novels by Lady Novelists” shed a light on the importance the writer’s gender on authorship and its reception by the society. The censorship and the assessment of female writings, encountered in these texts, depict the society’s point of view on female authorship. Throughout their text, the authors emphasise the general criticism towards women by using it as a literary device. Thus, using the critiques that were addressed to women at that time allows female authors to dismantle society’s negative attitude towards female authorship.
© Michael Almeida Machado
References
Genlis, Madame de. La Femme auteur. [1802]. Martine Reid (éd.). Paris: Folio Gallimard, coll. Femmes de Lettres, 2007.
Eliot, George. Silly Novels by Lady Novelists. [1856]. London: Penguin, 2010.
On being Charged with Writing Incorrectly’ by ‘The Amorous Lady’ (1734)
Image
Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, Portrait of a Woman, oil on canvas, 1787, detail.
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Michael Almeida Machado 